December

Reno Area Avian Enthusiasts
Cageliner
Next Meeting
Saturday
December 2013
December 7, 2013
LOOK OUT! IT'S THE HOLIDAYS!!!
12:00 NOON
5360 Sun Valley Blvd.
Sun Valley, NV
Birds are welcome
Inside this issue:
Membership application/
Treasurer’s report
2
AFA News
3
Getting to Know the Jardine’s
Parrot
4
Election News: Board of Directors Nominees
5
Election News: Board Member
at Large Nominees
6
Protect your Bird from Potential Holiday Hazards
7
Grow Sprouts for your Bird
8
Winter Stresses Pet Birds
9
Mechanism for Improving Song Learning
in Juvenile Zebra Finches Uncovered
10
Officers and Committee Chairs
11
Meeting Schedule
12
Here we are
already looking
at December
which means
it's RAAVE's
annual holiday
party next meeting! We will
share food, drink, games,
white elephant gifts, lots of
laughs, and a good time!
FOOD…
Bring your appetite and a dish
to share. Folks whose last
names begin with A - N,
please bring a main dish,
salad, or appetizer. The folks
whose last names begin with
O - Z, please bring a dessert.
However, if you have a special dish you love to share
and it's not in the group you
fall under, bring that!!! If you
need a serving utensil for
your dish, please bring
it. The club will provide
drinks, plates, eating utensils,
etc. It will be a joy to eat and
share all our goodies!!!
GAMES…
We will have games with
prizes, raffle, and several fun
Volume 21, issue 12
drawings for more prizes.
Bring your lucky charms!
WHITE ELEPHANT…
Join in the fun and funny
white elephant gift exchange!
Bring a wrapped gift...under
$20 if new. If you are sharing
a true White Elephant gift, we
know those are "priceless"!
We will draw numbers to see
who gets to pick first, etc.
But remember, the person
that picks after you can
"steal" your precious new gift!
Lots of fun will be had by all!
positions, and some running
for the board member at
large. But we need more
members to run for the
board member at large. If
anyone is interested in running, we will put your name
on the ballot, just contact a
current board member.
Write ins are also accepted.
We NEED more board members. Remember this is your
club and your help is what
will keep it going! New board
members get free hugs!
ELECTIONS…
Last, but not least, we will
have elections for the RAAVE
board. You will get the opportunity to
vote for the new board of
your club. We have people running for all the officer
COME ONE, COME
ALL TO THE PARTY!
BRING FRIENDS AND
FAMILY MEMBERS—
EVERYONE IS
WELCOME!!!
Our President Says
I wish to thank all the members for their great interaction with our guest speaker.
We are having great increase
in membership participation.
Would also like to say Welcome, to the new members.
Looking forward to seeing all
of RAAVE, members and
guests at the December PotLuck.
Treasurer’s Report
Cageliner
Treasurer’s reports are published two months in arrears.
RAAVE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
You can sign up at www.raave.com or mail this application to:
RAAVE
P O Box 10393
Reno, NV 89510-0393
Date:
Treasurer's report July 31, 2013
W F checking
Adopt-a-Bird Fund
NV Sales Tax deposit
Beginning balance
$ 6,799.04
1,702.03
100.00
$8,601.07
Income
Total Income
$
$
80.00
80.00
$
137.58
35.37
250.00
422.95
First Name:
.
Last Name:
.
Address:
.
Expense
The Children's Cabinet
RAAVE T-shirts
Newsletter
Facility Use Fee
Total Expenses
.
Ending balance
.
Treasurer's report August 30, 2013
City:
Phone:
State:
_
Zip
Cell Phone:
Email Address:
.
I understand it is my responsibility to keep my email address updated
Indicates your personal selections below:
New Member
Renewal
Paid by Check #
Paid Cash
$20 Individual membership
$25 Family membership
$15 Senior (+60)
$30 Senior (+60) 2 yrs
$15 Junior (-16)
$75 Supporting membership
$125 Corporate membership
$
$8,258.12
W F checking
Adopt-a-Bird
NV Sales Tax deposit
Beginning balance
$ 6,456.09
1,702.03
100.00
$8,258.12
Income
Total income
$
0.00
Expense
Newsletter
Total Expenses
$
$
44.67
44.67
Ending balance
$ 8,213.45
Email Cageliner to me & save postage OR
Add $5 for postage on Cageliner if mailed
Sun Valley Landowners Association
I am interested in joining AFA?
I would like to volunteer time for RAAVE
Are you a Breeder? Please list the birds you breed.
Signature
5360 Sun Valley Blvd
Driving directions
Interstate 580/US 395 North
Exit #750B Clear Acre/Sun Valley Blvd
Continue east on Sun Valley Blvd. for 1.2 miles
.
The information provided above, with the exception of
your address, will be made available to other club members in our annual directory unless you request otherwise.
Check here to make your address available to Board members only.
Page 2
Volume 21, issue 12
JOIN AFA
TODAY!
Apply for
corporate or
individual
membership
here:
www.afabirds.org
Ears for Lear’s
The Lear’s macaw is endangered in its natural habitat in
Brazil. Recent conservation
efforts have resulted in an increase in the wild population,
but now the birds are seeking
out new feeding grounds.
Lear’s macaws have taken to
raiding the corn fields of local
farmers; taking corn that is vital
to these small farmers and
their families. Parrots International, Lymington Foundation,
Amigos de las Aves (USA),
Nutropica, Pennies for Parrots,
and AFA are coming together
to help protect these birds. A
corn subsidy program is underway where sacks of corn are
purchased from other areas of
Brazil and distributed to these
struggling farmers by conservation partners, ECO in Brazil.
This ensures the birds are protected instead of exterminated
for raiding corn crops. The
program is in its eighth successful year.
Page 3
Cageliner
This parrot was
brought back from
the Congo to the
United Kingdom
by Sir William
Jardine's son
Page 4
Getting to Know the Jardine’s Parrot
A generously proportioned
beak gives the Jardine's parrot
an appealing, cartoonish appearance. There are three
types of Jardine's, all nearidentical, small green South
African parrots. The Lesser
Jardine's, also known as the
orange-crowned
parrot, is the
most commonly
available in the
United States. It
sports a
brownish-black
back and wings,
and orange
crown, thighs and
wing edges. The
black-wing Jardine's is a slightly
larger bird with a more reddish
crown. The greater Jardine's,
or Masai Red-headed parrot,
has a smaller spot of red on
the crown and broader green
edging on the back feathers.
The Jardine's (black-wing) originates in southern Cameroon,
northern Angola and northern
Kenya. The greater Jardine's
can be found in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, and
the lesser Jardine's comes from
Liberia and Cameroon.
Small but stockily built with
short square tail. The lesser
Jardine's is the smallest at 10
inches long and up to 230
grams. The slightly larger blackwing Jardine's measures 11
inches and weighs up to 280
grams. The greater Jardine's
also measures 11 inches long
but weighs the
most, up to 310
grams, or threequarters of a
pound.
Among the most
playful and ener-
ParrotChronicles.com
getic, with a penchant for
"playing dead" like the caique.
Generally steady temperament-sometimes described as an
Amazon without the mood
swings--but can be nippy. Accepting of strangers. Pleasant
voice makes it a good bird for
apartment dwellers.
Moderate to
good talking ability. Jardine's may
develop fairly
large vocabulary
but does not
enunciate clearly.
Volume 21, issue 12
President
Larry Palmer is applying for the
position of “President” on the
2014 RAAVE Board.
I have been a member of
RAAVE for Four years. Two
years served as “Board Member At Large”. This year served
as President and with your
support would be pleased to
serve RAAVE, membership as
President again this year.
Thank you, Jim Larry Palmer
Vice President, Rosemarie Mueller, Incumbent
I have been a member of
RAAVE since 1996. I am a
member of AFA and the
appointed RAAVE delegate to
AFA. I have three lovely female
parrots...Senegal, Amazon, and
African Grey. I served on the
board as a member at large for
several years, and I run the
RAAVE store. I have served as
RAAVE Vice-President for the
past year. It has been a very
rewarding year, and I have
learned a lot serving in this
position. With your support I
would enjoy being the VP for
another year. I enjoy working
with the members and being an
active part of RAAVE! Thanks
for your support!
Secretary, Louise Walter, Incumbent
I have been on the Board of
Directors for one year now as
Secretary and Membership
Chairman. I became a member
of RAAVE in June of 2003 - I
was still waiting to choose my
very first little parrot - a baby
Quaker named Sammy who
passed away 3 years later
(unknown why). I now have 2
re-homed parrots, Tica/Blue
mutation Quaker, and
Snoopy/18 year old African
Grey (who I've had for 3 years
now). I just love my little creatures and have enjoyed getting
to know so many "birdy" people through the club. I gained
experience and learned so
much about parrots working at
Parrot Connection early in the
morning. I'm retired now and
have much more time to spend
with my little ones and still
help out at Parrot Connection.
My skills as an Administrative
Assistant throughout my life
has helped me with this position.
Treasurer Sandy Griffiths, Incumbent
I will be celebrating my 14th
year as a RAAVE member next
June. During that time I have
served as Board Member at
Large, President for three
years & Treasurer for several
years.
Since no one has expressed an
interest in running for Treasurer I will volunteer to do it
again next year.
I would appreciate your vote
of confidence and your support
even though I am running un-
opposed.
Feel free to put your name on
the ballot as Treasurer if you
are interested in filling that
position.
Thank you, Sandy Griffiths
RAAVE Board
of Directors
Nominees
Cockatoo--Fact or Fiction?
Which of these Cockatoos are real and which were
invented by the editor?
1 Short Billed
7 Fitzroy's
2 Blue Eyed
8 Goliath
3 Glossy Black
9 Yellow Tailed Black
4 Red Tail Black
10 Timor
5 Roseate
11 Yellow Crested Abbott's
6 White Black Tailed
12 Gang Gang
Page 5
Cageliner
Karen Daly, Incumbent
I have been a RAAVE member
since 2002. That was the year
that my Quaker Parrot, Jewels,
and I were brought together.
We have had birds in our family since 1984, which included
parakeets, a cockatiel, and a
moluccan cockatoo. I currently
have two parrots: A two year
old yellow sided Green Cheek
Conure, Casey, and Jewels, my
11 year old Quaker. I enjoy
attending our RAAVE meetings, as I always come away
with something new. I also
enjoy being around a group of
people that enjoy their birds as
much as I enjoy mine. Thank
you.
Norm Huckle, Incumbent
I’ve been a RAAVE member for
several years and raised and
bred canaries for over ten
years. More recently I have had
Lady Gouldian, Zebra, Cordon
Blue, and Star Finches. I also
have had two parrots- a Blue
Crowned Conure and Blue and
Gold Macaw. I currently work
at the University of Nevada
School of Medicine at the Savitt
Medical Library and am in
charge of Interlibrary Loan and
Document Delivery. I have
lived in the Reno area permanently since 1984.
I have served as a member at
large for the last year and have
Aviculture Fights Back Event
Board
Member at
Large
Nominees
Cockatoo--Fact or Fiction?
Answers
1. Real, but rare as pets 2. Real, the only
cockatoo in eastern Papua New Guinea
3. Real, aka the Casuarina Black Cockatoo
4. Real, aka Banksian or Banks' Black
Cockatoo 5. Real, aka Galah or Rosebreasted Cockatoo 6. Real, there are two
species of white-tailed black cockatoo
7. Real, aka the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
8. Real, aka Palm Cockatoo 9. Real, aka
Yellow-eared Black Cockatoo 10. Real, a
member or the sulfur crested cockatoo
family 11. Real, aka the medium sulfur
crested cockatoo 12. Real, gray in color
and the male has a red head and crest
Page 6
been in charge of getting the
notice out for our monthly
meetings and participating in
our monthly board meetings. I
would appreciate your vote for
board member at large. Thanks
very much!
Protect your Bird from Potential Holiday Hazards
Pet accidents
increase dramatically during the
holidays. If your
pet bird spends
time out of the
cage, have a safe
area in which he can play. Keep
in mind that if your bird accidentally escapes from his cage
during the holidays, there are
more hazards than usual. We
do not mean to spoil your fun
with these cautions, but hope
to keep your holidays safe and
pleasant.
Prevent exposure to electrical
wires, which could cause dangerous burns or electrocution.
Conceal them or use pet-proof
covers. Otherwise, your bird
may mistake them for
a chew toy.
Prevent access to holiday plants. Never allow
your bird unsupervised
access to poinsettia,
holly, mistletoe, or
other plants commonly
used to decorate during the
holidays.
A decorated tree is a magnet
for birds, but unfortunately has
the potential for causing problems. Do not allow your bird
to have access to the tree.
Tinsel, flocking, and artificial
snow can be
dangerous.
The tree
may also be
coated with
potentially
harmful fire
retardant,
fertilizer, or insecticide. Larger
decorating lights can become
hot and cause burns. Some
decorations may have small
pieces that could be broken off
and swallowed, causing
digestive problems.
Many of the foods we
set out during the holidays can be unhealthy
or even toxic to birds,
including chocolate,
sugary cookies, salty
Talking Bird People Talk
"One adult cockatoo
equals a three year
old very hyperactive,
athletic child with
severe A.D.D. who walks
around with pliers, never
grows up and never moves out.
If you're a great owner this
handicapped child will be with
you for the rest of your natural
life and will probably outlast
you," warns Dawn Korpalski.
"Many parrots do more than
imitate our speech. Some parrots love to mimic our various
rude and not so rude body
DrsSmithFoster.com
snacks, and other
favorites left out for
nibbling and, of
course, alcoholic
drinks.
Perfumes, potpourri, adhesives,
glues, cleaning products, and of course, fumes from
heated Teflon®, can all be toxic.
Do not let your bird out of his
cage when you have open
flames in the house. Stoves,
candles, and fireplaces always
pose a serious threat.
Do not tie ribbons on your pet
or his cage, or leave them lying
around. The inks and metals
used in gift wraps and ornaments can be toxic. These
items also pose chewing and
entanglement risks.
Discourage guests from bringing their dog or other pets into
your home. If they do, understand that your pet and theirs
are sure to be anxious. Keep
them separated and do not
relax your vigilance.
Examiner.com
sounds. If we watch them carefully we will realize that even
parrots who don't talk may be
imitating our body language. My
late great African grey, Bongo
Marie, often copied me chewing gum, dancing, and scratching my head," Sally Blanchard.
Volume 21, issue 12
Patronizing our
generous sponsors
lets them know
how much their
support is
appreciated
Page 7
Cageliner
Sprouting is a
great way to
add “live” food
to your bird’s
diet
Grow Sprouts For Your Bird
Many birds enjoy eating
sprouts, and they are an excellent source of nutrition. Most
species, from macaws to
finches, enjoy nibbling on fresh
sprouts. Magazine articles and
even entire books have been
written about sprouting. There
are special supplies available for
sprouting, and entire websites
are devoted to sprouting.
There is some science and a lot
of good sense involved in the
process of sprouting seed,
grain and beans at home. The
first step is to purchase topquality, pesticide-free ingredients. Some seeds that can be
sprouted for your birds are:
-Alfalfa
-Mustard
-Red Clover
-Radish
-Sunflower
-Wheat
-Millet
-Oats
-Barley
-Broccoli
-Sesame
-Buckwheat
-Mung Beans
-Red Lentils
-Peas
-Safflower
Assemble your equipment.
Glass jars, a flat
glass baking
pan or special
sprouting containers can be
used to sprout
the seeds. You will need a fine
mesh strainer or mesh covers
for jars to facilitate draining
and rinsing and to provide air
circulation to the sprouts inside. Sterilize all sprouting
equipment between batches.
Clean the seeds you intend to
sprout. Discard broken or
cracked seeds, and remove
empty seed hulls from the
mixture.
Put the seeds into the strainer,
and rinse them thoroughly
under running water. Soak the
clean seeds overnight in purified water (boiled, then
cooled). The water should
cover the seeds. The recommended ratio is 2 to 3 parts
water to 1 part seed. As you
become more experienced,
you will learn which seeds soak
up more water. Sprouts can
develop mold quickly if not
conscientiously rinsed, drained
and cared for. Proper ambient
temperature and air circulation
are also crucial.
Inhibit mold and bacterial
growth by adding a little grapefruit seed extract to the soaking solution used prior to
sprouting. Grapefruit seed
extract is available under several brand names at health
food stores, on health- and
bird-related websites. For
proper dilution proportions
(usually about 30 drops per
gallon), read package directions
prior to use, or consult your
grain, bean and seed supplier.
Rinse the seeds thoroughly in
the morning. They will have
swollen considerably from
soaking up a lot of the water.
After rinsing, spread the seeds
in the sprouting receptacles
you’ve chosen, and place them
BirdChannel.com
in a dim, well-ventilated area of
your home. Rinse and drain the
seeds several times a day.
Seeds will usually sprout within
a few days. When they have
shed their seeds (two tiny
"leaves" will appear), they are
ready to be moved to brighter
light so that they can turn
green. Greening will not occur
without light, but direct
sunlight is much too strong at
first. The rinsing and draining
process is still important at this
stage because the sprouts will
require more moisture to
grow in the brighter environment.
Once they’ve
begun to turn
green, you may
begin harvesting
them and feeding
them to your birds. Rinse the
sprouts, and drain them until
they are as dry as possible
before offering them to your
pets. With the exception of
soybeans, it is unwise to offer
uncooked beans to your birds.
Discard any remaining bean
parts from sprouts before giving them to your birds.
Fresh sprouts will keep quite
well in your refrigerator. Rinse
and drain them daily, and rinse
well before offering them to
your birds. Do not refrigerate
wet sprouts, as mold and spoilage will result.
Let me Tell you about my Bird
Page 8
Jewels is a normal colored
green Quaker Parrot that is 11
years old. He weighs 110
grams. Quakers can weigh
between 90 and 150 grams. My
husband Tim and I consider
Jewels our little “healer.” We
are very lucky that he bonded
with both of us. He is so loving
and caring. He knows when I’m
upset and he tries everything
to make it better. He is also
like any other Quaker Parrot
Karen Daly, RAAVE Member
and is always trying
something mischievous, very intelligent
and social. Jewels flew
into Nevada from Texas via
commercial airlines. I had ordered a Quaker from Mark at
the Parrot Connection in 2002.
I was very anxious to get him
because earlier in the year I
had lost a beloved Cockatiel
“Sparky” to a stroke at 15
years old.
Continued on page 11
Winter Stresses Pet Birds
Most birds that we find in our
homes come from the equatorial regions of Earth. There's a
large difference in temperature
between the Western United
States and South American rain
forest. Aside from maintaining
your birds optimal physical
health during the winter, climate changes are counterintuitive to your bird and can be
stressful.
Having a humidistat near your
birds cage to give you an idea
of the relative humidity your
birds experiencing. Winter and
the resultant heating process in
your home guarantees a dry
environment. This can be offset
by keeping a humidifier near
the cage (unless you have a
whole house humidifier), making sure your bird gets a bath
of some sort. It can be a spray
mist, or a romp in the sink or
shower. For smaller birds
keeping a birdbath in the cage
with just enough water they
could get their chest wet is
really all that's necessary.
Birds are
creatures of
habit and will
establish a
comfort zone
in their cage
and when the environment
changes they can react poorly.
Make sure the birdcage is not
in the path of any cold drafts. A
bird that is exposed to waves
of cold air can have a severe
detrimental impact on the birds
system. The heat source is
important. In that a person
anatomy is in a large part lung,
heat sources that emit fumes
should be avoided. Kerosene,
space heaters with exposed
heating elements and wood
burning fireplaces all can pose a
risk to your birds by impeding
your birds respiratory system.
Equatorial
animals are
accustomed
to 12 hours
of light and
12 hours of
darkness year
around. In
the northern
hemisphere
sunrise and
sunset are ever-changing from
season to season. This confuses the bird and can once
again causes stress, brooding
and egg laying activities out of
the norm. Thus keeping a full
spectrum light near your birds
cage with the timer that makes
the light go on before sunset
and turn off between eight and
10 at night will do more than
just make your birds feathers
shine.
A diverse nutritional diet is
even more important in the
winter as your bird stresses
with light, temperature and
humidity fluctuations. This can
cause shifts in your birds metabolism. It's important if to be
feeding your bird more than
just seeds in the winter. Make
sure you introduce fresh fruits,
vegetables and or and engineered food in the form of the
pelleted diet.
When photo periods change
in the wild (days and nights
becoming longer and shorter)
birds will shed their feathers.
The process is called molting.
A natural molt replaces broken
feathers and those that have
worn out. Unnatural molting
or as many people refer to it as
feather plucking can be a result
Sweet Potato Balls
1 large sweet potato, microwaved till soft
1/2 cup raisins
1 mashed banana
1 cup mixed fresh or frozen
mixed vegetables
1 cup diced apples
1 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal,
corn flakes or granola cereal
WindyCityParrot.com
of stress by your bird not understanding its personal climate
shifts. Feather plucking is entirely different subject, but can
be caused not only by stress
but by parasites (mites), bacterial infections, the seeking of
attention and affection and in
many cases just plain boredom.
In closing, be
vigilant seeking
visible signs of
illness. Things
to look for are
changes in your
birds poop.
Fluffed out
feathers for prolonged periods
of time can indicate a problem
with their lungs and may conceal weight loss. If you see a
discharge, inflammation or
redness coming from the cere
(the bird’s nose - the strip with
the nostrils above the beak), or
the eyes. The eyes may turn
cloudy. These both could be an
indication of the serious illness.
Last but certainly not least
because we know birds have a
very high metabolism they
should be eating like clockwork. Birds begin to lose
weight when they stop eating.
This can be caused by stress or
be assigned of some sort of
compromised intestine. By
keeping your bird cage cleaned
daily, you'll
more easily
monitor
food intake
in changes
in their
poop.
Volume 21, issue 12
Be aware of safe
temperature
ranges for your
bird’s
environment
BirdsnWays.com
Mix all
together
and add
enough
fruit or vegetable juice to make
it form small balls. Freeze balls
individually. Defrost and serve.
Page 9
Cageliner
RAAVE’s annual
election of officers
will be at the
December 7
meeting, be there
Mechanism for Improving Song Learning in Juvenile Zebra Finches Uncovered
Most songbirds learn
their songs from an
adult model, mostly
from the father. However, there are relatively large differences
in the accuracy how these
songs are copied. Researchers
from the Max Planck Institute
for Ornithology in Seewiesen
now found in juvenile zebra
finches a possible mechanism
that is responsible for the differences in the intensity of
song learning. They provided
the nerve growth factor
“BDNF” to the song control
system in the brain. With this
treatment the learning ability in
juvenile males could be enhanced in such a way that they
were able to copy the songs of
the father as good as it had
been observed in the best
learners in a zebra finch nest.
The improvement of cognitive
abilities plays an important role
in the therapy of neurological
and psychiatric diseases. In this
context research focuses more
and more on the protein
BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). BDNF is mainly
responsible for the preserva-
RAAVE Election Procedures
Article VIII: Elections
to cast your vote
Page 10
tion, growth and differentiation
of nerve cells. Moreover, from
experiments in mice it is
known that BDNF enhances
the ability to solve complex
cognitive tasks.
In a learning experiment with
zebra finches, researchers from
the Max Planck Institute for
Ornithology in Seewiesen in
collaboration with scientists
from the Free University of
Amsterdam could now show
for the first time in songbirds
that BDNF acts as cognitive
enhancer. They investigated
zebra finch brother pairs that
grew up with their genetic
parents. In this setup juvenile
birds will readily learn the
songs from their fathers. However there are differences in
the intensity of song learning
among siblings of the same age.
The worst learners have only a
similarity of 20% with their
fathers’ songs, whereas the
best learners copy almost the
entire songs of their fathers.
By now knowing the
normal distribution
of the learned songs
within a zebra finch
nest, as a next step
Board of Directors
Shall be elected by the
general membership annually at the December meeting,
to be installed immediately
following election at the meeting. The ballot will list all nine
positions; President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and
five Board members at large.
Officers
If the President is no longer
able to perform duties the Vice
President will become President. Vice President position
will be filled in accordance with
article IV section 6.
Term Limits
Board members shall serve no
more than three consecutive
terms in the same office, unless
approved by the Board.
Election Procedure
No later than October of each
year, the President shall appoint one of the Board members to serve as chairperson of
the nominating committee for
election of officers and Board
members to serve as chairperson of the nominating committee for election of officers and
Board members for the ensuing
year. The President shall declare all nominations open at
the October meeting. The
chairperson shall have a ballot
prepared for distribution at the
December meeting. This ballot
shall list the names of the
nominating committee presented.
Definition of “family membership” regarding voting “family
membership” entitles the family
to two votes providing two
family members are present at
the election.
Ballots are returned to the
ScienceDaily.com
the researchers were able to
investigate the impact of BDNF
on song learning. In one of the
two brothers they enhanced
the expression of BDNF in the
song control system in the
brain while the other brother
did not get such a treatment.
By analyzing the songs the researchers found that those
sons that received more BDNF
had a higher similarity with the
song of their fathers compared
to normally reared juveniles.
Remarkably, the learning efficiency in the BDNF-treated
birds was as high as it has been
previously observed in the best
learners within the nest. This
was due to an earlier onset of
syllable copying in BDNFtreated birds and these birds
also copied more and sang
fewer improvised syllables.
Therefore it is likely that the
presence of BDNF in the song
control system could correct
possible inaccuracies in the
song learning process, state the
scientists around
Manfred Gahr, who is
the senior author of
the study.
RAAVE Bylaws
chairperson during the December meeting, at which time
they will be tallied and results
will be presented to the general membership.
Installation and presentation of
Board members and new officers shall take place immediately following election at the
December meeting.
After the general election
sometime between the December and January general
meeting a special meeting will
be held with both incoming and
outgoing Board Members present to ease the transition
between the old and new
board and to exchange information.
Upon termination of membership on the Board, all persons
shall return club property to
the Secretary.
Let me Tell You about My Bird-Jewels
My heart
was broken.
That year, I
was in
Reno for
the Rib
Cook-off
and stopped by to talk to Mark
to see if he had any news on
the Quakers. He handed me
Jewels and let me hold him for
30 minutes. I handed him back
reluctantly. He asked do you
want that one or do you want
to choose another. I knew this
was fate and that this was the
bird. Kissing is his favorite pastime. He will maneuver himself
in all sorts of directions to try
and get a bite of a piece of
paper. He also has this little
“quirk” in which he lifts his
foot and looks like he is chewing on his nail. He isn’t really
chewing on his toenail but he
acts like he is. Jewels has had a
few medical issues throughout
his life but he has never had
anything close to Fatty Liver
Disease that is associated with
Quakers. It is true that Quakers are excellent talkers and
Jewels definitely has proven
that he excels in this area.
However, he doesn’t speak
loudly. He whispers. You can
see his beak moving and if you
are up close to him you can
hear him say the words. He has
never spoken loudly since I’ve
owned him. He knows tricks
and learned them very easily.
He can shake, give me five, go
up side down, and roll over.
Board of Directors
President
James Palmer
(775) 384-6979
[email protected]
Vice President
Rose Mueller
(775) 721-0119
[email protected]
Secretary
Louise Walter
(775) 787-3171
[email protected]
Treasurer
Sandy Griffiths
(775) 848-6343
[email protected]
Continued from page 8
His favorite foods are sprouted
vegetable mix, pancakes and
spaghetti. Our first Thanksgiving with him he ate turkey,
mashed potatoes and peas.
Afterward, he lay upside down
in my hand and went ni-night. It
was so cute. He is a very special bird and I am very fortunate to have him in my life. I
will do anything to make sure
he is healthy and happy. He is
not just a pet but a member of
the family. There are states in
which Quakers are not legal.
Nevada is not one of them.
However, in our neighboring
state of California, Quakers are
illegal. So before you go out
and adopt of purchase these
amazing creatures, check the
legality.
Board Members at Large
Patricia Palmer
(775) 384-6979
[email protected]
Karen Daly
(775) 882-6273
[email protected]
Norm Huckle
(775) 747-7589
[email protected]
AFA Club Delegates
Rose Mueller
(775) 721-0119
[email protected]
Hospitality
Patricia Palmer
(775) 384-6979
[email protected]
Membership
Louise Walter
(775) 787-3171
[email protected]
BeeGee Bunch
[email protected]
Educational Visitations,
School Visits & Children's
Program
Earlene Douglas
(775)772-1811
[email protected]
RAAVE Store
Rose Mueller
(775) 721-0119
[email protected]
Cageliner Editor
Jeanne Cassinat
(775) 423-6974
[email protected]
RAAVE board of
directors meetings are
at 11 AM prior to the
general membership
meeting and are open
to all members in
good standing
Committee Chairs
Activity Donations
Beverly Muncy
(209)481-6456
[email protected]
Volume 21, issue 12
Legislative Committee
Karen Daly
(775) 882-6273
[email protected]
Page 11
The newsletter for the Reno Area Avian Enthusiasts
Volume 21 Issue 12 December 2013
Reno Area Avian
Enthusiasts
P.O. Box 10393
Reno, NV 89510-0393
Reno’s only
Exotic Bird
Club
W E’ RE
Your membership expiration date is:
ON
THE WEB
R AAVE . COM
General Meetings 2013
December 7
RAAVE’s Annual Holiday Party
12 o’clock noon
Potluck dinner, white elephant
gift exchange, games and prizes