Aviculture is the practice of keeping and

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

birds, especially of wild birds in captivity.

Types

There are various reasons that people get involved in aviculture. Some people breed birds to preserve a species. Some people breed parrots as companion birds, and some people breed birds to make a

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory intere ...

Aviculture

Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

'') in captivity using controlled conditions, normally within the confines of an aviary, for hobby, business, research and conservation purposes. Some reasons for aviculture are: breeding birds to preserve the species because many avian species are at risk due to habitat destruction and natural disaster. Aviculture encourages conservation, provides education about avian species, provides companion birds for the public, and includes research on avian behaviour.

Publications and avicultural societies

Publications on aviculture include books on species which include pets, books on breeding and introductory books for parrots and

softbill The term softbill is non-scientific term that has been used in aviculture for numerous years to describe a diverse range of bird species based upon their dietary habits. It has no fixed taxonomic meaning and can be misleading, as many species that ...

s. There are also periodicals, both generalized and specific to types of birds, with articles on breeding, care, companionship, choosing a bird, and health effects. Supply companies publish catalogs of products for bird keepers. There are avicultural societies throughout the world, but generally in Europe, Australia and the United States, where people tend to be more prosperous, having more leisure time to invest. In the UK, the Avicultural Society was formed in 1894 and the Foreign Bird League in 1932. In 1973 Aviornis was created, a bird-breeding association present in several European countries. The oldest avicultural society in the United States is the Avicultural Society of America, founded in 1927. The ASA produces a bi-monthly magazine, ''ASA Avicultural Bulletin''. The ASA is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization that focuses on breeding, conservation, restoration and education. The first avicultural society in Australia was The Avicultural Society of South Australia, founded in 1928. It is now promoted with the name Bird Keeping in Australia. The two major national avicultural societies in the United States are the American Federation of Aviculture and the Avicultural Society of America, founded in 1927. The Budgerigar Society was formed in 1925. The Avicultural Society of South Australia (founded in 1928) produces a monthly full-colour magazine, ''Bird Keeping in Australia''.

Sub-branches

Canariculture

From the common name

canary Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera ''Serinus'' and ''Crithagra'' i ...

(associated with the ''Serinus canaria''), a song bird is native to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, and the Azores. This bird has been kept as a cagebird in Europe from the 1470s to the present, now enjoying an international following. The terms ''canariculture'' and ''canaricultura'' have been used in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian respectively, to describe the keeping and breeding of canaries for some time. English speaking canary breeders are beginning to use the term more commonly.

Psittaculture

The word comes from the psittacinae (Latin ''psittacinus'', for parrot, from Greek ''psittakos''). Psittaculture is a word that has been used in the aviculture community since the early 1970s, to denote people who specialize in keeping, breeding and conserving psittacines species, also on preserving psittacines habitat and public awareness campaigns to save wild parrots. It is one branch of the science of aviculture. A "psittaculturist" (parrot breeder) is a person who specializes in keeping, breeding and conserving psittacines species, also on preserving psittacines habitat and public awareness campaigns of the threats to the ongoing existence of parrots worldwide. As with aviculture in the sub-branch of psittaculture, there are four levels of psittaculture: #The specialist pet owner whom keep only parrots as pets, will have dozens of pet parrots. #The specialist backyard hobbyist who keeps a modest collection of only parrots, breeds them on a very small scale. #The specialist hobby farm breeder whose collection has grown so large, needs to shift out to rural farms. The farm breeder is still considered a hobbyist. #The specialist professional parrot farmer derives his/her main income from the breeding, by selling only parrots.

References

External links

Avicultural Society of AustraliaAmerican Federation of Aviculture

Aviculture Association of India
{{Authority control Bird conservation