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.

Aviculture

Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (

class Class, Classes, 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 d ...

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 lightweight ...

'') in captivity in controlled conditions, normally within the confines of a cage or an aviary. Some reasons for aviculture are: breeding birds as a hobby, a business like a zoo, or sometimes for research and conservation purposes to preserve and protect some endangered avian species that are at risk due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, the illegal

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

, diseases, and natural disasters. Aviculture encourages conservation, provides education about avian species, provides companion birds for the public, and includes research on avian behaviour. Popular birds people like to keep and breed include budgerigars,

cockatiel The cockatiel (; ''Nymphicus hollandicus''), also known as the weero/weiro or quarrion, is a medium-sized parrot that is a member of its own branch of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia. They are prized as exotic household pets and compa ...

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

es,

macaw Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...

s, domestic canaries,

columbidae Columbidae is a bird Family (biology), family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the Order (biology), order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in ...

(pigeons and doves),

loriini Loriini is a tribe (biology), tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic g ...

(lories and lorikeets),

cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea ( true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up t ...

conure Conures are a diverse, loosely defined group of small to medium-sized parrots. They belong to several genus, genera within a long-tailed group of the New World parrot subfamily Arinae. Most conures belong to the tribe Arini (tribe), Arini, though ...

s, and African grey parrots.

Avicultural societies

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 (business), 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 ...

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''.

References

{{Authority control Bird conservation

Aviculture

Avicultural societies

See also

References