MY LIBRARY OF GOOD PARROT BOOKS

- BOOK REVIEWS

SECTION I - GENERAL INFORMATION

1. A Guide to Pet & Companion Birds - Ray Dorge & Gail Sibley

ABK Publications, 1998 (96 pages)

The authors have a Mission Statement nailed to the door of their writing studio, which reads:

Our mission, pure and simple, is -

To discourage anyone from obtaining a bird without first giving the idea a lot of thought

To help bird owners provide a healthy and caring environment for their pets by producing up-to-date information on birdkeeping

To spread the word about the wonderful world of birdkeeping

This book is a great introduction to pet and companion birds, providing a wealth of information and wonderful inspiration for the novice bird keeper. At the outset, the book asks the question, “Why in heavens would anyone want a bird for a pet?” and for a few pages, it warns of the many problems, chores and responsibilities that a new bird owner would have to face, and asks the reader to consider seriously the amount of time, effort and commitment that he or she can offer the bird long-term, and whether the bird would really fit in with the reader’s lifestyle. There is good advice on recognizing one’s own limitations and other considerations before choosing which particular species to keep. As with all ABK publications, this book is filled with superb colour photographs which are relevant to the text. Many different species are pictured – which inspire and inform the novice bird keeper. Housing, exercise, play, diet, grooming, health, first aid, handling, training, body language and behavioural issues are all addressed.

2. Birds Off The Perch - Larry Lachman, Diane Grindol & Frank Kocher

Simon & Schuster, 2003 (206 pages)

The authors of this book consist of an animal behaviourist, a companion parrot consultant and a veterinarian. This book aims to bring the practice of structural family therapy to the world of companion birds. I wish it had stuck to doing only that, because it did those parts exceedingly well! This book also asks the reader to examine his/her own personality profile in depth and to consider how well his/her own personality might fit in with the personality of his/her bird or not. Unfortunately, I found some dubious veterinarian information in this book which I feel made this into a flawed work. In particular, I must criticize the veterinary information on page 40 which advises the application of styptic powder to a bleeding feather, after its removal with tweezers. I must emphasize to any readers here that styptic powder should only be used on toe nails which are bleeding after excessive trimming. Styptic powder burns and damages flesh, and should not be used on the bird’s skin - it may burn and damage the feather follicle permanently! There is also some partly correct information on page 52 concerning Vitamin D which doesn’t quite tell the whole story and therefore leads to a debatable conclusion. These veterinarian factual errors are a great pity - because the rest of the book’s information on personality, behavioural issues, training and family therapy are completely spot-on! I have decided to white-out the few lines of offending veterinary information in my copy of this book - using correction tape, so that I can continue to use the rest of this book for the excellent behavioural advice that it offers.

3. Clicker Training for Birds - Melinda Johnson

Sunshine Books, 2004 (156 pages)

Clicker training is a wonderful way to use the principles of positive reinforcement to enrich the lives of our companion birds. This book explains the scientific jargon behind operant conditioning – using everyday, easy-to-understand words, and demonstrates - in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions - how clicker training can build trust and intensify the relationship between human and parrot. This book has clear, step-by-step instructions on both how to deal with major behavioural problems, as well as how to simply have a good time and a lot of fun with your bird! This book is an excellent resource for any bird keeper and your bird will really appreciate you putting the ideas in this book into practice!

4. Companion Parrot Handbook - Sally Blanchard

PBIC, Inc., 2004 (241 pages)

Hahah! Did you really think that a mere mortal like me should review this book?!? Suffice to say that I would consider this book to be the most influential parrot book ever written. Sally Blanchard is certainly outspoken and her expectations of the parrot-keeper are high - and rightly so, in my opinion. She is not afraid of making enemies who do not have the parrot’s best interests at heart - and she has made plenty of these already. Her warmth, intelligence, humour, commitment, insight and empathy with her parrots are obvious and evident throughout her writing. Should I be so lucky that I can internalize the wisdom contained in all these pages! Parrot ownership at this level is not about how to have a hobby or a pastime - it is about personal development, ethics, emotional connection, understanding and respect: it is about companionship with parrots as a way of living!

5. Good Bird! - Barbara Heidenreich

6. Guide To A Well-Behaved Parrot - Mattie Sue Athan

7. Guide To Companion Parrot Behavior - Mattie Sue Athan

8. Handbook Of Birds, Cages & Aviaries - ABK Publications

9. Manual Of Parrot Behavior - Andrew U. Luescher

Blackwell Publishing, 2006 (332 pages)

Some of the co-author names in this book include such giants amongst the parrot world as Phoebe Greene Linden, Irene M. Pepperberg, S. G. Friedman, Steve Martin and Bobbi Brinker. This is a seriously scientific and exhaustive book and in parts, not at all light reading - with more than a few pages devoted to describing scientific study designs, methodologies and statistical analyses. These observations are especially applicable to the chapter, “Handler Attitude and Chick Development”, by Brenda Cramton. However, such research has clearly been indicated for some time now, with many expert breeders and parrot behaviour consultants advising the need for much socialization when hand-rearing parrot chicks, and decrying such profit-driven, parrot-production, conveyer-belt and factory-method mentalities such as gavage-feeding and power-feeding, etc. This study provides some much-needed scientific evidence which sheds some light on these claims, which, heretofore, have largely been anecdotal. There are some incredibly detailed chapters on how to take a complete background history, how to clinically observe the parrot, the parrot’s owner, the physical and the social environments, and the differential diagnoses for different presenting complaints. Various prevention and treatment modalities are described, including the need to treat any underlying medical and/or nutritional causes, using techniques for behavioural modifications, environmental modifications as well as psychopharmacologies. This book is really written with the practising parrot veterinarian or parrot behaviour consultant in mind. Dedicated parrot breeders, hand-rearers and parrot rescuers who have the parrot’s welfare at heart will also find this book very useful. It isn’t really aimed at people with little scientific backgrounds who are just looking for a book about their pet parrot.

10. My Parrot, My Friend - Bonnie Munro Doane & Thomas Qualkinbush

11. Parrot Training - Bonnie Munro Doane

12. Parrot Tricks - Tani Robar & Diane Grindol

13. Parrots For Dummies - Nikki Moustaki

14. Parrot-Toys & Play Areas - Carol S. D’Arezzo & Lauren Shannon-Nunn

15. Teaching Your Bird to Talk - Diane Grindol & Tom Roudybush

16. The Alex Studies - Irene Maxine Pepperberg

17. The Beak Book - Sally Blanchard

18. The Click That Does The Trick - Robin Deutsch

19. The Complete Pet Bird Owner’s Handbook - Gary A. Gallerstein

20. The Healthy Bird Cookbook - Robin Deutsch

21. The Parrot Problem Solver - Barbara Heidenreich

22. The Second-hand Parrot - Mattie Sue Athan & Dianalee Deter

23. Your Outta Control Bird - Nikki Moustaki

SECTION II - BREEDING & HANDRAISING BABY PARROTS

1. A Guide to Incubation & Handraising Parrots - Phil Digney

2. The Parrot Breeder’s Answer Book - Gayle A. Soucek

SECTION III - HEALTH & DISEASE

1. A Guide to Basic Health & Disease In Birds - Michael J Cannon

SECTION IV - INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIES

(i) AFRICAN GREY

1. A Guide to Grey Parrots - Rosemary Low

2. African Grey Parrots - Nikki Moustaki

3. African Greys - Sally Blanchard

4. For the Love of Greys - Bobbi Brinker

5. The African Grey Parrot Handbook - Mattie Sue Athan & Dianalee Deter

(ii) COCKATOO

1. A Guide to Australian White Cockatoos - Chris Hunt

2. A Guide to Black Cockatoos - Neville & Enid Connors

3. Australian Cockatoos - Stan Sindel & Robert Lynn

(iii) ECLECTUS

1. A Guide to Eclectus Parrots - Rob Marshall & Ian Ward

(iv) MACAW

1. A Guide to Macaws - Rick Jordan

2. Companion Macaws - Sally Blanchard

3. The Large Macaws - J. Abramson, B. L. Speer & J. B. Thomsen