Greenwing macaw

As much as we try to make our birds feel at home, there is no way around the fact that life in our world is unnatural for them. Even the bird that has been raised entirely in captivity might struggle to understand the human environment.

Wild parrots learn about their world from their parents and flock mates who teach them what is safe and what is not. We humans, not being birds, are mostly unable to communicate similar messages to our companions. Often our birds have to learn by trial ...

Goffins cockatoo, Theo

Of all of the mistakes we make with our parrots there is one that stands out over the rest. It is something that we often do unconsciously, but sometimes very consciously. Sometimes it happens just because we don’t understand not to do it.

Unfortunately, it is one of the most damaging mistakes we make, and creates problems that are some of the hardest to fix: in a word, it is inconsistency.

It doesn’t sound terribly evil, does it? Actually, though, it is among the worst of all our sins we ...

Yellow collared macaw

I think it might be fallout from a particularly hormonal spring season, but recently I have read an abundance of comments from people who feel at their wits ends with their birds. It’s not uncommon to be reading complaints following breeding season, but they are usually tempered with a sense of relief. Not so much this year.

I was absolutely floored to hear that a long time bird-pal was thinking about giving up her flock because she just didn’t think she had another spring season in her. Even ...

Fid my Blue and Gold Macaw travels in a large dog crate.

There are few things more terrifying than those few moments before impact when you realise you’re about to be in a very serious car accident and that there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid it.

Recently, I was stopped at pedestrian lights, waiting for them to change to green when I heard the squeal of tyres behind me. A glance in the rear vision mirror told me that a wannabe truck ...

Blue and gold macaw

It seems to me that the people who have the most success with their parrots are the same ones who have evolved child rearing skills. The two jobs are, after all, very much alike. A good parent knows to encourage good behavior rather than expect it, because freedom of choice means that it can go either way.

I was recently having an online discussion with some other parrot owners about setting our birds up for success. One person was saying that she believed the best way to handle ...

Moluccan cockatoo on the road

Summer is the time when many people choose to do their traveling. The children are free from school commitments and the weather is more likely to remain suitable for a road trip. Why not load the kids and the dog into the RV and head out across country?

For we parrot owners, though, decisions like those are more complicated: what do we do with the bird?

On the one hand, there is the fear of boarding. Not only do we assume that we will spend the entire vacation ...