That Bird Blog – Bird Care and History for Pet Birds

With very few exceptions, providing one’s birds (or any other animal) with more space is beneficial on many levels.  However, while keeping White-Crested Laughing Jay-Thrushes, Garrulax leucolophus, I learned that nasty surprises may be in store.

White Crested Laughing Jay-Thrushes are among the most amusing and curious birds one can imagine, and they are often star attractions in both private and public collections.  Unfortunately, due to their size (10-12 inches), insatiable curiosity and high level of activity, they are suitable only for an outdoor aviary or room-sized indoor enclosure…but as pets or study subjects they have few rivals. Read More »

Many soccer fans have favorite methods of predicting game outcomes, but 2 bird-based “systems” that arose during the recent World Cup mania struck me as truly unique and, in one case, quite disturbing.  The species involved were Rose-Ringed Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) and Cape Vultures (Gryps coprotheres).

Singapore’s Fortune Teller

Mani the Rose-Ringed Parakeet had already built up quite a reputation as a soothsayer in Singapore’s “Little India” community before this year’s World Cup catapulted him into international fame.  Owned by an 80-year-old fortune teller, the bird had been offering gambling and marriage “advice” to local people for years.  Read More »

In Part I of this article we discussed the importance of socialization – the process of familiarizing your parrot with the people and things that make up its world.  Wild parrots are socialized by their parents, mates and flock members, but most or all of these important individuals may be unavailable to captives.  Un-socialized parrots generally live stress-filled lives and remain fearful of people.  Today we’ll take a look at some simple and effective socialization techniques. Read More »

Budgerigars, Lovebirds, Amazons, Macaws Cockatoos and other parrots are so intelligent that it is tempting to train them to speak and perform tricks right away.  However, socialization must come first, as un-socialized birds are virtually impossible to work with.

Socialization is the process of introducing the parrot to the world around it, so that the bird will accept its surroundings and react positively to the people and things that come in to its life.  Socialized birds also accept reasonable changes in their environment without experiencing undue stress. Read More »

Who hasn’t marveled at the way bird flocks seem to move as a single organism? Groups ranging in size from a dozen Zebra Finches to millions of Budgerigars change direction with astonishing fluidity and speed, confusing predators and leaving observers to wonder just  how they mange to accomplish such feats.

Flexible Leadership

While birding in deserts, grasslands and other open habitats that allowed long, clear views of large flocks, I’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to determine if it was a single leader “calling the shots” or some sort of unobservable group dynamics at work.

Recently, researchers at Oxford and Eotvos Universities have provided part of the answer, at least where pigeons are concerned.  Research published in the April, 2010 edition of the journal Nature, establishes that pigeons use flexible hierarchy system to make group decisions (direction of travel, choice of feeding site, etc.).  Read More »