Finding a veterinarian who's the right fit for your bird can be a challenge. Experience, education, and the intangible -- but critical -- element of trust all affect your decision. Fortunately, most communities have a number of veterinary practices that you can choose from.

However, it's one thing to find the right vet for your dog or cat; it's quite another to find one for your parrot, cockatiel, or lovebird. Avian anatomy and physiology are quite different from that of the cat and dog and, consequently, they suffer from a completely different variety of illnesses.

Not all vets are bird vets

Every veterinary student spends years studying the treatment of canine and feline illnesses. But avian medicine is not a required subject of study at most veterinary schools and many vets have limited experience treating birds. Typically, avian medicine is an elective subject taken only by those students with a particular interest in it.

However, there are veterinarians whose practices include avian medicine and who have special training and expertise in the field. The problem is finding them.

So, what is a bird owner to do?

Specialty organizations

Laurie Hess, DVM, a board-certified avian specialist practicing in a suburb of New York City, suggests that bird owners take advantage of two important sources of avian specialist information.

The first is The American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP), which is the organization accredited to certify veterinary specialists in nine veterinary practice categories, including Avian Practice. Veterinarians who are certified in one of the nine specialties are referred to as "Diplomates.'' The ABVP site has a search function enabling the user to enter the practice category (in this case, "Avian''), as well as city and state.

ABVP Diplomate status is only granted to those veterinarians who have had six years of "acceptable'' experience in avian medicine, complete a two-year residency program, and pass a rigorous written examination.

A further source of information is The Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV), which maintains a veterinarian-search tool on its Web site, enabling the user to search for an AAV member by city, state, zip code, province, or area code.

The AAV is an organization open to any veterinarian with a special interest in avian medicine. While it is not a guarantee of expertise in the field, AAV membership strongly suggests that a vet is seriously interested in the field and is committed to maintaining his/her expertise.

Hess -- who is also the 2009-2010 president-elect of the AAV -- points out that lack of ABVP Diplomate status as an avian specialist does not mean that a veterinarian is not qualified to treat your pet bird. She points out that there are only about 120-130 board-certified avian veterinarians in the world: "There are some perfectly well-qualified avian vets who are not board-certified,'' she said. 

Questions to ask

In view of the differences between canine and feline veterinary practice and avian practice -- not only in terms of basic medicine but also in terms of the need for specialized equipment and facilities -- Hess suggests that "it is perfectly reasonable to ask a veterinarian to whom you may be entrusting the care of your bird the simple question 'how many birds do you see in a week?'"

Other resources

There are other, less official but nonetheless potentially valuable, sources of information to use in your search.

Local bird clubs, breeders, and bird owners can be an excellent source of referrals. In addition, don't forget local veterinarians who are not themselves avian specialists. They will likely be able to refer you to a specialist in your area. (You can then use the AAV and ABVP search functions to see if that vet is a member or Diplomate.)

A final note: Don't wait

The time to find a veterinarian for your bird is not after your bird has become ill. Taking the time to locate and investigate potential veterinarians right now, when your bird is well -- or even before you acquire one -- can save you lots of worry later.