How To Keep Birds As Pets

Further Reading: Pets

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Neutering ... In the United States, most humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups urge pet owners to have their pets spayed or neutered to prevent the births of unwanted litters, contributing to the overpopulation of unwanted animals in the rescue system... Spaying is performed commonly on household pets (such as cats and dogs), as a method of birth control...

Castration ... Castration was frequently used for religious or social reasons in certain cultures in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and East Asia. After battles in some cases, winners castrated their captives or the corpses of the defeated to symbolize their victory and "seize" their power...

Wolfdog ... In 1998, the USDA estimated an approximate population of 300,000 wolfdogs in the United States (the highest of any country world-wide), with some other sources giving a population possibly as high as 500,000. In first generation hybrids, gray wolves are most often crossed with wolf-like dogs (such as German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, and Alaskan Malamutes) for an appearance most appealing to owners desiring to own an exotic pet...

Domestication Of The Horse ... The date of the domestication of the horse depends to some degree upon the definition of "domestication." Some zoologists define "domestication" as human control over breeding, which can be detected in ancient skeletal samples by changes in the size and variability of ancient horse populations. Other researchers look at broader evidence, including skeletal and dental evidence of working activity; weapons, art, and spiritual artifacts; and lifestyle patterns of human cultures...

Donkey ... A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny or jennet; a young donkey is a foal. Jack donkeys are often used to produce mules...

Dog Meat ... In response to criticisms, proponents of dog meat have argued that distinctions between livestock and pets is subjective, and that there is no difference with eating the meat of different animals, while countering that those critical of dog meat consumption are guilty of cultural supremacy, if not racism...

Turtle ... The order Testudines includes both extant (living) and extinct species. The earliest known turtles date from 215 million years ago, making turtles one of the oldest reptile groups and a more ancient group than lizards, snakes and crocodiles...

Cat ... Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As crepuscular predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey...

Hypoallergenic Dog Breed ... If a person is allergic, they may be best able to tolerate a specific dog, possibly of one of the hypoallergenic breeds. Dr...

Fishkeeping ... Many fishkeepers create freshwater aquascapes where the focus is on aquatic plants as well as fish. These aquaria include "Dutch Aquaria", named for European aquarists who designed them...

Cat Senses ... Many cats have a visual field of view estimated at 200°, versus 180° in humans, with a binocular field (overlap in the images from each eye) narrower than that of humans. As with most predators, their eyes face forward, affording depth perception at the expense of field of view...

Chicken ... The traditional poultry farming view of the domestication of the chicken is stated in Encyclopædia Britannica (2007): "Humans first domesticated chickens of Indian origin for the purpose of cockfighting in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Very little formal attention was given to egg or meat production...

Cultural Depictions Of Cats ... Black cats are generally held to be unlucky in the United States and Europe, and to portend good luck in the United Kingdom. In the latter country, a black cat entering a house or ship is a good omen, and a sailor's wife should have a black cat for her husband's safety on the sea...

Miniature Horse ... Miniature horses are friendly and interact well with people. For this reason they are often kept as family pets, though they still retain natural horse behavior, including a natural fight or flight instinct, and must be treated like an equine, even if they primarily serve as a companion animal...

Animal Welfare ... Systematic concern for animal welfare can be based on awareness that non-human animals are sentient and that consideration should be given to their well-being, especially when they are used by humans. These concerns can include how animals are killed for food, how they are used for scientific research, how they are kept as pets, and how human activities affect the survival of endangered species...

Gray Wolf ... Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others, or may be subject to population control or extermination as threats to livestock, people, and pets...

Dog Health ... Infectious diseases that affect dogs are important not only from a veterinary standpoint, but also because of the risk to public health; an example of this is rabies. Genetic disorders also affect dogs, often due to selective breeding to produce individual dog breeds...

Hamster ... Hamsters are crepuscular animals which burrow underground in the daylight to avoid being caught by predators. Their diet includes a variety of foods, including dried food, berries, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables...

Dog ... The present lineage of dogs was domesticated from gray wolves about 15,000 years ago. Remains of domesticated dogs have been found in Siberia and Belgium from about 33,000 years ago...

Wolf Attacks On Humans ... Compared to other carnivorous mammals known to attack humans in general, the frequency with which wolves have been recorded to kill or prey on people is much lower, indicating that though potentially dangerous, wolves are among the least threatening for their size and predatory potential. Causes and differing types of attack Attacks due to provocation have occurred, usually involving shepherds defending their flocks, though none recorded fatalities...

Pet ... In many locations, animals that are considered pets by their owners but are legally classified as livestock, including horses, pigs, camelids, and fowl may be banned from being kept within the city limits or restricted to property of a certain larger size... The cities of Berkeley, California, and Boulder, Colorado, have passed laws stating that people who have pets do not "own" them; rather, they are the pet's "guardian."...

Veterinary Physician ... In many countries, the local nomenclature for a vet is a regulated and protected term, meaning that members of the public without the prerequisite qualifications and/or registration are not able to use the title. In many cases, the activities that may be undertaken by a veterinarian (such as animal treatment or surgery) are restricted only to those professionals who are registered as vet...

Bird ... Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. All living species of birds have wings—the now extinct flightless moa of New Zealand were the only exception...

Further Reading: Birds

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Feathered Dinosaur ... In 1964, John Ostrom described Deinonychus antirrhopus, a theropod whose skeletal resemblance to birds seemed unmistakable...

Fish ... Because the term "fish" is defined negatively, and excludes the tetrapods (i.e., the amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) which descend from within the same ancestry, it is paraphyletic, and is not considered a proper grouping in systematic biology...

Bird Migration ... Also, the longer days of the northern summer provide extended time for breeding birds to feed their young... This helps diurnal birds to produce larger clutches than related non-migratory species that remain in the tropics... As the days shorten in autumn, the birds return to warmer regions where the available food supply varies little with the season...

Bird Anatomy ... These sacs do not play a direct role in gas exchange, but act like bellows to move air through the respiratory system, allowing the lungs to maintain a fixed volume with fresh air constantly flowing through them. Three distinct sets of organs perform respiration—the anterior air sacs (interclavicular, cervicals, and anterior thoracics), the lungs, and the posterior air sacs (posterior thoracics and abdominals)...

Beak ... Etymology Although the word 'beak' was, in the past, generally restricted to the sharpened bills of birds of prey, in modern ornithology, the terms 'beak' and 'bill' are generally considered to be synonymous... All other extant birds have a narrow forked vomer that does not connect with other bones and is then termed as neognathous... The muscles that depress the lower mandible are usually weak except in a few birds such as the starlings and the extinct Huia which have well developed digastric muscles that aid in foraging by prying or gaping actions...

Brood Parasite ... Interspecific brood-parasites include the Old World cuckoos in Eurasia and Australia, cowbirds and Black-headed Ducks in the Americas, and indigobirds, whydahs, and the honeyguides in Africa. Seven independent origins of obligate interspecific brood parasitism in birds have been proposed...

Mercury In Fish ... This process explains why predatory fish such as swordfish and sharks or birds like osprey and eagles have higher concentrations of mercury in their tissue than could be accounted for by direct exposure alone...

Bird Vision ... These give birds the ability to perceive not only the visible range but also the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, and other adaptations allow for the detection of polarised light or magnetic fields... Birds have proportionally more light receptors in the retina than mammals, and more nerve connections between the photoreceptors and the brain... Birds of prey have a very high density of receptors and other adaptations that maximise visual acuity...

Bird Conservation ... See Late Quaternary prehistoric birds for birds which disappeared in prehistoric and early historic times, usually due to human activity (i.e., starting with the Upper Paleolithic Revolution)... Threats to birds Habitat loss The most critical threat facing threatened birds is the destruction and fragmentation of habitat...

Feather ... Hatchling birds of some species have a special kind of natal down (neossoptiles) and these are pushed out when the normal feathers (teleoptiles) emerge... It is noted that the pattern of orientation of β-keratin fibers in the feathers of flying birds differs from that in flightless birds... Color patterns serve as camouflage against predators for birds in their habitats, and by predators looking for a meal...

Raptor Conservation ... Placement of poles in prime habitat or along migration routes has caused higher mortality, and rates increase late in the summer during fledging when young, inexperienced birds proliferate... Bathing behavior at times of rain or snow makes birds more conductive to electricity, and orientation of pole cross arms with regard to prevailing winds can increase risk of contact with electrical components depending on ease of take off and landing...

Evolution Of Birds ... Origins Main article: Origin of birds See also: Avicephala There is significant evidence that birds emerged within theropod dinosaurs, specifically, that birds are members of Maniraptora, a group of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and oviraptorids, among others... As more non-avian theropods that are closely related to birds are discovered, the formerly clear distinction between non-birds and birds becomes less so...

Debeaking ... Beak-trimming is most common in egg-laying strains of chickens. In some countries such as the United States, turkeys are routinely beak-trimmed, however, in the UK, only 10% of turkeys are beak-trimmed...

Vision In Fishes ... Lenses are normally spherical but can be slightly elliptical in some species. Compared to terrestrial vertebrates, fish lenses are generally more dense and spherical...

Biomagnification ... Biological magnification often refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. The substances become concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain...

Origin Of Avian Flight ... We propose that birds evolved from predators that specialized in ambush from elevated sites, using their raptorial hindlimbs in a leaping attack...

Flight Feather ... Corresponding remiges on individual birds are symmetrical between the two wings, matching to a large extent in size and shape (except in the case of mutation or damage), though not necessarily in pattern... The flexibility of the remiges on the wingtips of large soaring birds also allows for the spreading of those feathers, which helps to reduce the creation of wingtip vortices, thereby reducing drag... The barbules on these feathers, friction barbules, are specialized with large lobular barbicels that help grip and prevent slippage of overlying feathers and are present in most of the flying birds...

Origin Of Birds ... A close relationship between birds and dinosaurs was first proposed in the nineteenth century after the discovery of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx in Germany... Fossil evidence also demonstrates that birds and dinosaurs shared features such as hollow, pneumatized bones, gastroliths in the digestive system, nest-building and brooding behaviors... A second molecular study robustly supported the relationship of birds to dinosaurs, though it did not place birds within Theropoda, as expected...

Wolves In Ireland ... The Morrígan was said to take on the form of a red-furred wolf, particularly in her battle with the hero Cú Chulainn. Mac Cecht killed a wolf feeding on a still living woman on a battlefield...

The Origin Of Birds (book) ... Based essentially on a process of elimination, Heilmann arrives at the conclusion that birds must be descended from thecodonts, a group of archosaurs which lived during the Permian and Triassic periods... Although this conclusion was later shown to be inaccurate, The Origin of Birds was regarded as a masterful piece of scholarship at the time and set the international agenda for research in bird evolution for nearly half a century, and much of its research remains of interest... They had been discovered just a few decades after the discovery of the dinosaurs, and as some dinosaurs appeared somewhat birdlike, Archaeopteryx was regarded as a possible "missing link" between reptiles and birds by many paleontologists at the time...