Matthew Vriends is a professional biologist and ornithologist. From 1984 to 1993 he was Director of Research and Education for L/M Animal Farms in Ohio where he developed approximately 40 varieties of commercial bird food. Since 1998, he has been a professor of biology and ornithology at Suffolk Community College in Selden, New York. Vriends has a Ph.D. in zoology and biology from the State University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and a Ph.D. in virology and bacteriology from Thomas More College. He has published over 100 bird- and other animal-related books in English, Dutch and German. Some of his latest titles include Conures, Doves and Hand-feeding and Raising Baby Birds. He writes for many English and Belgian periodicals including BirdTalk, Watchbird, Onze Vogels and Vogelvreugd. Matthew Vriends has kept finches since the 1950s and has been researching them since the early 1960s. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with these fascinating birds that are a pleasure to keep and study. He has often been interviewed on television as an expert in aviculture and had his own weekly radio show in Holland.Tanya Heming-Vriends is the third generation of her family to pursue an interest in biology and aviculture. She has a M.Sc. in biology and marine biology from the State University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and is presently a Ph.D. candidate in marine biology at Ohio State University. She has traveled throughout the world to regions such as Australia, South America, the Congo and Indonesia assisting her father with research and field observations of finches. Tanya Heming-Vriends has participated in the publication of books and periodical articles as writer, illustrator and researcher. She has co-authored The Canary Handbook, Hedgehogs and A Complete Pet Owner’s Manual and written finch-related articles for Watchbird.