One of the most breathtaking finches to keep in an aviary in Australia is the exquisite Purple Grenadier Finch (Uraeginthus ianthinogaster). Native to Africa, this stunning bird was last officially imported into Australia in the mid-1940s. While it has specific care requirements, adapting your aviary to meet its needs will be well worth the effort. A male Purple Grenadier basking in the sunlight is a truly spectacular sight, making this finch a rewarding choice for any dedicated bird enthusiast.

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A special treat for our loyal BirdCast listeners - a special episode for your enjoyment and education!
For decades Jurong Bird Park in Singapore held the mantle of the biggest and most impressive bird collection available for viewing and exhibition to the general public. Jurong Bird Park had the biggest man made waterfall located inside a massive walk in avairy - 30 m tall - and the aviary was lush and planted out in all types of plants and flowers.  The bird collection was astounding and at the time the park demonstrated some of the most innovative bird housing arrangements.
But as time moves on and technology improves Jurong's environment became outdated and so has been re-invented and re-invigorated into Bird Paradise!
Bird Paradise is located within the Mandai Wildlife Reserve of Singapore. It sits alongside the Singapore Zoo.
Bird Paradise has utilised the most up to date aviary construction methods and materials and hosts a multitude of absolutely enormous walk-in-avairy collections. Bird Paradise covers around 17 hectares (42 acres) offering double the walk-in-avairy spaces of Jurong Bird Park. 
A must see is the Hong Leong Foundation Crimson Wetlands - which houses free flying macaws of all types AND the re-created Jurong Falls - although still spectacular and offering a much appreciated cooling mist in the very humid weather of Singapore - the new waterfall is 20m tall - never the less it is still spectacular!
If you are visiting Singapore and have even a slight appreciation for birds, do make the effort to go and visit Bird Paradise.
If you are like Birdman Dad and the BirdCast team Bird Paradise is sure to become your bird pilgrimage site.
https://www.mandai.com/en/bird-paradise.html

We have placed photos and videos on instagram, Facebook and have also created a You Tube video of the visit.
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For the final episode for 2022 Birdman Dad is having a chat about what he suggests when you receive new birds into his aviaries and what he does regarding quarantine.

We wish all our listeners a very safe and merry festive season and a very Happy 2023.

Hope to have you all back listening again in 2023.

If you miss our chats be sure to go back and listen again to the many other episodes.

Best wishes.

The BirdCast team

You may (or may not) be aware but there are no glossie black cockatoo homelands in Western Australia AND there are no glossies on public display either.
So what do West Aussies do when they want to see a glossie??  Well a group of youth we found out in a suburb of Perth have created an art exhibition all about them!  It's quite amazing, and humans from all over Australia have chipped in to make this a fabulous experience - from donating their pet glossies feathers so West Australians can feel and touch a glossy feather, to permitting people to use their photos of glossies to model their art upon, to providing virtual messages of support.
It's a fabulous, small exhibition out at Ellenbrook Arts at 34 Main Street ELLENBROOK.  Running until the 10th December 2022.  Be sure to check the opening hours before you head out there!

Building aviairies or remodelling existing aviaries can be as much as a hobby as the birds that end up in them.  Birdman dad has been building and remodelling aviaries either for himself or helping out other bird keepers with their aviaries for as long as he can remember.  This time he is building some holding aviaries for young birds - both parrots and finches.

Also this episode the Aviculture Society of South Australia has kindly donated one of their books - "Is it Safe?  The birdkeepers' pictorial guide to safe and poisonous plants".  If you are interested in winning this booklet please get onto our socials - insta, facebook, messenger or reddit and leave us a comment.  We will select a random winner and the book will be yours.  We only have one to giveaway and we will select the winner next fortnight - so be sure to let us know if you are interested!

It's spring and your avairy kept birds need to have a varied diet to keep healthy and support their babies.  Listen in for some hints and tips on products that can be helpful in keeping your birds in top health.

Some aviary birds need extra attention when it comes to new introductions - especially several species of finches. Today Birdman Dad is going to share with you, amongst some other ideas, how you can create a finch introduction space.

BirdCast also has on offer to one listener the South Australian Aviculture Society's booklet -
"Is it Safe? The birdkeepers pictorial guide to safe and poisionous plants" - obviously being published in South Australia this is about the plants in Australia - but we are quite happy to mail it Overseas if that's what the lucky, randon listener wants!  To enter - make a comment or send a message on our Instagram, Facebook or Reddit pages:

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There are a few essentials you need to have when you have pet birds, one of those is a confinement/hospital/hot box - a small, warm space a pet bird can go when they are unwell.
Today's episode discusses these boxes and some suggestions on what to do when a sick bird has left the box.  Hope it helps someone (and their pet bird) out.

Many years ago an old farmer shared with me his realities of having livestock; he reassured me that even though it was saddening (and at times devastating emotionally and to lineage genetics) that if you are involved with living things, then innately you will be involved with deceased living things. I regularly remember his words as I move in and around aviculture.

Today Birdman Dad shares some suggestions about how to avoid aviary tragedy as well as some suggestions on how to manage birds that just aren't seeming content with their environment.  Hopefully there will be some information in today's episode to help someone with issues in their own aviaries!

The scarlet chested parrot would have to be one of the most colourful small parrots of Australia; a little parrot ,hat like the budgie , has found itself living in the most unusual places throughout the world.  What was once a common bird seen in and around the Swan Valley of Western Australia is now only seen naturally in the more remote, desert areas on the very fringes of human occupation.  So cherished were the scarlet chested parrots ,they were shipped all over the globe, long before native animal exports were halted.  This amazing little bird has been bred throughout the aviaries of Europe and the Americas to produce the most astounding natural colours that would never be imagined when a novice looks at a normal scarlet chested parrot.
These unassuming, but stunningly beautiful parrots have made their way into the hearts and homes of many a bird lover.
Birdman Dad chats about his love of the normal scarlet chested parrot and caring for them in these cooler months moving into breeding season and the many colours he used to keep in years prior.
Though primarily about scarlet chested parrots Birdman Dad just shares some recent activity with his finches and offers up some suggestions on what you could be doing in your aviaries at this time of year.