Application of the centile scale method for assessing the health of parrots

The article presents the results of studies of the microelement composition of feathers of wild birds kept in the conditions of zoos in Moscow and Ivanovo. The aim of the study was to study the content of some heavy metals and arsenic in representatives of the cockatoo subfamily – Cacatuinae (White cockatoo – Cacatua alba, Sulper-crested ccockatoo – Cacatua galerita), and birds of subfamily Psittacinae – Blue-fronted Amazon – Amazona aestiva, Burrowing parakeet – Cyanoliseus patagonus assessing the health status of birds. In 2018–2020, parrot`s feathers were studied for the accumulation of zinc, copper, iron, lead, cadmium and arsenic by the atomic absorption method. The data on the features of the content of chemical elements in different species of parrots are given. In the course of the study, it was found that according to the value of the average content in the feathers of parrots, the studied elements form the following decreasing series: Fe> Zn> Cu> Pb> Cd> As. In parrots kept in zoos, there is a tendency to a decrease in the proportion of zinc and copper in 38,4%, an increase in iron and cadmium in 30,8% and 38,4% of individuals, respectively. Deviations in the fluctuations of lead and arsenic in the studied sample of birds were equally in the direction of increasing and decreasing their content in biosubstrates in 38,4% of individuals; 30,8% of the studied birds in terms of the content of iron, zinc and cadmium in feathers, 46,1% in terms of copper, 23,1% in lead, 7,7% in terms of lead are in a state of “pre-illness” and require additional examinations. In the fan of the parrots, a significant increase in the concentration of lead in the grooves, in comparison with the rod, by 3,98 times and a decrease by 2,83 times in the level of zinc accumulation was established. Revealed a significant average direct relationship between the level of Zn and Pb, Zn and Cd, Cu and Pb, Cu and Cd; Fe and As; Cd and As and inverse average relationship between the level of Pb and Cd; Pb and As in bird feathers. To improve the trace element status of parrot’s zoological institutions, it is necessary to conduct monitoring studies with a frequency of 1 time per six months with an assessment of the level of chemical elements on centile scales.