Graeme Phipps of Australia, aviculturist, conservationist and Chairman of the Australian Federation of Aviculture Conservation Committee, presented two talks on an international project involving aviculture, the Millennium Project. The Millennium Project is so named, because it is designed to be completed in 1,000 days, or approximately three years. Leading aviculturists such as: Roland Cristo, Lee Horton, Dick Schroeder, and AFA President Benny Gallaway, expressed their interest in the project and obviously saw its potentials for the future of aviculture. Avicultural leaders in other countries are also in support of the project, namely in Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland and the United Kingdom.

Just exactly what is the Millennium Project? What are the mission and goals of the project? How is the project structured? How will it function, and who will run it? How can it be useful to aviculture? How can individual aviculturists participate in the project? Is this project for the experienced and advanced aviculturist only, or does it have a place for newcomers? What about conservation biologists and scientists studying birds, how will the project affect them? What about bird curators and keepers at zoos? Why should we care about this project anyway? Why do we need it?

The mission of the Millennium Project is to create an avicultural resource base for international use, which provides information on as many species as possible that is accessible by anyone. It is designed to link the resources of private aviculture with projects set up to assist in the survival of birds in captivity and in the wild. It provides a structure, or maybe better stated, a framework, which gives the direction towards many different pathways that aviculturists can traverse to find data and to provide data on species of interest to them.

The project is structured such that a basic framework of modules gives direction to the interested party. This is done through Module 1, which is a Web site, Avicare.org, which explains the project and provides a range of choices, including pathways to data banks containing all the pertinent information known on each species. Avicare.org is the project gateway and nerve center. Module 2 is Conservation Breeding and Management. Module 3 is Fundamentals of Birdkeeping for regulars to review and newcomers to study. Module 4 is Husbandry Manuals and Species Monographs to assist with details on the care of various species. Module 5 is AVIDATA.org, an exciting global project at individual and society or regional level to provide information to scientists to assist with their conservation programs.

Once the Web site and basic information are set up, no one will run the project. It will stand alone. During the initial stages of site setup and initial data collection, there will be a need for direction and monitoring by a site manager. After the site is well-established, the need for monitoring and information management will continue but at a lesser degree. Basically, since the Web site is designed to handle avicultural information, that information will have to be assessed for accuracy and then placed into the data banks. The person(s) routinely working on this site and data banks will be a computer expert(s).

How can this project be useful for aviculture? Aviculture today stands at a place of transition. We have in our aviaries a tremendous variety of birds, many of these birds were wild caught and are now breeding birds. We are fast approaching the time when we will need future breeders of many species. How do we go about acquiring those breeders? How do we find viable breeding birds of unrelated genetics?

Why does it matter that we work with a sufficient supply of genetically unrelated stock? Simply put, keeping a diverse gene pool for each species in captivity is important for the continuation of that species. If we want to know what happens when gene pools are restricted, all we have to do is look at one example: Ocellated turkeys in the United States. The viability of sperm in these wild natives of Central America dropped with each succeeding generation of the breeding of closely related stock. This resulted in infertile eggs or fertile eggs with weak embryos, which did not even hatch.

When the gene pool is extremely restricted, and closely related birds are bred, not only does sperm viability drop, but also physical abnormalities begin to appear in the youngsters. With each succeeding generation, those abnormalities and the lack of sperm viability dramatically affect the future of that species. We see abnormal birds and birds producing eggs that, although fertilized, do not hatch, or if they hatch, the young are not strong enough to survive. Therefore, it is vital to us, as bird breeders, to seek to maintain a healthy gene pool for each species, or the future of our birds will indeed be bleak, traveling the road to extinction in captivity, and perhaps even in the wild. The Millennium Project will be important for aviculture because it will provide information so that individuals can avoid breeding closely related stock and, therefore, maintain the species.

Aviculturists can participate in the project in a number of ways. The Web site will guide the aviculturists to their area of interest. Aviculturists can provide much needed information to fill in the blank spots on the data profiles for each species. Some of the data provided in these data banks will be quite useful to field biologists who are working on the conservation of specific species in the wild. Much of the data that is available and well-known in aviculture, is not necessarily well-known by the scientists studying the species.

Why is it important that we be concerned about providing specific data on individual avian species? Isn't there a great deal of information already available? Interestingly, yes and also, no. Within aviculture, there exists a tremendous body of knowledge about the keeping and breeding of a large variety of avian species. For example, how many eggs to a clutch, how many days between each egg laid, how long is the incubation period, how many days to fledging, how many days to weaning, what are the weights of the chicks during their development, from day one to weaning and post weaning? At what age do the birds mature and select mates and go to nest? What diet works well for the birds? In what size nest boxes and flights do these birds produce best? While there may be some differences of opinion on some of these areas, certainly the technical data on the egg production, incubation and rearing of chicks is rather clear.

We need the Millennium Project, because it is the only global program that coordinates all avicultural information. It is designed to provide information to all interested parties and to show how they can participate. It shows how bird breeders can manage their birds for future genetic viability, and how they can provide needed data to field biologists. For those interested, be on the lookout for the Web site coming in January, 2001, Avicare.org. For more immediate information, order the AFA 2000 Proceedings (623) 484-0931.

The convention of the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) takes place August 3, 4 and 5 in Los Angeles at the Wyndham Hotel. Of the many fascinating presentations planned, two informative slide lectures will be given by Graeme Phipps of Australia. He will present the Millennium Project for Aviculture, which is designed to link the resources of private aviculture with projects set up to assist bird survival.

The greatest number of exotic birds of many species, especially various parrots, are in the possession of private individuals, not zoos. Zoos have special breeding programs for most of their birds and other animals. These programs are designed for the long-term survival of the species. Private collectors and breeders of exotics may or may not think about breeding for the future of the species. Even when individuals have this concern, certain factors do not make this goal very achievable. Most individual collections may someday be sold or perhaps split up, possibly without accompanying records on the breeding pairs. This could happen if the owner becomes burned-out, divorced, ill or dies. Why does this matter in the long run? In such cases, private ownership does not adequately address the management of avian genetics for the future.

The Millennium Project fills this need and makes it possible for all interested aviculturists to participate in creating a future for our parrots and their offspring. Private aviculture has the knowledge, the resources and the experience to make a significant difference in the survival of parrot species. The Millennium Project spells out how this can be done. Since the early 1980s, basic survival issues for avian species in captivity and in the wild have been discussed by leading aviculturists, zoo curators and scientists. Most of their solutions have not involved resources within the private sector. This project provides direction and details for private aviculture that have been lacking, including the means for achieving results within a three-year time frame. It is a comprehensive and exciting project that will engage the passions of all of us who deeply care about our birds. Do not miss hearing Graeme Phipps speak on the Millennium Project, and find out how you can be a participant in making it possible for birds to survive in the future.