Pet birds in Rome

[geopelia]

I've just joined, and don't know if this has been mentioned before, my apologies if so.
I'm still finding my way around the site.

(I come from England, and have been in New Zealand for over fifty years. My father's people came from near Cirencester, and a Roman road ran just behind the house, so I became interested in Rome as a small child. Who knows, I might have a Roman soldier ancestor).

In the TV series Rome, I noticed some pet birds in the background. I'm sure I glimpsed a sulphur crested cockatoo, an Australian bird!

Surely the Romans wouldn't have this bird? But there is a very similar cockatoo from Indonesia, the yellow crested cockatoo.

The Romans did have the psittacula ringneck parrots, probably from India.  The dead parrot Ovid laments was probably a ringneck.

Is it possible for Indonesian birds to have been traded and eventually found in Rome?

I also thought I saw a couple of South American conures, but couldn't be sure of that.

But perhaps to the TV people, a bird is a bird.

[Janus]

Hi Geopelia,

Nice bird spotting. The series was shot in Italy and I assumed they would have used birds from the region. But I guess it would be difficult to replicate what was available in ancient times.

Trade routes extended through India and most of Asia. I'm not sure they would have come as far as Indonesia. And Australia... not even a twinkle in Captain Cook's eye.

Were there European birds that are more akin to those breeds?

Regards,
Janus.

[geopelia]

Hi Janus

 No, there are no native parrots in Europe, though now there are a few feral ones that have established themselves.


The Romans would have liked Haast's Eagle,  if New Zealand had been known in their day.  The biggest eagle that ever existed, it is now extinct, but it was big enough to prey on the Moa.

What a pet for Caesar!

[geopelia]

"Rome" is now being repeated on New Zealand TV.

There was a white cockatoo on a recent program, and what looks like a Conure!

What a great series that is. Such a pity they decided not to make the third one because of cost.

[Imperator]

Is it really?  I have both Series on DVD and you are right, they are truly wonderful achievements for all concerned with the making of them.

I hear though there is a movie on it's way...yippeee!

[geopelia]

I found a site on Google where somebody else has noticed the unexpected birds.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384766/goofs

I'm watching the series again, and noticed other birds that the Romans wouldn't have kept. I even thought I glimpsed a cockatiel.
But so far, no budgies!

I see they have recently made another film of Spartacus. That will be interesting when it comes here to New Zealand.

[Akhenaten]

Well that's just silly.   Of course the Romans knew about Australia or they wouldn't have called it Terra Australis, now would they?



That cocky certainly did stand out for his out-of-placeness.

I vaguely remember reading stories of menageries being kept by affluent Romans, but were birds, and pets generally, kept by the Romans to anything like the extent that they are now?


Cheers,

Akhenaten

[Imperator]

Are you asking if they had zoos?

[geopelia]

They had plenty of wild animals, imported for use in the arena.
I don't know if they had anything like a modern zoo.

Would they have had tigers, like the one in the film "Gladiator"?

Getting tigers to Rome from India would have been quite a problem.