In the late 1960s, Alba Ballard, a Long Island housewife, decided it would be a cute idea to dress up one of her many pet parrots in a little costume. She sewed a tiny outfit, attached snaps to the back, and slipped it onto one of the birds. Delighted with the results, Alba began creating increasingly detailed costumes for her always available and willing subjects. Soon she began staging elaborate theatrical productions, casting her costumed parrots in scene reenactments from popular movies, TV shows, historical events, and 1970s popular culture. Her husband, Marvin, would assist in creating sets and props and would photograph the productions at Alba's direction. The resulting imagery from this collaboration among wife, husband, and parrots is a look into the highly creative mind of Alba Ballard. Untrained as an artist, she nevertheless was able to create works that embodied her fantasies, her humor, and her passions. And what fantasies she had! In her world, parrots became tiny, winged, overdressed incarnations of such luminaries as Sonny and Cher, Liberace, and General George Patton. Yellow and green macaws rode around on little motorcycles dressed in leather jackets reenacting scenes from Easy Rider and, changing costumes, could then effortlessly slip into roles from TV's Batman and Robin, The Dean Martin Show, and a commercial for Soft and Dry deodorant. Eventually, Alba and her feathered cast appeared on the David Letterman Show, Saturday Night Live, and even in Woody Allen's feature film Broadway Danny Rose. Very few of the photographs that Alba and Marvin created are still in existence, and sadly, Alba passed away in 1994. However, in 1992, a small collection of these photographs was discovered in the Swiss home of Elizabeth Taylor. Just after their discovery, the photographs reached the hands of photographer and author Arne Svenson, who has now gathered them together in this book. Book jacket.

Birds are among the most extensively studied of all animal groups. Hundreds of academic journals and thousands of scientists are devoted to bird research, while amateur enthusiasts (called birdwatchers or, more commonly, birders) probably number in the millions. Birds are categorised as a biological class, Aves. The earliest known species of this class is Archaeopteryx lithographica, from the Late Jurassic period. According to the most recent consensus, Aves and a sister group, the order Crocodilia, together form a group of unnamed rank, the Archosauria. Phylogenetically, Aves is usually defined as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds (or of a specific modern bird species like Passer domesticus), and Archaeopteryx. Modern phylogenies place birds in the dinosaur clade Theropoda. Modern birds are divided into two superorders, the Paleognathae (mostly flightless birds like ostriches), and the wildly diverse Neognathae, containing all other birds.

Made famous on The Martha Stewart Show on television and Sirius radio, Marc Morrone is front and center to answer his viewers’ (and his readers’) many questions about their favorite pets. In Ask the Bird Keeper, Marc’s quirky, entertaining personality shines on every page as he spews out his wisdom, know-how, and hilarious anecdotes to answer dozens of questions. Divided into nine chapters, this book offers answers on hundreds of topics about feeding, housing, training, healthy, anatomy, and everyday care. In the “Food” chapter—from grit to grub—Marc discusses dietary changes, supplements, people food, and different kinds of diets. A chapter devoted to accommodations talks about various cage options, choosing the right size cage and equipment, and cleaning tips. Positive reinforcement underscores Marc’s chapter “School,” in which he lectures on bonding, hyperactive, noise issues, and challenging bird behaviors. As a self-taught bird keeper, Marc’s chapter on “Health” is a true primer in what owners can and cannot do, from first aid tips and trimming (nails, beaks, feathers) to broken tails, parasites, parrot fever and bird flu. While Marc is often laugh-out-loud funny in all of the chapters, it is his genuine admiration and respect for his avian friends that make this book a unique resource for all pet lovers. Fill with real first-hand information and reliable tips, readers will be laughing and learning in equal measure! The book is beautifully designed and illustrated with color photographs as well as original artwork by Jason O’Malley.

Before Martha Stewart named him her “pet keeper,” and before millions of people turned to him for advice, Marc Morrone had a simple dream: to learn everything he possibly could about every kind of animal and share that knowledge with others. In this lively, colorful memoir, Morrone offers a heartfelt and candid look inside a life well-lived with creatures great and small, from the domestic to the exotic, from frisky ferrets to renegade reptiles to rare parrots. Morrone is an enthusiastic champion of all animals—furred, feathered, or scaled, domestic or wild—and his lifelong adventures take us from his internationally renowned pet store, Parrots of the World, to his home and personal menagerie, covering his media roles on both television and radio. Inspiring, informative, and frequently amazing, Morrone’s story is a memorable tribute to one man’s passion for the world of animals and his enduring commitment to their care. In A Man for All Species, animal expert Marc Morrone weaves thrilling, inspiring, strange, and often hilarious experiences with practical advice gleaned over his forty-year career, revealing a world of adventure and anguish, humor and heart, that every pet owner and animal lover will recognize.

On March 31, 1943, the musical Oklahoma! premiered and the modern era of the Broadway musical was born. Since that time, the theatres of Broadway have staged hundreds of musicals--some more noteworthy than others, but all in their own way a part of American theatre history. With more than 750 entries, this comprehensive reference work provides information on every musical produced on Broadway since Oklahoma's 1943 debut. Each entry begins with a brief synopsis of the show, followed by a three-part history: first, the pre-Broadway story of the show, including out-of-town try-outs and Broadway previews; next, the Broadway run itself, with dates, theatres, and cast and crew, including replacements, chorus and understudies, songs, gossip, and notes on reviews and awards; and finally, post-Broadway information with a detailed list of later notable productions, along with important reviews and awards.