Table Of ContentHand-Rearing Birds
Hand-Rearing Birds
Second Edition
Edited by
Rebecca S. Duerr
International Bird Rescue
San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA, USA
Laurie J. Gage
Zoo and Wildlife Veterinary Consultant
Napa, CA, USA
This edition first published 2020
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Edition History
John Wiley & Sons (1e, 2007)
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Duerr, Rebecca S., editor. | Gage, Laurie J., editor.
Title: Hand-rearing birds / edited by Rebecca S. Duerr, Laurie J. Gage.
Description: Second edition. | Hoboken : Wiley-Blackwell, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019039396 (print) | LCCN 2019039397 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119167754 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781119167778 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119167785 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Cage birds. | Captive wild birds.
Classification: LCC SF461 .G33 2020 (print) | LCC SF461 (ebook) | DDC 636.6/8–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039396
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019039397
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Images: Bird’s egg Dale A Smith, Four small birds Veronica
Bowers, Native Songbird Care & Conservation, Different birds image
Photo credit – International Bird Rescue, Sleeping birds Photo credit –
Guthrum Purdin
Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by SPi Global, Pondicherry, India
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
v
Contents
Notes on Contributors ix
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxi
1 Baby Bird Basics 1
Rebecca S. Duerr
2 Identification and Aging 19
Linda M. Tuttle-Adams
3 Incubation 53
Susie Kasielke
4 Ratites 75
Dale A. Smith
5 Ducks, Geese, and Swans 89
Marjorie Cahak Gibson
6 Sea Ducks 107
Michele Goodman
7 Domestic Poultry 119
Nora Pihkala and Yuko Sato
8 Wild Turkeys, Quail, Grouse, and Pheasants 137
Marjorie Cahak Gibson
9 Loons 151
Renée Schott and Jesse Menne
10 Grebes 167
Jessika Madison-Kennedy and Rebecca S. Duerr
vi Contents
11 Flamingos 183
Laurie Conrad and Susie Kasielke
12 Penguins 201
Linda Henry
13 African Penguins 219
Nicky Stander and Romy Klusener
14 Shearwaters and Petrels 237
Tracy Anderson
15 Cormorants 251
Michelle Bellizzi, Isabel Luevano, and Jennifer Linander
16 Brown Pelicans 265
Yaritza Acosta
17 Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns 273
Megan Shaw Prelinger, Jennifer Linander, and Rebecca S. Duerr
18 Ibis 289
Laurie Conrad
19 Vultures 307
Susie Kasielke
20 Diurnal Raptors 329
Louise Shimmel
21 Eagles 345
Marjorie Cahak Gibson
22 Coots, Gallinules, and Rails 363
Marie Travers and Isabel Luevano
23 Cranes 377
Marjorie Cahak Gibson
24 Shorebirds 393
Libby Osnes Erie and Aimee Greenebaum
25 Alcids 407
David A. Oehler
26 Gulls and Terns 425
Meryl Faulkner
Contents vii
27 Pigeons and Doves 437
Nancy Eilertsen and Guthrum Purdin
28 Turacos 457
Kateri J. Davis
29 Yellow-billed Cuckoos 467
Maureen Eiger
30 Roadrunners 477
Elizabeth Penn (Penny) Elliston
31 Owls 485
Lisa (Elisa) Fosco
32 Goatsuckers 497
Linda Hufford
33 Swifts 509
Jayne Neville and Veronica Bowers
34 Hummingbirds 521
Elizabeth Penn (Penny) Elliston
35 Mousebirds 539
Kateri J. Davis
36 Hornbills, Kingfishers, Hoopoes, and Bee-eaters 549
Patricia Witman and Nicole LaGreco
37 Toucans 567
Martin Vince
38 Woodpeckers 575
Nancy Barbachano and Rebecca S. Duerr
39 Wild Parrots 587
Nikki Buxton and Sophie Hebert Saulnier
40 Lorikeets 611
Carol Stanley
41 Insects and Other Arthropods as Food 623
Mark Finke, Liz Koutsos, and Diane Winn
42 Corvids 641
Elaine Friedman
viii Contents
43 Small Insectivores 665
Veronica Bowers
44 North American Swallows 683
Veronica Bowers
45 Thrushes, Mimids, and Thrush Relatives 705
Linda M. Tuttle-Adams
46 Towhees 719
Ashton Kluttz and Dana A. Glei
47 Grackles, Blackbirds, and Other Icterids 731
Maureen Eiger and Guthrum Purdin
48 House Finches, Goldfinches, and House Sparrows 741
Guthrum Purdin and Rebecca S. Duerr
49 Grosbeaks and Cardinals 759
Veronica Bowers and Jessika Madison-Kennedy
50 Java Sparrows 771
Jo Gregson and Andrew Bowkett
Appendix A Record Sheet Example 779
Appendix B Energy Requirements for Growing Birds 781
Appendix C Songbird Washing Instructions 785
Veronica Bowers
Index 789
ix
Notes on Contributors
Yaritza Acosta graduated from Lees‐McRae College in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology
and a minor in wildlife rehabilitation. While studying there she was introduced to the Blue Ridge
Wildlife Institute, where she learned most of her wildlife rehabilitation skills. After graduation,
she relocated to Miami, FL and started volunteering at Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. She was
brought on as staff four months later and has held a variety of positions since then. In April of 2013
she became a full‐time staff member and is currently the Rehabilitation Manager for Pelican
Harbor Seabird Station.
Tracy Anderson was the Program Coordinator for Save Our Shearwaters 2011–2019. She
completed a BS in Biology and Geography at the University of Victoria and has worked in wildlife
rehabilitation for over 20 years, in 3 countries: Canada, United States, and Belize. Previous positions
included work at Mountainaire Avian Rescue in Courtenay, BC and British Columbia SPCA’s
WildARC in Victoria, BC. Tracy obtained seabird and waterbird‐specific training at International
Bird Rescue in California and then spent a year in Belize working with Central American species,
such as parrots and toucans. She has also worked with endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes.
Tracy has been involved with banding passerines (songbirds) and owls and has served on the
boards of several natural history and wildlife‐related organizations.
Nancy Barbachano has been a wild bird rehabilitator for over 20 years. She volunteers with Gold
Country Wildlife Rescue and Wildlife Care Association in California. She has served as Secretary
for the Board of Directors of the California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators. Nancy specializes
in woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and songbirds. She has worked with the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology since 2007 to determine whether or not Acorn Woodpecker babies can be released
back into the wild into an existing colony. She also teaches various rehabilitation classes about bird
rehabilitation locally, statewide, and nationwide.
Michelle Bellizzi has served in a variety of critical roles over the span of her 20‐year career at
International Bird Rescue. She served as the Manager of the San Francisco Bay‐Delta Wildlife
Center between 2003 and 2015 where she oversaw the care of approximately 3000 patients per year.
While managing the rehabilitation program, she supervised the hand‐rearing, re‐nesting, and fos-
tering of shorebirds, gulls, cormorants, alcids, ducklings, herons, and egrets. She has also responded
to more than 30 oil spills around the globe, from Alaska to Argentina. Between her rehabilitation
and response work, she has had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of species, ranging
from pelagic seabirds, penguins, and terrestrial birds, as well as oiled beaver, muskrats, snakes,
turtles, and a variety of amphibians.
x Notes on Contributors
Veronica Bowers has been working exclusively with passerines since 1999. She is director and
founder of Native Songbird Care and Conservation (NSCC), located in Sebastopol, California.
NSCC is a state and federally permitted wildlife rehabilitation facility and cares for approximately
1000 songbirds each year. Veronica teaches songbird rehabilitation workshops and species‐specific
classes to rehabilitators throughout North America. During the winter, she can be found in Central
and South America birding and studying migratory songbirds in the field. Her favorite bird is the
Cliff Swallow, but all other insectivorous and migratory passerines run a very close second.
Andrew Bowkett started his career studying enrichment and visitor effects in primates as a student
at Paignton Zoo in Devon, England. He subsequently switched focus to field‐based conservation and
research projects overseas, including working hands‐on with endangered birds in Mauritius and a
PhD on Tanzanian duikers. He currently coordinates conservation projects in sub‐Saharan Africa
and southeast Asia, and supervises zoo‐based research on birds, reptiles, and amphibians back at
Paignton Zoo. Andrew holds honorary teaching and research positions at the Universities of
Plymouth and Exeter, is a member of the IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, and chairs the Field
Conservation Committee of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Nikki Buxton is a founder‐Director of Belize Bird Rescue (BBR). The facility was created in 2004,
and BBR has been working with the Belize Forest Department since then to reduce or eliminate the
illegal trade in wild‐caught parrots. BBR has developed an innovative rehabilitation program for
former‐captive and hand‐reared wild parrots with documented results addressing inappropriate
diet, husbandry‐related conditions, and adverse behaviors through careful flock‐building, enclosure
management, and nutrition. Parrots soft‐released following rehabilitation at BBR are documented
thriving and breeding in the wild. BBR also hand‐rears endangered Yellow‐headed Amazon chicks,
releasing over 100 back into the wild since the program began in 2014.
Laurie Conrad began her career in aviculture and rehabilitation in 1989 at SeaWorld in San
Diego. Her hand‐rearing experience includes small mammals and numerous exotic bird species.
Laurie represented SeaWorld in the collaborative Light‐footed Clapper Rail recovery conservation
program from 2001 to 2018. She served on several Association of Zoos and Aquarium Taxon
Advisory Group steering committees, presented at numerous conferences, and coordinated two
North American Species Survival Programs. Laurie co‐organized the Third International Flamingo
Symposium in 2014 and acted as the IUCN Flamingo Specialist Group Ex situ Coordinator for
North America. Laurie also worked at the San Diego Zoo Global Avian Propagation Center, where
she specialized in hand‐rearing and incubation.
Kateri J. Davis lives with her husband in Oregon, USA, and together they run the Davis Lund
Aviaries where they specialize in raising and breeding a large variety of softbilled birds. Kateri has
been involved with birds her entire life and has been working with softbills since the early 1990s.
She currently has about 130 birds of 25 different species in her aviaries and ships offspring to zoos
and other private aviculturists around the USA. She is the author of the Birdhouse Publication
books Turacos in Aviculture and Mousebirds in Aviculture, and has written many softbill articles for
publication in magazines and journals.
Rebecca S. Duerr is the clinical veterinarian and research director at International Bird Rescue’s
two wildlife clinics in California. After earning a BS in marine biology from San Francisco State
University, she completed DVM, MPVM, and PhD degrees at UC Davis, with graduate work on the
