Abstract
Carolyn Swicegood Hollywood, FLAssociate Editor
Carolyn Swicegood is the owner of Tbe Land of Vos aviary which specializes in the Vosmaeri sub-species of Eclectus Parrots. She has had a lifelong interest in the welfare of birds, being
known as the neighborhood caretaker of injured or abandoned wild birds from an early age.
After working as a high school business education teacher, an airline hostess, and a real estate salesperson, Swicegood now devotes most of her time to birds and to writing. Besides her freelance writing, she enjoys writing the "Wing Tips" column for Watchbird]oumal, and the "Kitchen Physician" series of articles for Winged Wisdom, an on-line magazine. Most of her articles reflect her intense interest in the nutritional requirements of parrots and in alternative forms of treatment and care for parrots. Swicegood currently divides her time between writing and managing her aviary devoted to parrots.
Her family consists of an airline pilot husband and two daughters, one a pharmacist and the other a student of acupuncture. •:•
Sheldon Dingle Alhambra, CA
Editor
Sheldon Dingle was horn into a family tradition of raising horses and birds and carried on with it except during military service and university study. Dingle developed a collection of exotic
pheasants, waterfowl, finches, and parrots during the 1960s then worked for legendary aviculturist, Dave West.
Later he established his own farm where he raised Thoroughbred horses and a large collection of birds. The farm had ponds, stands of eucalyptus, and room for a large enclosed aviary complex. The emphasis was on Australian and Asiatic birds. Dingle operated this farm until around 1990 when he retired to a scenic hilltop house near Los Angeles from whence he ponders the great issues of the world in peace and quiet.
Dingle holds a Masters Degree in English, has been published in scholarly journals, poetry collections, art magazines, newspapers, and bird related publications on four continents. He has over 25 years editing experience which includes work on various periodicals and hardbound books for foreign and domestic publishers. •!•
Roger Bringas Hollywood, CA Associate Editor
Roger Bringas is an American aviculturist with a special interest in mutation colored parrots. Born and raised in Hollywood, California, young Bringas was inspired and guid-
ed by many well known and accomplished parrot breeders (including Dave West and Gordon Hayes) who maintained impressive bird collections in southern California.
After earning a bachelors degree from UCLA in Psychobiology, Bringas spent most summers traveling to Europe, Central and South America in search of fascinating new color mutations. In 1984 he established his own import/export business as an avenue to trade captive raised, rare, and mutation-colored birds worldwide. Pursuing his interest in birds, Bringas has traveled to more than 60 countries and is a well known figure internationally. He has authored numerous articles and has been published in several different countries. He still resides in Hollywood, California where he breeds and maintains a collection of rare, and mutation-colored parrots. •:•
M. Jean Hessler Costa Mesa, CA
Alt Director
Jean Hessler was graduated from Cleveland Institute of Art and went to work in the field, first as a 8-year manager for the ad art department of Ohio Bell/AT&T. From there she spent sever-
al years on a newspaper ad and sales staff then approximately 15 years working with three ad agencies developing brochures, logos, and publications. She specified type, hand lettering, and all the other technical and artistic aspects of the various jobs. She next spent 15 years at a printing company as in-house graphic artist. Hessler finally went into the graphic arts business for herself and handles a number of various jobs each year from her studio in Costa mesa.
Hessler's interest in aviculture started with a long-lived Muscovy Duck and resulted in a nice finch aviary and some pet parrots in the parlor. In 1978 she received the U.S. First Breeding award for the South American Pileated Parrot. She was active in several of the local birds clubs in 1974 when Jerry Jennings and Joe Griffith spawned the fledgling AFA and its in-house publication the AFA Watchbird for which Hessler was the first editor. •:•