Back in June we introduced the Birdorable Tree Sparrow. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a small passerine bird related the the House Sparrow. Tree Sparrows live across much of Europe and Asia, although numbers are declining in some parts of western Europe.

Tree Sparrows are unfortunately on the decline in the United Kingdom - up to 50% in some areas. Research is being done to determine the cause of the decline as well as track current successful sparrow habitat and breeding grounds. Sightings of Tree Sparrows can be submitted to researchers online at TreeSparrows.com. The website's newsletter provides updated information on the research project and national sightings. Swag to show your support is also available.

This week's featured t-shirt is our brand-new embroidered Birdorable Cardinal on this Ladies Polo Shirt. We're proud to announce our first Birdorable bird presented in beautiful embroidery! The stitched Northern Cardinal is also available on jackets & hats. You can even customize the design and add your own embroidered text! How cool is that?

Here are two new Birdorable coloring pages for some cute coloring fun. This time it's the turn of our Birdorable Rock Pigeon and American Robin. Go to Coloring Pages to download these two new PDFs and check the Meet the Birds page to check the colors.

These downloads will be available until 15 December 2009. Check here for more coloring pages. Subscribe to the Birdorable Blog by RSS feed or by email to get notified when new downloads like this are added.

This week's featured t-shirt is this New Zealand Save the Kakapo design. Birdorable is proud to support Kakapo conservation: 30% of the retail price of every Birdorable Kakapo product sale will be donated to the Kakapo Recovery Programme in New Zealand. For more information see our Save the Kakapo page.

Do you think this parrot looks cute? Don't let the cute big eyes fool you. This parrot is a killer! The Kea is native to the South Island of New Zealand and is one of only a few parrots in the world that lives in alpine regions. They to used to be killed by farmers for they preyed on livestock, especially sheep. Can you believe this cute parrot would attack a sheep?

The above drawing from 1882 shows a Kea on the back of a sheep. The birds have the reputation for pecking through the skin of a sheep to take fat from around the kidneys. This usually does not immediately kill the animal, but often a fatal blood infection follows. A bounty was placed on the birds that caused a heavy reduction in their numbers, but now they are a protected species. Here is a shocking clip from Animal Planet narrated by David Attenborough. Warning: this video is not for the faint of heart

The kea is the 213th bird species we've cutified as a Birdorable. It's available on customizable t-shirts and gifts. For more cute parrots and parakeets see Meet the Birds.

The Kakapo, also called the Owl Parrot, is a large flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand. This species is critically endangered; as of April 2009 there were only 125 living individuals known. The BBC recently posted this funny Kakapo video that's been making the rounds on the web. Actor Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine travel to New Zealand for the program Last Chance To See to look for Kakapos in the wild. During their encounter, Carwardine gets more than he bargained for:

Inspired by this funny video and several customer requests, we've added the Kakapo to Birdorable! Our cute Kakapo products are available via Zazzle, which allows customization. This means that you can choose from hundreds of apparel styles and colors, and you can add text to Birdorable designs as you see fit! Just pick any Kakapo shirt and then click on Customize it! Here are some Kakapo shirts to which I've added custom text. Why don't you go ahead and give it a try! You can play with the customization with no obligation to buy.