Breed: Lorikeets Temperament: gregarious and trainable Maintenance: medium-high Cost: $50-$6500 Lifespan: 7-9 years Recommended for: beginners to experienced birdkeepers History of the Lorikeet Lorikeets are native birds found in coastal areas around Australia....
Breed: African Lovebirds Temperament: active, noisy Maintenance: low Cost: $25-$200 Lifespan: 10-15 years Recommended for: anyone History Lovebirds acquired their name because of their fondness for sitting in pairs while preening each other’s feathers. African...
Breed: Australian Finches Temperament: Active, independent Maintenance: Low Lifespan: 5-7 years Cost: $15 (Zebra pair); $70 (Gouldian pair) Recommended for: Novice to experienced birdkeepers History The Australian Finch belongs to the family of birds known as...
Satin Bowerbird Paul and Chris Coffey contacted ‘Burke’s Backyard’ to tell us that satin bowerbirds were constructing a bower in their garden. John Dengate visited the Coffeys and had a look at the bower, which he says was built by a group of...
Talking Budgie Recently Bill Marks wrote to Burke’s Backyard to tell us about his talking budgerigar, Frederick. Freddie is a 4-year-old male budgie with an amazing vocabulary. In fact, attached to Bill’s letter was a three page list of all the things...
Sexing Peewees While filming a segment for Burke’s Backyard, Don noticed a pair of peewees foraging in his garden. Peewee (Grallina cyanoleuca) The peewee or Australian magpie-lark is also known as the mudlark, because it builds its nest from mud. The mud nest...
Soccer Budgie Don visited Mervyn and Sally Abrams and their amazing budgie, Beau. Beau uses his cage as a home base, but from 7am to 7pm he has free range of the house. He starts by having breakfast with Merve and Sally, helps them to do a crossword or two, then goes...
Breed: Chinese Silkie Chicken Temperament: docile, easy to handle Cost: $20 – $120 each Lifespan: 9 years Maintenance: low Ideal owner: great for kids, novices and fowl enthusiasts History Chinese Silkies are believed to have originated in Asia, although despite...
Three weeks ago Don showed a baby Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo that he’d bred. The tiny chick, which was living in a hollow log in the aviary, resembled a strange, dinosaur or lizard covered in yellow fluff. On this week’s program, Don checked to see how the...