A Congo African Grey – CAG.

While abbreviating names can be much faster to write or type, sometimes it can get confusing even for people who are used to doing it! That’s why I’ve compiled a glossary of the most common abbreviations of bird names.

Cockatoos are the easiest, although they sound more confusing at first. Quite simply, the ‘too’ of cockatoo is abbreviated into numerical form, 2. Then the first letter refers to the actual species or sub-species. Note that cockatoos are also often ...

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Senegal Parrot

People instinctively crave touch, as to us, it means empathy, love, and affection. To a parrot, however, touching outside of the head, neck, and feet means that you are initiating sex, very simply. A parrot can be perfectly happy without touch, though many love it.

We should not be touching our parrots outside of the head, neck, and feet, as it brings such frustration to our birds. If continued, human touch can actually spur hormonal attacks in our feathered pets. There are a ...

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Senegal parrot loves music.

One of the things I often get asked by friends and family is, ‘Doesn’t your bird hate your musical instrument?’ It is, after all, very loud. And it takes my attention away from them.

As a musician, I find that my parrots have come through necessity to relate to my music. I had to find a way to turn my own practise time (which is of vital importance to me) into a fun time for them, too. Otherwise ...

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Green-winged macaw feathers.

My flock started off rather by accident. Despite knowing what a bad idea it was, I ended up going into a pet shop near my university one day before a lesson. I saw two adorable wee canaries and had to have them. My boyfriend, Oliver, reluctantly agreed. How much trouble could two fluffy songbirds bring?

Quite a lot, as it turns out – though indirectly! It was through my belated in-depth research on canaries that I discovered parrots.

I knew right away ...

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