Founded in 1894
President: Mike Curzon MBE
The Avicultural Society is concerned with the keeping and breeding of all types of birds other than domesticated varieties. The society, based in the UK, has a world-wide membership which includes most top aviculturalists, as well as leading zoos, bird gardens, conservation organisations and research institutes around the world.
History of the Society
A small group of British and foreign bird-keeping enthusiasts met in Brighton in 1894 with a view to forming a society devoted to their interests. The newly formed society started with 52 members. In November of that year, the first issue of the society’s magazine carried an editorial in which the joint editors proposed that members should be known as aviculturists. Thus the Avicultural Society came into being and a new word – aviculture – entered the English language.
The Society Today
The Avicultural Society promotes the study of, and best practices in, keeping non-domesticated birds in captivity. The Society also sponsors Special Interest Groups dedicated to the captive propagation of non-domestic birds. We also encourage conservation in the wild. To this end amongst the various projects selected the Avicultural Society has assisted in the funding of Professor He Fen-Qui’s work with the Blue-crowned Laughing Thrush and hornbill research in Thailand, where villagers who previously earned money by taking chicks from their nests and selling them, now receive payments for protecting the nests and collecting nesting data.
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