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Don pointed out a group of Crimson rosellas feeding on the fruits of a white cedar tree. It is well known that these fruits are poisonous to humans and livestock, however the rosellas return to this particular tree every year. They eat all the fruit and never seem to...
Over the years, Burke’s Backyard veterinary consultant, Dr Rob Zammit, has been asked hundreds of questions about dogs. The good news is that he’s written all the answers down in a new book titled Dogs – 101 Answers to Commonly Asked Questions. This...
Don advised against feeding meat-eating birds such as kookaburras, currawongs and butcherbirds. They include small birds in their diets, so if you do choose to feed them and their populations build up, you may find that there aren’t many smaller birds around...
The Beautiful Firetail finch (Emblema bella) has an olive back, finely-barred underparts and a bright red rump. The males are blacker underneath than the hens, and the juveniles are duller in colour than the adults. Beautiful firetails live in coastal heathland and...
Don visited Dr Justin Marshall at the University of Queensland’s Department of Vision, Touch and Hearing. Dr Marshall and his colleagues have discovered that the ultraviolet pigments on budgerigars’ feathers play a big role in their attractiveness to...
Radiographer, Emese Gal, suffers from a rare genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis 2 (also called Central Bilateral Acoustic NF) which causes tumours to grow on both auditory nerves. Emese lost her hearing three years ago, but thanks to a stray dog and the Lions...
Don visited the Animal Eye Care Clinic in East Malvern, Victoria. He talked with specialist veterinary ophthalmologist, Dr Robin Stanley, about the incidence of hereditary eye diseases in dogs. As well as treating these diseases, the clinic performs regular eye...
In our segment Don showed a baby Red-tailed Black Cockatoo that had been bred in captivity. It was a curious little creature, resembling a tiny, fluff-covered dinosaur or lizard. Of all the Australian birds, Red-tailed Black Cockatoos have the sweetest natures and...
Morrie McGowan wrote to Burke’s Backyard to tell us about his Roller pigeon hybrid, Rolly. Rolly is strangely attracted to a ball. Anywhere the ball goes, Rolly will follow. If Morrie throws the ball in the backyard, Rolly will fly after it, land on it and peck...
John Dengate picked up a black-bellied swamp snake. These snakes are not highly venomous, but they do bite and victims may suffer pain and localised swelling. John pointed out that this species could easily be confused with the eastern brown snake, which looks similar...