Anesthetic and cardiopulmonary effects of butorphanol administered pre- versus postoperatively were determined and compared in 11 adult Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis) anesthetized with sevoflurane and subjected to coelomic endoscopy for gonadal evaluation. Birds were randomly assigned to receive butorphanol tartrate (2 mg/kg IM) either 20 minutes before induction of anesthesia with sevoflurane (B-S group) or immediately after sevoflurane anesthesia (S group). No differences in induction or recovery times were seen between groups. Heart rates of birds in the B-S group were significantly higher at 30 minutes compared with baseline and with heart rates of birds in the S group. Birds in the S group had significantly lower heart rates at both 15 and 25 minutes compared with baseline values. Respiratory rates throughout the study were significantly lower in both groups compared with baseline values. Birds in the B-S group had significantly lower respiratory rates at baseline and after 1 minute compared with birds in the S Group. The SpO₂ and EtCO₂ values did not change significantly over time within either group, and no significant changes were present between groups. Administration of preoperative butorphanol (2 mg/kg IM) as part of a preemptive analgesic regimen appears safe and effective and will not cause clinically significant changes in anesthetic and cardiopulmonary parameters in Hispaniolan Amazon parrots anesthetized with sevoflurane.

Seventy-five percent of psittacine species, including the blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva), are classified as sexually monomorphic. However, this classification is based on the inability of the trichromatic human eye to perceive light in the near-ultraviolet spectrum. Spectrometry is a technique that enables humans to recognize the increased range of color perceived by the tetrachromatic avian eye. By using this technique, researchers have reclassified many avian species as sexually dimorphic. In this exploratory study, several body regions of 30 blue-fronted Amazon parrots (males and females) were investigated by multiple-angle spectrometry. A model was developed that enabled gender prediction with 100% accuracy based on plumage color characteristics. However, the areas that were most promising in our model (forehead and wing tip) need to be confirmed independently to exclude the possibility of type I error attributed to multiple testing.

This study examined the effect of 2 fitness programs on the postrelease survival and ability to maintain weight of 15 peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and 12 brown goshawks (Accipiter fasciatus) held captive for treatment or because they had been orphaned. Each bird was treated or allowed to mature, then was either exercised by traditional falconry methods or by stimulating flight within its cage. Prior to release, resting blood lactate concentrations were measured before a short period of exercise and at 2 and 10 minutes after a standardized exercise test. Pre-exercise blood lactate concentrations were higher in cage-exercised peregrine falcons compared with those exercised by traditional methods, but there was no difference in pre-exercise lactate concentrations between the 2 treatment groups of goshawks. At 2 and 10 minutes following exercise, blood lactate concentrations were significantly higher for the cage-exercised group of both species. All birds were fitted with radiotransmitters, released, and monitored, then were trapped at varying times after release and weighed. Of the falconry-trained birds, 3 of 6 peregrine falcons and all 4 brown goshawks gained weight. In contrast, all 9 peregrine falcons and 6 of the 8 brown goshawks subjected to cage exercise lost weight postrelease. The results suggest that peregrine falcons and brown goshawks exercised with traditional falconry techniques were more fit than the same species of birds exercised in their cages and that the improved fitness achieved with the former method increases the probability that captive peregrine falcons and brown goshawks will survive after being released to the wild. The study also indicates that postexercise blood lactate concentrations are important predictors of fitness in raptors.

A 4-week-old female Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) presented with a valgus deformity of both wings resulting in dorsolateral rotation of the primary flight feathers. The condition resolved in 2 weeks after the wings were bandaged and physical therapy was performed. This type of valgus deformity is also known as angel wing. It has been frequently described in waterfowl and has been reported in bustard chicks as well as psittacine birds (budgerigars, macaws, and conures). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report in a peer-reviewed publication describing angel wing and its treatment in a raptor.

Myelography was evaluated in 12 domestic pigeons (Columba livia) by injecting an iodinated contrast medium (iohexol) at the atlanto-occipital space into the cerebellomedullary cistern. Each pigeon was monitored after the myelography procedure for seizures, hyperthermia, and prolonged recovery from anesthesia; postmyelographic complications were not observed. Myelograms obtained are briefly described. The quality of the myelograms is considered acceptable in this species, and myelography was found to be cost effective with potential application to avian practice.