So, I finally got Bondi to perform the entire Mailbox Routine on camera. This routine is very advanced in my opinion. Bondi already knew dozens of behaviors and this one became frustrating for her. I literally gave her about 4 months off from doing it before attempting it again and getting real results. See, Bondi is the type of bird that once...

Distractions can really put an abrupt halt in training. For example, I had three birds out while attempting to work with just one of them. I didn't plan it that way - I had them all out flying around and then Bondi told me she wanted to work on her "roll over/play dead" trick so I began training on the hallway floor. Well, once Bandit saw Bondi ...

I'm a HUGE believer in working with your bird's NATURAL capabilities and habits. For instance, my cockatoo "Bondi" is most talkative in the car above other places. So, since we were on a road trip from Washington to Arizona, I thought I'd use that to my advantage and grabbed my training bag with me up front. Now, she is mostly talkative with D...

Photo by Dave Location: Orlando, FL Cockatoos: Galahs "Bondi" and "Bandit" A huge discouragement to letting a bird be a bird and use its natural ability to fly... is this myth that flighted birds don't talk. This is completely false!  I know, because I have both types of birds; the one who never flew outside before (Bondi, my galah) and one who...

Anyone who has more than one parrot has learned pretty fast that parrots learn fastest from other parrots. Even when learning to talk, they learn best from listening to other parrots speak. I've learned both of these things from having a flock of birds compared to just one. Obviously, I had to start with just one at one point in time and progre...

Photo by Dave Location: Sandpoint, ID Excited ones: Rose Breasted Cockatoos "Bondi", "Ace" and "Bandit"   Some friends asked if I could watch their rose breasted cockatoo, Ace, for a day or so. They were staying at an aunt's and I was happy to look after Ace (whom I hand fed when he was just a youngin' anyway!)   I was actually really looking f...