Keeping Birds of Paradise as aviary birds?

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LostInNewGuinea
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I couldn't find any bird forums dedicated to Australian native soft bill birds, and this was the closest I could find, so please bear with me.

I realize the notion might sound ridiculous, but has anyone else investigated the feasibility of keeping birds of paradise, especially those from New Guinea, in captivity?

I know Queensland recently introduced legislation allowing the keeping of native soft bills in captivity. I assume the bird of paradise species found in Queensland is included in this list? I personally think this is a conservation issue as much as anything else. We see native species vanishing due to our inability to get a grip on the problems associated with introduced "pests".

I look at the international success Australian native birds have had in captivity, from Budgerigars, to Gouldian finches, and how this success has completely stopped any desire for illegal wild trade, thus ensuring the future survival of wild populations.

Maybe I am dense, but I think we need to get beyond the idea that birds of paradise are these delicate creatures that are incapable of being kept in captivity. Just a brief reading of this article points out two interesting facts, 1) Birds of Paradise were found to be easily kept by one Victorian naturalist, 2) Despite the claims of the birds impending extinction we always hear, their polygamous nature, the fact the females raise the young and are not objects of collectors desire, and the fact males can mate before their plumage becomes mature, means trade in skins never impacted their numbers to make them endangered.

I cringe every time I see native New Guinea tribes people decked out head to toe in Birds of Paradise plumes and I wonder why such unsustainable practices are allowed to continue, while the keeping of captive birds which could reduce pressure on wild birds are outlawed or given no thought whatsoever. I don't understand why a captive trade in live birds has not been established. It would create a valuable income source for New Guinea with all the tourism generated by people who own live birds of paradise and want to travel to the natural habitat to experience it for themselves, much like you get with orchid collectors.

Most bird fanciers are honest people who only want the best for their captive pets, and any claims of mass abuse or torture suffered by birds in captivity made by animals rights activist such as the RSPCA( whose mission it seems is to stop people from having any contact with animals whatsoever) are exaggerated at best. Does anyone think this is a viable idea? I read an article about someone advocating the position that to save Australian native animals we must allow them to be kept as pets in a captive setting by laypeople, as the effort required to save these species is too large given the amount of varied genetic material required to ensure viable captive populations, for private institutions to do alone.

Any posturing by private institutions that they are saving any species through genetically viable captive populations are dubious at best, considering the number of these institutions around the world are less than one hundred at best.

The more I read about how you all successfully keep Australian native finches, the more I fail to understand why birds of paradise are not also allowed.

I think these could give people a lot of fulfillment, while also helping ensure the future of wild populations, create a economy based around these birds that would benefit their native countries while also benefiting laypeople who take up the business of breeding them.

What am I missing?

"Alfred Russell Wallace (1823–1913), famous for his work with evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, was the first European to witness the birds' courtship displays. He is also credited with bringing the first live specimens of birds of paradise back to England. In his 1869 publication The Malay Archipelago: The Land of the Orang-utan and the Bird of Paradise ... , Wallace records in detail his capture of specimens of the king bird of paradise and the magnificent bird of paradise.[17] The birds adapted easily to new environments and fared well in captivity on a diet slightly varied from their wild one.[18] Wallace's success was quickly emulated by other naturalists in Europe."

"The specimens were not endangered then, nor are they endangered today. Despite the huge trade in birds of paradise skins in the late nineteenth century, the impact on bird populations was surprisingly low. This is because the mature adult males are the most beautiful and the most prized. The survival of the species is assured since polygamous young males reach breeding maturity before their plumes achieve their full length."

source: http://recollections.nma.gov.au/issues/ ... f_paradise
nswchainsaw
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arthur
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LostInNewGuinea wrote: 22 Jul 2017, 18:38 What am I missing?
Australia's importation policies . .

and

The realities of dealing with Qld bureaucracy :silent:
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iaos
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finchbreeder
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Good to see that some Zoos are doing a good job of breeding some species. I believe that some of those fancy feather headdresses have been arround for a while, as they are heirlooms that families pass down.
LML
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shnapper20
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david attenborough did a show where he visited the sheik of qatar, they are a lot of work. heres a link
http://www.ironammonite.com/2015/01/bir ... david.html
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LostInNewGuinea
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Thanks for all the replies some fascinating insights into their husbandry! I never realized the Qatari royals kept these.

David really does like those birds haha- in fact I used to own a copy of Attenborough in Paradise and would watch it religiously.

I can't access the Facebook page as my browser is outdated.

Yes you are right they sound like a lot of work. I will settle for a small colorful Australian native soft bill I think.

Yes I have tried dealing with customs and the department of the environment before and have found them to be extremely difficult to deal with. I had forgotten about the bird importation ban for a moment.

There was a proposal by some department associated with the government about genetically engineering the Tasmanian devil to stop it from wandering so much, as a measure to prevent death by road strike of devils that had been re-introduced into the wild from a captive breeding program. This is the level of stupid so called experts are coming up with as conservation solutions to our endangered native fauna. I don't understand why we always have to do everything the hard way. If keeping such native fauna had been legalized years ago perhaps we wouldn't be in the mess we are in now worrying about species lack of genetic viability as is the case with the tasmanian devil.

I don't think we will ever come up with a solution to native fauna disappearing, we will just allow it to go extinct while pretending that talking about taking action through expensive hair brained conservation programs actually achieves any better result than captive breeding by laypeople that cost the taxpayer nothing.
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LostInNewGuinea
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This will give Australian birders who have ever had to deal with local government regarding quarantine issues a good laugh. :clap:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/a ... ot/8663254

I can see why Aus native birds of paradise fail to appeal when we have beautiful native birds such as gouldians that are easier to look after and are arguably more beautiful.
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