Abstract
0 ne of the most gracious people I have met in aviculture has to be Forrest Johnson. Fo1 many years he is consistently the one called on by our local bird club whc never says no to any request for help Living in the Central California Coasta area he is blessed to be fortunate enough to have great weather and be able to house all his flock outdoors.This warm, friendly, sparkling, dynamic man keeps six varieties of rosellas including Eastern, Western, Crimson, Mealy, Northern, and Yellows. He also has the uncommon Redcapped or Pileated Parrot and quite a flock of Wood Ducks and Mandarin Ducks as well. Other species include Amherst's and Golden Pheasants, Bob Whites, Rock Pebblers, Barabands, Budgies, Cockatiels, Crimson-winged Parrots, and Bronze-winged Doves. .
Johnson's interest in birds goes back to the age of five when he kept barn pigeons. He remembers climbing up on the rafters into the cupolas of barns, thirty-five feet in the air to obtain the squabs he kept as pets. During the 1960s in Laguna Beach, CA, he raised and showed Roller Pigeons and was secretary of the National Birmingham Roller Pigeon Club.
The first taste of hookbills came when his youngest daughter found a lost Parakeet on the windowsill. After receiving no answer from the lost and found column, the family kept the bird and it lived for 13 years. Johnson loved the little bird and it learned to say many phrases, rock and rolled with the kids and even ate meals with them.
About 10 years ago a pair of Cockatiels were given to Johnson, then came the ducks that were ordered from Ohio. Soon to follow were Budgies, lovebirds, rosellas, pheasants, and the rest of the group.
Some of the pheasants and rosellas are housed together in the same cages. Johnson says they don't disturb one another at all, with the Western Rosellas being the most gentle. Westerns will mix with everything. He pairs his Eastern Rosellas with Pheasants and Doves, Mealy Rosellas with Golden Pheasants, and the Yellow Rosellas with Bob Whites.
During our visit Johnson proudly showed off his pet male Golden Pheasant, Midas, who spars with him and really gets excited over the game. The bird is so tame he will perch on Johnson's shoulder and talk to him in Pheasant Love-Language. I was privileged to be included in the Pheasant's play routine too, and was told that Midas doesn't respond to · many strangers. Always knew I was really for the birds - any kind of bird!.
The first cage one comes to in Johnson's yard is the one that houses his group of over 20 ducks. It is 26 X 20 feet and rises from 6 feet to 9 1/2 feet tall in the center. The duck enclosure has a cement pond at one end with a shelter at the opposite end of the flight.
All of the cages are dome shaped.