Bird nutrition is vital for your pet bird to remain happy and healthy. A balanced diet will ensure that your bird will live a long healthy life and be able to cope with mental and physical stress. An unbalanced diet will lead to poor health and perhaps even death.

Of importance is the fact that seed alone will not provide sufficient nutrition for seed eating birds, even if a variety of seed is offered. To supply your bird with the necessary vitamins and minerals, include pellets, fruit and vegetables as part of its diet. Formulated diets consist of seeds, grains, vegetables, fruits and proteins. Fresh fruits and vegetables must be washed and remnants left in the cage must be thrown away before it begins to rot.

Non seed eating birds are fed on a formula which is served either dry or moistened.

Also important for your bird’s nutritional need is water. Fresh water must be given daily or more frequently if your bird fouls up the water.

Early explorers in South America must have been stunned at the sight of this huge bird. They were so impressed that they named it after a frightful half-avian, half-woman monster of Greek mythology-the harpy.

Today the striking appearance of the harpy eagle inspires wonder. Standing three feet tall and having a wingspan of up to seven feet, this bird of the Central and South American rain forests is one of the biggest and most powerful eagles in the world. Commensurate with this size, harpy eagles are armed with powerful talons that grow to about five inches in length, twice that of bald-eagle talons. Moreover, according to National Geographic Today, harpy-eagle talons are so strong that they can crush the bones of their victims, often killing them instantly. Despite the harpy eagle’s great size and formidible weaponary, however, it flies so quietly that it my not even be noticed as it pases overhead.

Although humans have little to fear from the harpy eagle, the bird has cause to fear man. Poaching and the destruction of the forest habitat put the bird on the endangered species list, and sightings in the wild are now rare. In an effort to save the harpy eagle, Panama declared it the national bird, and convicted poachers there face stiff sentences.