For the love of birds

There is a book about birds that Roberto del Rosario is publishing," said an excited Jun Mendoza, STAR photographer, to me. "He is the leading breeder of African Lovebirds here."

Jun should know, after all he too is a pet lover. Jun’s love affair of the pet kind started with his Chow Chow dogs. He was always excited to show me the many pictures he took of his kid and the dogs. This is why it was always a fun shoot with Jun because he understood how much time and patience it takes to take a good shot of a pet.

I have been witness to Jun’s gentle nature when it comes to shooting animals. He waits and waits and waits until at last he has a shot that he is proud of.

I guess it was in the the process of taking photos for Pet Life that Jun developed a love for African Lovebirds and Flower Horn fish, too.

And this brings us to the book The Breeding of African Lovebirds in the Philippines by Del Rosario, which is co-authored by his wife and son Bong. The book is edited by Laurence Diche. And of course, Jun was tapped to take the photos for the book.

Other guest writers in the book include personalites in the Philippine bird industry like Paul Vidal, president of the Philippine Aviculturist Federation, and eight-time president of the Avian Society of the Philippines, Willie "Birdman" Cedula.

The book presents the personal wealth of experience of the Del Rosario family when it comes to breeding African Lovebirds. It is a practical guide on how to breed and care for these loving creatures.

The full-color, hard-bound book has about 100 pictures (all taken by Jun, free of charge) which make it easy to visualize the care, housing requirements, nutrition requirements and bird show preparations.

"I have been a breeder of African Lovebirds for over a decade," said Del Rosario. "And my passion for these wonderful birds has literally spilled over into a new endeavor."

Breeding African Lovebirds in the Philippines will be launched on Saturday, Aug. 14 at 262 Ermin Garcia Ave., Cubao, Quezon City. There will be a mass at 10 a.m. to kick off the event. For more information, call Roberto del Rosario at 437-0444,911-6115, 911-2221 or 091-781000058.

Here are some of the photos taken by Jun which will be featured in the book.