Re: FW: [canberrabirds] King Parrots on Masson Street

[Martin Butterfield <>]

This paper seems to have a little more detail about Spironucleus, which appears to be a problem for King-parrots.  In another document, about game birds in the UK,  which I found and read while Googling, it seemed that a related organism is mainly spread through faecal contamination of food.  That seems to put a lot of weight on congregation rather than nutrition as the core problem.

Martin

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On 17 June 2015 at 14:47, Geoffrey Dabb <> wrote:

Most likely the congregating.  Possibly also happens at feeders.  Apparently not the seed itself. EG –

 

 

From: Lia Battisson [
Sent: Wednesday, 17 June 2015 2:27 PM
To: Geoffrey Dabb;
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] King Parrots on Masson Street

 

Is the problem caused by their association with each other, or the exotic diet?

 

From:

Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 10:41 AM

To:

Subject: FW: [canberrabirds] King Parrots on Masson Street

 

 

 

From: Isobel Crawford
Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2015 6:21 PM
To: Nathanael Coyne
Cc: COG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] King Parrots on Masson Street

 

Nathanael,

 

I checked Pryor & Banks (1991) 'Trees and Shrubs in Canberra' and they confirmed my recollection that Hackett Gardens has/have been 'blessed with' Chinese Elm Ulmus parvifolia, whose fruits are sought after by Crimsons and Kings, inter al. So, if it was the western corner where you have recorded King Parrots, they are/were probably eating Chinese Elm fruits. Interestingly, the eastern corner is 'blessed with' a dense population of Onion Grass Romulea rosea var. australis, of which the corms are highly sort after by Galahs and many other parrot species.

 

Isobel.

 

 

Isobel Crawford

 

Australian Botanical Surveys,

POB 6031,
O'Connor ACT  2602.

02 6257 1860
0429 798 887

 

 

 

 

On 04/06/2015, at 9:16 AM, Nathanael Coyne <> wrote:

 

I'm curious what it is about the intersection of Masson Street and Hackett Gardens in Turner that causes a flock of 20-30 King Parrots to have been congregated there in the tree and feeding on the ground every morning this week. I wonder if someone is feeding them and throwing out seed, or they just really like that spot?

 

Nathanael Coyne (Boehm)

www.purecaffeine.com

Canberra, Australia
0431 698 580