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This podcast features an interview with Mira Tweti, author of the book "Here, There, and Everywhere." Part storybook, part textbook, this book follows the journey of a lorikeet in the wild trapped for the pet trade.

As interesting as the storybook is, the tale of how the book was made was equally fascinating.

US Fish and Wildlife Services is only able to catch a fraction of the parrots smuggled across the US-Mexico border every year. Take a fascinating glimpse into the process of parrot smuggling and learn about the impact it has on the ecology of our world.

The amazing tale about the heaviest parrot in the world. The flightless kakapo can weigh up to 9 pounds. This nocturnal bird is classified as critically endangered, with all known members of the species surviving on remote islands off the coast of New Zealand. Conservation efforts began for this bird early - in the 1890s and various attempts to keep this unusual parrot alive have met with mixed success. With the introduction of the Kakapo Recovery plan, this unique island parrot may been on the road to recovery. In a land with no native mammals (except for bats), it appears as though the Kakapo has adapted to fill the niches that mammals occupy.

This is a great episode for those with displays on their iPod or watching it on the computer. ***Plenty of photos and live web links embedded as you go along! If you want more information, click on the photo when listening***

This episode features Paul Jansen of the Kakapo Recovery Programme in New Zealand, sponsored by Comalco.

Listener comments are welcome to our 24 phone message line at +1 718 395 2283

Special thanks to Stephen Fry www.stephenfry.com for his voicework in this episode.

Photos courtesy of the New Zealand Department of Conservation

What do you do if you become too sick to care for your bird? What about if you move to another country and can't take your bird? What if your bird became too agressive to manage? What happens if you need to part with your pet parrot? That's the topic of this week's ParrotScience.com Podcast featuring an interview with Julie Weiss-Murad of the Gabriel Foundation out of Denver, Colorado, USA. As more and more people become interesting in owning a pet parrot, more and more people have to get rid of their pet parrot. Where do they all go? How do you know if you are giving your bird to a reputable place? The Gabriel Foundation, a registered charity has been around for over a decade and strives to provide more opportunities for pet parrots.

Imagine doing some research as part of your university work, and then being kidnapped in the middle of it. That's exactly what happened to Roelant Jonker while studying parrots in Columbia. Listen to Roelant's tale as he discussed how he spent almost 8 months kidnapped by FARC Rebels, a listed and known terrorist organization (with their own website http://www.farcep.org). A very interesting story from a very positive individual.

Episode 5 of 12. Today we have parrot news about a wind farm project in Australia being stopped over fears of its threats to the orange-bellied parrot. Interviews on todays show are Part 2 of our interview with Liz Wilson, a parrot behaviour consultant. We also have the second half of our interview with Dr. Jamie Gilardi, head of the World Parrot Trust. We also talk with Roelant Jonker of AraProject.nl, a group dedicated to the preservation of free-flying macaws that live in the Netherlands. Also, a newspaper obituary for a parrot. At the end of the program we also get an update from Angel Baty on the progress of Eli, the macaw who spent a freezing night outdoors.

In Episode 4 we do a species profile on the greenwing macaw (Ara chloroptera), an interview with Angel Baty from Buffalo, NY about her greenwing macaw that survived a night outside in freezing temperatures in the middle of the winter. Also a survey on the main part of your parrots diet. Plus a news story of a man who caught psittacosis (previously known as parrot fever) from mowing his lawn!

Outside of Wollongong, NSW in Australia I stopped in the mountains to discover a bunch of rainbow lorikeets, crimson rosellas, and a king parrot feasting on a leftover pile of sunflower seeds from someone. I stopped in and scooped up a few and then went into a pile of birds feeding on a tree stump for a super close-up look. This is a large video file (18MB) , just about 3 minutes long.

Episode 3 in our series of 12 deals with a variety of topics. We cover some polls from ParrotScience, some recent parrot news. We will feature an interview with Dr. Jamie Gilardi of the World Parrot Trust discussing issues of conservation. Liz Wilson will be speaking on pet parrot behaviour (behavior). Also featured is Steve Nichols of the Parrot Sanctuary in the UK regarding the problems of parrots being dumped in the scare of the avian flu.

I posted this in response to a request for more detailed footage. It is the brief middle segment of the previous videocast, slowed down considerably. Notice how the cockatoos all fly off in one direction when the alarm call comes. Even birds facing the wrong way turn around first before flying away. Also note how the non-parrot species respond to the cockatoo alarm call.

This flock of sulphur crested cockatoos in Glenbrook, New South Wales, Australia posts guards in the trees to alert the birds on the ground in case of danger. Watch the video to see the call of the sentinel in action.

Just a short clip from Cape York showing a few palm cockatoos and the rough road to Cape York.