Cock-of-the-rock

Cock-of-the-rock
04-08-2012

Veldhoven is listed as holding both Guianan and Andean cock-of-the-rocks (cocks-of-the-rock?).

Does anybody know what the provenance of these animals was? I suppose that they may well be available for purchase, somewhere, but I would guess that, if so, they would cost a small fortune - and small fortunes don't seem to be evident here.

I have posted photos of a male and a female, but I am not sure which species is which - particularly with the female. How does one tell them apart?

Cock-of-the-rock - but which species?

Cock-of-the-rock - but which species?

04-08-2012

Wild caught.

You have photogrpahed the Guianian species

04-08-2012

Yes, I'm sure this is so. The questions raised, then, are...
1. Is there a thriving market in this species?
2. If there is, and the birds are quite pricey (as I imagine they would be), how can Veldhoven afford to have them - particularly when the place is packed with other birds that would command a very high price on the open market? The workings of this place are quite fascinating.

04-08-2012

- There is undoubtably a market in this species

There's two ways the animals may have reached Veldhoven;
As fas as the rumours have reached me, either the (now deceased) owner or one of the employees has (had?) good contacts with a "breeding centre" in Surinam. Many of their exotics came from this breeding centre and they no doubtably also traded in these animals. Either the NOP did, or an organisation that was related to either the owner or one of the employees did. I wouldn't be surprised if both did.

On this subject i just remembered this;
On the 2nd of february 2012 a newspaper reported that a 32 year old employee from the NOP was seized by the police for illegal trade in birds. He and a 58 year old accomplish where suspected to have illegally imported birds from Surinam. After a house-search following the arrest, birds and weapons where seized by the police. At the time of writing it was unknown whether the NOP itself was also involved in the trade.

Then again, since the NOP is the official rescue centre for all seized birds, the animals could also have come from seized animals at customs. Perhaps a shipment of exotics didn't have the official papers and the birds where given to the NOP.

One thing is for sure, the workings of the NOP where very untransparant for quite a while and still seem to be not very transparant as it is now.

Although I wasn't sure the NOP moving to Dierenrijk was a good idea, I found it telling that that plan bounced.