From the AAV International Committee

Welcome back to the AAV international committee newsletter with updates from around the world!

In this newsletter, we shine a spotlight on Dr. Carina Esteves from Uruguay. She was the recipient of the 2024 AAV Developing Nation Conference Scholarship. In the short video she gives you a tour of her clinic Vetexoticos. Dr. Jaime Samour, a long-standing member of the international committee, shares his experiences of rearing Houbara bustards in captivity from a conservation point of view and highlights the importance of this bird in local culture.

The international committee is very committed to educating veterinarians and bird parents on important topics that concern the care and upkeep of birds. We encourage you to explore our ever-increasing library of handouts which have been very carefully translated into many languages. Our newest set of translations in Polish will be available later this month!

The Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) is pleased to announce the availability of a 2025 scholarship to assist a veterinarian with financial need from a developing nation to attend the annual conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona next year. Interested? Check out the details below and apply now! 

Did you know AAV recently hosted the AAV Avian Medicine Virtual Conference? We have the conference now ON DEMAND which you can view at your own leisure.

As always, we are looking to highlight news, stories, and anecdotes from the avian world, whether it is involving a species in particular, or one that hold cultural importance. This month we would like to share news on the night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) from Australia. A rare and elusive birds that was thought to be extinct for over 100 years. Click here to read this article. If you have news to share from your corner of the world, do write to us at international-committee@aav.org. And be sure to renew your AAV membership for 2025 for another great year ahead!

Enjoy your reading and Happy Holidays!

Isabelle Langlois and Shiwani Tandel

AAV International Committee Co-chairs

International Clinic Spotlight: Vetexoticos, Dr. Carina Esteves

Enjoy this tour of Vetexoticos located in Montevideo, Uruguay presented by AAV Veterinarian Member Dr. Carina Esteves. AAV would like to thank Dr. Esteves for sharing this tour of the hospital. Learn more about AAV membership and join our dynamic global veterinary community at http://www.aav.org.

Breeding the Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) at

Al Baida Research Centre for Houbara and Bird Breeding, Qatar

By: Jaime Samour, MVZ (Honours), PhD, Dip ECZM (Avian), FRSB

AAV International Committee Member, Wildlife Management and Falcon and Houbara Medicine and Breeding Consultancy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The houbara bustard is a medium-sized desert species inhabiting steppes, harsh open plains and scrub desert. There are two different species of houbara bustard, the North African species (Chlamydotis undulata), from North Mauritania to Egypt and the Asian species (Chlamydotis macqueenii) from the Sinai and Arabian Peninsulas, and North Caspian Sea east to Baluchistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. There is a sub-species of the African houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae), from the Eastern Canary Isles in Spain. The Canary Island and North African houbara bustards are virtually sedentary, while the Asian species migrates from Central Asia in the autumn, south-west, wintering mainly in Pakistan, north-west India, Iran, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. Houbara bustards are opportunistic omnivores, feeding on invertebrates, such as beetles, spiders and ants, plant material including leaves, flowers and fruits; and small vertebrates, such as geckos and skinks.

Read the full article by clicking the button below.

Visit our Growing Library of Translated Handouts!

AAV's Education and International Committees continue to work together to translate additional client education handouts. Many translated handouts may be downloaded from the AAV Publication Library as well as from our public Bird Owner Resources page on AAV.org.

Click the following languages to view these translations: French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, German, Portuguese, and coming soon - Polish!

2025 Developing Nations Conference Scholarship

AAV Avian Medicine Virtual 2024 ON DEMAND

Renew by December 31, 2024 at 11:59pm EST for a Chance to WIN!