The “Articles” section of this website contains species overviews, articles about breeding, business guidelines and other information which may be helpful to the breeder, their clients, and others.
In addition, OPA presents essays and editorial comments which may reflect the particular view of the writer, but which are in line with OPA’s goals and purpose.
© Jean Pattison — The African Queen The Senegal, Poicephalus senegalus, belongs to a small group of parrots from Africa known as Poicephalus. Phonetically it is pronounced poy-seff-ah-luss, which means variably colored head. Prior to the enactment of the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, thousands of Senegal parrots were imported into the U.S. for […]
© Howard Voren One of the first things that children learn about birds and animals is that they all fall into one of two categories: Some are considered domesticated, and some are wild. In the distant past, it was quite simple to determine in which category they belonged. Those that were normally kept on farms […]
© Jean Pattison — The African Queen There is a size and color for just about everyone when considering Poicephalus parrots as pets. On the low end there is 80 grams for a pretty Meyers’s hen, with trimmings of blue, turquoise or green accented with yellow. On the high side there is the un-cape parrot […]
© Howard Voren Those of us who realize that bird ownership is a learning experience will often find that our desires change or expand as our experience and knowledge increases. The most common experience is to start off with one of the smaller birds and “graduate” to something either a bit larger or more exotic […]
© Howard Voren The following lecture was presented at the American Federation of Aviculture 30th Anniversary Convention, August, 2004, in San Francisco. —Howard Voren Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism I like the sound so much that I could stand here and say it over and over for the entire 45 minutes. For those that are unsure of […]
© Ruth Rogers Whoever coined the saying “good things come in small packages” probably had a parrotlet as a pet. In spite of their diminutive size (around 4 inches long), these little characters have all the personality and character of their larger cousins, the Amazons. Hailing from South America, the Forpus family contains seven species […]
© Jean Pattison — The African Queen At one of the conferences where I had lectured, as usual, after hours while gathered in the lobby, the topic came up about environment vs. genetics. On the plane trip home I had plenty of time to ponder some of the questions that were asked. One of the […]
© Anne-Marie Harter Neophemas are some of the World’s most perfect birds. They are the size of a budgerigar, with pleasant-sounding voices and few vices. They come in a rainbow of brilliant colors, and their versatility in the wild makes them adaptable aviary birds. Also known as Australian Grass Parakeets, they include the popular Bourke […]
© Jean Pattison — The African Queen Since living in Florida and my birds being outside, a molt in my birds goes virtually unnoticed. When asked to write about the “molt,” I had to stop and think and true to form, I looked up references. Not a good idea, there was just too much information. […]
© June DiCiocco Text editing Howard Voren Layout Linda Seger From South and Central America, this six inch bird is a joy to own. Most Linnies, as we call them, are friendly, easy keepers in both breeding situations and as pets. You could not ask for a nicer bird. They come in Green, which is […]