Contents of the Book

Chapter 1- Wildlife Rehabilitation

• Why we do it?
• What is involved?
• When is rehabilitation not an option?

Chapter 2 – Coexisting with birds

• The ethics of care
• Why should we help disadvantaged wild animals?
• How we can better live with and not adversely affect birds?
• Setting up a bird friendly garden
• Bird Friendly areas in the wider community
• Where to find help?
• Wildlife rehabilitation organisations and shelters
• The Law and Caring for Wild Birds
• How do birds come into care?
• The  Future?

Chapter 3 – Identification

• Carnivores
  • Raptors, kookaburras and butcherbirds
  • Insectivores
  • Sea birds
  • Waterbirds
  • Waders
• Omnivores
• Nectarivores
• Frugivores
• Granivores

Chapter 4 – Bird behaviour

• Bird Behaviour
• Preening and bathing
• Communication
• Migration
• Intelligence
• Predators
• Food gathering_
• Begging behaviour in young birds

Chapter 5 – General physical aspects and rehabilitation

• Skeleton
• Feathers
• Digestive system
• Respiratory System
• The Senses
  • Vision
  • Hearing
  • Smell and other senses
• Over-stimulation
• Salt Glands in Sea Birds

Chapter 6 – Catching a sick or injured bird

• Useful items often used when catching and transporting birds
• Catching with a net on the ground
• Catching a bird using only a towel
• Special Precautions
  • Parrots
  • Small birds
  • Large birds
  • Raptors
  • Small ducklings
• Catching a bird that can still fly
• Special Situations
  • Birds caught in netting covering fruit trees
  • Birds trapped in a swimming pool
  • Fishing line entanglement
  • Birds trapped in buildings
  • Large flightless birds

Chapter 7 – Examination

• Dehydration
• Body temperature
• Head
• Wings
• Feathers
• Body
• Legs
• Weight
• Internal
• Poisoning

Chapter 8 – First Aid 

•     What is shock?
•     Signs of shock
•     Shock and dehydration
•     Treatment for shock
•     Stabilisation
•     Measurement of body temperature
•     Heat Stress
•     Simple first aid kit for rescuers

Chapter 9 – Stress

• Stages of stress
  • How do we recognise stress in a bird?
• Types of stress
  • Immediate Physical  Stress
  • Normal Physical Stress
  • Perceived Mental stress
  • Actual Mental stress
  • Normal Mental Stress
• Ways to reduce stress

Chapter 10 – Common injuries and diseases

• Head injuries
  • Concussion
  • Eye damage
  • Beak Injuries
• Neck injuries
  • Signs of neck injury are
• Internal injuries
  • The signs and symptoms of possible internal injuries
• Broken bones
  • Treatment of fractures
• Skin tears
• Feather damage
  • Feather Removal
  • To pluck feathers from a bird
• Metabolic bone disease (MBD)
  • Signs of MBD
  • Treatment for MBD
• Sticky substances on birds
  • Removal of sticky substances
• Birds caught by a cat or a dog
  • Standard treatment for cat attack victims
• Birds that have been shot
• Hook and/or fishing line entanglement
• Illness resulting from poisoning
  • Symptoms of pesticide poisoning include
  • Treatment of pesticide poisoning victims
• Parasites
  • Signs of external parasites
  • Avoid further infestation by parasites
  • Signs for suspecting an overload of internal parasites are
  • Avoiding further parasite build up
•  Infectious diseases
  •  Viral Diseases
    • Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) in parrots
    • PBFD in Lorikeets
    • PBFD in birds other than parrots
    • Treatment of PBFD
  • Aspergillosis
  • Chlamydiosis
  • Pox
• Bacterial Infections
  • Signs of Bacterial infections
  • Bumble Foot
  • Botulism

Chapter 11- Housing 

• Housing for sick / injured / or young birds
• The Essential Aviary Requirements
• General
  • Cover
  • Size
  • Plants
  • Floor
  • Compost
  • Food
  • Water
  • Exercise
• Renovating old aviaries
• Special Aviaries
  • Parrot Aviaries
  • Sea Bird Aviaries
• Temporary enclosures
• Predator exclusion
• Housing different types of birds together
• The external environment
• Principles when housing many birds
• Cage cleaning

Chapter 12 – Feeding 

• Diet
• Weight monitoring
• Feeding insectivorous birds
• Food to collect
• Food to buy
• Food to breed
• Types of insects found in the gizzards of native birds
  • Insects found in birds that feed in the sky include
  • Insects found in birds that feed in the upper foliage include
  • Insects found in birds that feed in middle and low foliage include
  • Insects found in birds that feed on the trunk of trees include
  • Insects found in birds that feed in shrubs include
  • Insects found in birds that feed on the ground include
  • Insects found in birds that obtain their feed from underground include
  • Foods eaten by insect-eating birds that feed in water include
  • Insects found in birds that feed on other animals include
• Presentation of insects for birds
  • Feeding nectarivarous birds
  • Feeding granivorous birds
  • Feeding frugivorous birds
  • Feeding wading birds
  • Feeding sea birds
  • Feeding carnivorous birds
• Don’t use dog or cat food because
• Feeding debilitated birds
• How to force-feed a bird
• How to crop-feed a bird
• Some emergency diets

Chapter 13 – Orphaned birds 

• Branchers
• Young birds handled by humans
• Young birds that are not injured
• Young birds that have fallen from the nest
• Types of young birds
• Housing for Precocial Young
• Housing for Altricial Young
• Vitamin D
• Immediate care of an unfledged bird
• Normal behaviours for young birds
• Average feed rates for some common birds
• Preening and bathing
• Sleep and rest
• Identification of young birds
• Moving a bird from nest to aviary
• Weaning to self feeding
• Educating a bird to normal behaviour
• Imprinting
  • What is it?
  • Precautions to take to avoid it
  • What happens if a bird is imprinted
  • Can it be reversed?
  • How do you tell if a bird is imprinted
  • What can be done to reduce the affects of imprinting

Chapter 14 – Release Preparation 

• Habitat
• Group acceptance
• Weather
• Time
• Migration
• The Type Of Release

Chapter 15 – Care Plans

• Care plans are presented for the various bird groups and some individual species
• Raptor care guidelines – requirements of NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service

Appendices

• I. Weight ranges of some birds in the wild
• II. Migratory bird’ arrival and departure dates
• III. Making a feeding puppet
• IV. Building a flight aviary
• V. Calorie and Energy requirement charts
• VI. Wildlife organisations in Australia

Bibliography