Purpose of the web

Since www.birdkeeper.dk's start on 23 December 2009, my Green-winged Macaw, "Basse", has been the website's logo, which the many readers have always been able to see somewhere on the website. In between, however, you will also be able to come across other birds in the logos. By clicking here, you can read more about the purpose of the website.

Introduction of the website's editor

Here you get an introduction to the website's editor, Jørgen Petersen, who since the age of 7 has been so fascinated by parrots, their beauty, behavior, intellect, etc., that over time it has become an actual passion.

Einführung des Website-Editors

Hier erhalten Sie eine Einführung in den Herausgeber der Website, Jørgen Petersen, der seit seinem siebten Lebensjahr von Papageien, ihrer Schönheit, ihrem Verhalten, ihrem Intellekt usw. so fasziniert ist, dass daraus im Laufe der Zeit eine echte Leidenschaft geworden ist.

Introduktion af hjemmesidens redaktør

Her får du en introduktion af hjemmesidens redaktør, Jørgen Petersen, som siden sit 7. år har været så fascineret af papegøjer, deres skønhed, adfærd, intellekt, etc., så det med tiden er blevet en egentlig passion.

About purchasing parrots

Avoid unnecessary risks and unpleasantness when purchasing parrots. Here you will get good advice for an optimal purchase and a checklist. Now remember that some birds are healthy carriers, so even if they are examined physically, they may still be sick. Therefore, also see under "Clinically disease-tested collection of birds"

Clinically disease-tested collection of birds

Today, you can no longer rely on the good old advice, e.g. that a parrot is healthy when it sleeps on one leg. Serious infectious diseases threaten our flock of birds. Read here my answer on how I effectively counter this threat. First test your birds for serious infectious diseases, then you can test their gender.

About health and invisible disease threats

This article covers, among other things, how to ascertain that a bird is healthy and well, how to behave when you think that the bird may be sick and needs to see a vet, as well as about the invisible threats that come in different forms for serious infectious diseases.

About aviaries in an urban area

Here, some ideas are given - as well as advice on - what you can and should consider in connection with the establishment of an aviary. In addition, a small insight is given into my own aviary system, as it looked while I lived in an urban area, i.e. from the time before I moved to a house in the country in 2017/18.

Bird shows – yes or no

Exhibiting birds at bird shows presents a number of dilemmas which are dealt with in this short chronicle, which describes both the positive and negative aspects of exhibiting. However, it is the individual aviculturist/breeder who decides whether he/she wants to exhibit.

Stop commercial hand-rearing of baby parrots

Read about why the persistent and systematic commercial hand-feeding of baby parrots by some bird keepers should be stopped, and instead leave this kind of action to serious bird and animal parks that work in the service of a higher cause, namely to save endangered species. Read e.g. about what hand-fed birds are deprived of during their upbringing.

A newspaper about www.birdkeeper.dk

Ekstra Bladet, one of Denmark's largest daily newspapers, contacted me to find out more about keeping parrots as a hobby. One of the newspaper's journalists had spotted a possible little story about keeping parrots as a hobby after visiting my website www.birdkeeper.dk. The visit from the newspaper resulted in an article in the magazine supplement, "EKSTRA", with focus on hobbies in general.

Blue-and-yellow Macaw - different varieties

Despite its large population and vast range, science has yet to find evidence to recognize subspecies of this perhaps the most brightly colored and popular large Macaw species. Nevertheless, obvious differences occur between specimens of this species depending on where they come from in the wild which has been known for many years among aviculturists.

Taxonomy (Species Overview)

About the applicable biological taxonomy for the genus Lovebirds (Agapornis), consisting of 9 nominate subspecies (species) and 5 subspecies.

Pallid Grey-headed Lovebird

About the Pallid Grey-headed Lovebird, which is better than its reputation, and may well be a stable breeding bird kept under the right conditions.

Dusky Grey-headed Lovebird

About the subspecies, the Dusky Grey-headed Lovebird, which is only very sporadically mentioned in the cage bird literature. Read - and see - how it differs from the nominate subspecies.

Red-faced Lovebird

About the Red-faced Lovebird/Red-headed Lovebird, which has been kept as a cage bird in Europe for over 400 years, but which is now the rarest Lovebird species among aviculturists.

Western Red-faced Lovebird - Breeding report

About my first breeding of the Western Red-faced Lovebird/Red-headed Lovebird in 2015, which happened after several years of unsuccessful breeding attempts where the chicks kept dying only a few days old.

Black-winged Lovebird

About the Black-winged Lovebird, which differs in many ways from the other Lovebird species, but which still belongs to the Agapornis genus.

Black-winged Lovebird - Colour mutations

On dark factor colour mutations (green series) of the Black-winged Lovebird.

Black-collared Lovebird

Exciting news about the in human care largely unknown Black-collared Lovebird. See the first sensational photos of live birds in the wild ever!

Namibia Peach-faced Lovebird

About the Namibia Peach-faced Lovebird, which is the most common Lovebird species both in the wild and in human care. Read e.g. about the very special breeding behaviour of this species in nature.

Angola Peach-faced Lovebird

About the subspecies of the Peach-faced Lovebirds that comes from Angola, which is only very sporadically is mentioned in the cage bird literature. Read - and see - how it looks.

Fischer's Lovedbird

About the Fischer's Lovebird, which in 1987 became the most traded wild bird species in the world, and whose population in the wild is rapidly declining.

Masked Lovebird

About my many years of experiences with my favorite Lovebird, the magnificent Masked Lovebird, which is a gem in any bird collection.

Nyasa Lovebird

About the Nyasa Lovebird that has become much more robust over time, and about the importance of focusing on access to new blood in the future work with breeding of this species.

Nyasa Lovebird - Lutino colour mutation

About the Lutino colour mutation of the Nyasa Lovebird, which is the first naturally occurring Lutino among the species with a white eye ring.

Black-cheeked Lovebird

About the in the wild rare Black-cheeked Lovebird, including the measures to protect it in the wild and a discussion of whether the Danish population consist of pure specimens.

Black-cheeked Lovebird - theme species purity

A particular problem with what colour the upper rump of the Black-cheeked Lovebird should have, causes headaches among serious breeders of this very popular Lovebird species.

Horned Parakeet

MINI PORTRAIT: The Horned Parakeet is one of the few parrot species that comes from New Caledonia, a large island located east of the Australian continent. It is also one of the very few parrot species that has a feather top on the crown. It has gained great popularity over the past several years, i.a. du to its calm nature and peaceful being. It seems to occur less often among aviculturists these days.

Pale-headed Rosella

MINI PORTRAIT: Pale-headed Rosella is a bird with an incredibly fascinating and different composition of colours in its plumage. In addition, it can look very different in terms of colour pattern depending on where it comes from. There are indications that science is figuring out these differences, as another subspecies probably soon will be recognized .

Blue-crowned Lorikeet

MINI PORTRAIT: Despite its modest size, the Blue-crowned Lorikeet has a shrill, high-pitched and creaky call. At the same time, this bird has a lightning-fast and direct flight, and it also uses its flight abilities to cross the waters between the islands in its range. It is very rarely seen in human care

Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot

MINI PORTRAIT: The Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot has always been rare among aviculturists, and it has hardly been in demand either, as its colour splendor cannot at all match the larger Australian Red-winged Parrot's colour splendor. While the Australian Red-winged Parrot is not threatened in the wild, the situation for the Timor Olive-shouldered Parrot is quite different.

Orange-winged Amazon

MINI PORTRAIT: This representative from the large Amazon genus is still often seen among aviculturists. In the wild it is also quite widespread in its huge distribution area in northern South America, which at the same time means that there can be significant differences in both size, colouration and intensity depending on where the birds come from.

Barred Parakeet

MINI PORTRAIT: The Barred Parakeet is a small, lovable - but some would probably say a little avoidable - parakeet, which is characterized by being very sociable towards conspecifics as well as other smal bird species. Its voice is a soft melodic sound, and it does not gnaw, so here we have a parrot species that does not have the same cons known from a large number of other parrot species.

Scarlet Macaw - Genetics

LONG IN-DEPTH ARTICLE: Read about a scientific study from 2019, which now also based on genetic analyzes confirms that there are two - and only two - subspecies of the Scarlet Macaw and actually there is a large genetic difference between them. I have adapted study into an abbreviated - and commented - form with a focus on a number of important findings.

Golden Parakeet

LONG IN-DEPTH ARTICLE: Finally, successful natural breeding of the Golden Parakeet after keeping this absolutely breathtaking beautiful species for more than 9 years following several years of futile attempts. It happened with unrelated perfect parent birds that I myself had composed as a pair. It turned out to be a result that had been worth waiting for.

Scarlet Macaw

MINI PORTRAIT: A basic introduction to the Scarlet Macaw that by many aviculturists are considered as perhaps the most beautiful of all the large parrot species. The magnificent colour pattern of its plumage is nothing else than impressive, and the alternative species name, Arakanga, further emphasizes that it is a most imposing representative from the world of birds.

Bolivian Mitred Parakeet

MINI PORTRAIT: Bolivian Mitred Parakeet, or Bolivian Mitred Conure (Psittacara mitratus mitratus, until spring 2013 known as Aratinga mitrata mitrata), is currently one of approximately 20 recognized species/subspecies belonging to the genus Psittacara. All representatives of this genus are also characterized by being extremely loud making them very unpopular.

Blue-winged Macaw

MINI PORTRAIT: Outside the breeding season, it has a friendly nature, and single kept birds can become very tame and good at imitating. Over recent years, it has often been bred in human care, and it is probably today the Blue-winged Macaw that is the most often offered "Mini-Macaw" species for sale in a number of European countries.

Red-bellied Macaw

LONG IN-DEPTH ARTICLE: Successful breeding of the Red-bellied Macaw - and even twice at the same time by two unrelated pairs - after 5 years of futile attempts. It happened with perfect birds that I myself had composed as pairs. Several experts believe that it is the most difficult Macaw species to breed in human care.