OWNERS MISS BIRDS STOLEN FROM AVIARY.Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer When bird breeders Jami and Bob Kennedy This article is about the baseball player; for the runner, see Bob Kennedy (runner) Robert Daniel Kennedy (August 18, 1920 - April 7, 2005) was a right fielder/third baseman, manager and executive in Major League Baseball. woke up three weeks ago to feed their array of brilliantly colored parrots, there were fewer mimicking speeches echoing throughout their aviaries. Eight birds had been plucked from their flight cages during the early morning hours of March 5. The thieves fled, leaving behind one feather from a blue-front amazon, and three cracked eggs that the stolen mother had been sitting on to hatch, Jami Kennedy said. One of their more precious birds was stolen - a 70-year-old scarlet macaw The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a large, colourful parrot. It is native to humid evergreen forests in the American tropics, from extreme eastern Mexico locally to Amazonian Peru and Brazil, in lowlands up to 500 meters (at least formerly up to 1000m). , capable of producing half a dozen babies annually that can be sold to private parties or pet shops for $1,800 apiece. ``She's invaluable,'' Kennedy said. Also snatched were three Mexican redhead (green cheek) amazons - one a pet that rattles off the greeting ``Hi Chick'' in a high-pitched voice. Two blue-front amazons, one moustache grass parakeet parakeet or parrakeet, common name for a widespread group of small parrots, native to the Indo-Malayan region and popular as cage birds. Parakeets have long, pointed tails, unlike the chunky lovebirds with which they are sometimes confused. , and a cockatoo cockatoo: see parrot. cockatoo Any of 21 species of crested parrots (family Cacatuidae), found in Australia and from New Guinea to the Solomon Islands. Most species are white with touches of red or yellow; some are black. also were taken, she said. Collectively, the birds are worth an estimated $6,000, the couple said. But because they are breeding birds, they are valued at much more. ``You really can't put a price on them,'' she said. The couple is offering an undisclosed amount of money as a reward for the recovery or information leading to the recovery of the parrots. The eight exotic birds The Exotic Birds was a pop music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1983 by three Cleveland Institute of Music percussion students, Andy Kubiszewski, Tom Freer and Tim Adams. They wrote their own music and were described as synth pop, techno-pop and techno-dance. brought much more than merely profits to the Kennedys. Their 200 parrots have filled their Canyon Country home with love and laughter for 16 years, Kennedy said Tuesday. ``For us, our birds are a labor of love. They're well taken care of and contribute to our community. We try to do our best for every living thing . . . and you really feel violated,'' said Kennedy, a full-time fund-raiser for the American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. . The couple also brings the birds to community functions, such as the American Heart Association's waiter luncheon where local ``celebrities'' serve guests, trying to outdo one another for tips for the charity. ``It's like a hobby gone crazy,'' Kennedy said, as she pumped out hand lotion from a ceramic parrot dispenser on her desk. During the birds' peak breeding season in spring and summer, each day the couple washes two full loads of dirty towels, used in their nursery to incubate incubate /in·cu·bate/ (in´ku-bat) 1. to subject to or to undergo incubation. 2. material that has undergone incubation. in·cu·bate v. 1. eggs. The aviculturists keep several of the birds as pets inside their home. ``They're very social and jump from person to person. They provide companionship, entertainment. They're pets to us. They eat off our plate, and stand on the back of one of our dogs,'' she said. The couple said the thieves probably took the birds to sell to private individuals or pet stores, which recently have been hit with more stringent importing laws regarding exotic birds, Kennedy said. ``People are always looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. breeder birds because of the laws not allowing importing them. People are trying not to deplete de·plete v. 1. To use up something, such as a nutrient. 2. To empty something out, as the body of electrolytes. birds in the wild,'' she said. She said her birds likely were taken outside the Santa Clarita area by a professional parrot theft ring that knew what they were shopping for and learned about her address through her business or bird clubs. She asks that anyone with information regarding the parrots contact her at (805) 252-0437, with no questions asked. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color in SAC edition only) Jami Kennedy talks to one of her birds Tuesday morning at her Canyon Country home. Eight birds recently were stolen from Kennedy's aviary aviary Structure for keeping captive birds, usually spacious enough for the aviculturist to enter. Aviaries range from small enclosures to large flight cages 100 ft (30 m) or more long and up to 50 ft (15 m) high. Enclosures for birds that fly only little or weakly (e.g. . (2--ran in SAC only--color) Three of the birds taken from Jami Kennedy's home were Mexican redhead amazons, like the one in her hand. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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