About Us

About the Organization:
Wing and a Prayer is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation for charitable, scientific, and educational goals. We rescue and rehabilitate captive lorikeets, and we also study wild lorikeet populations for the purpose
of conservation and scientific documentation. Why is this important? Almost all lory and lorikeet species are classified as either endangered, vulnerable, or threatened.Without conservation efforts, the extinction
of some species is imminent.

Domestic Rescue and Rehabilitation:
We are dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of lories and lorikeets. We have been working with the threatened Buru red lory for 20 years. This subspecies of red lory is believed to be disappearing from its
native island, and is extremely difficult to find as a pure subspecies in aviculture. Those remaining few in aviculture have commonly been interbred with the more common subspecies Moluccan red lory, creating
hybrids. It is a goal to maintain pure bloodlines of the Buru subspecies of red lory, since they are believed to be close to extinction. Our organization is the only one of its kind known to focus on the Buru red
lory, and is known to the American Lory Society as the foremost organization for protection of this subspecies. We also rescue and rehabilitate all other lory and lorikeet species that come to our doorstep, such
as those that are rescued by the local nonprofit organization Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue.

Scientific Observation and Documentation of Wild Populations:
We are dedicated to the preservation of lories and lorikeets in the wild and the conservation of their habitats. Working with the Société d'Ornithologie de Polynésie "MANU", we have focused efforts on the
scientific observation, population determination, and photographic documentation of the endangered ultramarine lorikeet in its native habitat.

About the Founder:
Dr. Tammy Doukas earned a MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University School of Medicine, specializing in viral research. Work
experience includes Genentech, Marine Science Institute, and medical and biological research in science and engineering labs at Stanford and NASA Ames Research Center. She has lectured at Stanford, and
published scientific research. Senior editor of Stanford Science Magazine since its inception in 2003, she was elected Editor-in-Chief in 2006. She is passionate about the preservation of animals and the
conservation of their habitats.

About the Aviary:
The aviary houses lorikeets that have been rescued or rehabilitated. As much as we would love to release them to their native homes, these lorikeets can not be released due to international restrictions.

The aviary contains large, non-galvanized stainless steel flights, and is fully climate controlled. Solar-powered roof vents and window panes control the temperature, as well as allow sunlight to enter the aviary,
giving the lories physical contact with unfiltered sunlight that is necessary for proper calcium absorption. When the weather is cool, thermostatically controlled heaters heat the aviary and ceramic heat lamps
radiate heat directly to the lories’ sleeping quarters.

Roof vents and windows are screened in order to protect the lories from mosquitoes and other flying insect pests. Additionally, green tree frogs populate the aviary to control tiny insects.

Lories need humidity and daily baths. This requirement is fulfilled with an automatic misting system that finely mists the aviary once a day during cool weather, and several times a day during warm weather.

One of the challenges of keeping lories is their diet. Since they eat wet food - fruit, nectar, and pollen - they continuously bring their food back and forth to their water bowls, quickly spoiling the water. Lories
need their water changed frequently. Our aviary is equipped with an automatic watering system which flushes the water bowls with fresh water four times a day. All water into the aviary, both for misting and
drinking, passes first through a filter.

The aviary is filled with tropical plants including those that are found in the lories’ natural habitat. This is to keep the birds feeling more at home, and also to supply the lories with foods that they might obtain in
the wild, including hibiscus, palm, fig, and banana.