Blue throated macaws

This question seems to be coming up a lot recently on the birdtricks facebook page and other places I visit regularly. I appreciate that people have the good sense to ask, but it’s a very difficult question to answer without knowing the person asking it, without getting a sense of the person or what their lifestyle is. I normally spend more effort trying to talk people out of getting birds than recommending a species to them.

Owning a bird takes a lot of time and work:
Are ...

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Congo African Grey Parrot

Have you ever just sat and listened to your bird’s calls and tried to figure out what they mean?  Just like babies have different cries meaning: I’m hungry/wet/tired/angry, your bird has a different meaning and a different sound to each of his vocalization.
We all know the shrill, panicked sound of the alarm call.  Often meaning that there’s a fly in the cage or Alex, the evil pool guy, is in the back yard again waving around that net thingy on the the long stick.  ...

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Blue and Gold Macaws

I learned a long time ago never to look at Linus when I am on the phone.  Being a cockatoo, he believes the sun rises just for him.  He can’t understand why I would talk to an electronic gadget when I have perfectly good cockatoo standing by.  If I look at him, it’s an invitation to join in the conversation.
My daughter called the other day and was telling me about a jacket she had seen in a store window that cost $3500.  She was jokingly asking ...

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Congo African Grey Parrot

Parrots are instinctively highly attuned to everything around them.  It is this awareness of their environment that keeps them safe from predators.  So it’s easy to understand why parrots are so quick to pick up on the energy levels of their owners and the home they live in. This is something we can use to our advantage and is just one more example of how having an understanding of a wild bird’s nature will help us with the birds we keep in our homes. Have you ...

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Quaker Parrot

As fun as it is to have a bird that talks, it’s never been high on the list of priorities where mine are concerned.   I am greeted when I get home with an array of “Hi”s and “How Ya Doing”s just enough to make me know I’ve been missed and that’s good enough for me.

However, it seems important to Libby, my adventuresome quaker, that she speak to me in my language, so I encourage it.  She is my breakfast making companion lately.  She sits on my shoulder while I ...

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Camelot macaws, blue throated macaw, Galah

Is the mess, the chores, the feeding, and the constant need for attention starting to get to you?  It’s called burn out, and don’t worry, you aren’t alone. There are some mornings that I get up praying that the cockatoos will find it in their hearts to refrain from their dramatics for just this one day. I often don’t get my wish. Today was my day off and I had a long list of things to accomplish.  As I looked over the list, I couldn’t ...

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