When thinking of the long term happiness of you and your bird, you will inevitably need to learn how your bird thinks in order to influence its behavior. Sure, you can get it to step up on your finger, and it seems to eat fine, but why does it scream incessantly hour after hour? Why does it bite you? Why does it bite everyone but you? How can you have a happy, healthy home for your parrot?

When you have a pet that will live 20 years (for a conure) or even possibly 80 or more (think African Grey or Cockatoo), there are long-term planning considerations that you need to make. Researching parrot psychology as early as possible will help you mold your bird in ways that will pay off over the years, and even as soon as a few months. Do you ever wonder why there are so many slightly used birds (one or two years old) in the paper? It's because their owners did not raise them with an eye to the future, and when their birds got out of the "cute and cuddly" phase into their birdie adolescence (this happens at 6-10 months for conures -- or so I have been told -- and at two years or so for greys and cockatoos) their owners don't know how to deal with them any more. They may have figured out how to feed them correctly, but then they "kill them with kindness" ... by which I mean that they spoil them so much they become impossible for anyone, often including the owner, to deal with anymore. (If you don't believe me, check out "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," a website documenting the existence of a feral flock in San Francisco. We supposedly have a feral flock here in Seattle, too, at Seward Park.)

"My Parrot, My Friend," and "Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot," which I discuss on the Parrot care page, are the definitive guides for this information. There is also a lot of anecdotal information I can share with you. The following is a mix of what I have learned through reading these books and others (I am always looking for new information on parrot raising) and what I have picked up from my bird-loving friends.

There are two kind of influences on parrot behavior. One is instinctive. When Bibo and I go for a walk outside, if a bird flies over head, casting a hawk-like shadow on Bibo, he squats down, makes a weird cry, and jumps off of my shoulder. My belief is that this is an instinctive action brought by a fear of being picked off by an avian predator. Morning and evening calling are another instinctive behavior, as is shoving food out of a dish and scattering it on the ground. These behaviors are better adapted to that changed. Learning what your bird is prone to do instinctively will give you an opportunity to work with it or around it as needed.

The more frustrating influence on birds' behavior is learned behavior. It would not surprise a parrot owner to find out that she can teach her parrot tricks by rewarding behavior she likes. This is the kind of learned behavior that most people expect out of an animal, like when they teach a dog to sit. But what is surprising is what a parrot learns that is not intentional on a human's part. For example, if your bird is having a screaming fit, is the proper response to

• a) take the bird out of its cage
• b) cover the bird or to
• c) yell at the bird to shut up?

There is much more information that I will share with you about this topic, but it will take some time for me to put everything I've learned on this page. However, there seems to be very little on the topic on the web, so I feel like anything I add will be of use. Remember to check out Sally Blanchard's page, The Pet Bird Report.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write me at tamorama@juno.com. I am in no means an expert, but I would love to hear from you!

Bibo's diary
Conure information
Parrot care: general
Parrot care: food
Teach your bird tricks
Make your own bird toys!