Take a Look at the Wild Side:
Nine Instinctive Qualities of Domestic Parrots

How many times have you heard someone say that, "Parrots are wild animals" or, "Parrots may be domestic, but they're not domesticated."? Now, both of these statements are entirely true, but they don't give you much practical information.So, with this in mind, let's analyze those wild, untamed beasts that share our homes with us.You know, the one sitting on your shoulder right now, desperately trying to get you to stop reading and scratch it's little head.

So what do we mean by "wild animals"? Basically, it means that the birds in our homes are physically, psychologically, and genetically identical to those in the wild. It means that there has been no domestication: breeding intended to create an animal with traits desirable to man. For example, dogs have been bred by man for no less than 15,000 generations, putting together individuals that look or act a certain way, or possess some trait that we want continued or enhanced in their offspring. We've fiddled with canine genetics so much that Great Danes and Yorkshire Terriers are members of the same species (as are all domestic dogs) while the similar looking but non-domesticated Greenwing and Scarlet Macaws are not. Most of our medium to large parrots are either wild caught, first generation domestic or second generation domestic bred birds, which is not a lot of time for domestication.

There is an interrelation between intelligence and instinct in all animals. The more instinct they have, the less they need to learn and the less dependent they are on their parents. But this is very limiting. In parrots and other intelligent animals, much instinctive information has been replaced by the ability to learn, which enables them to adapt to changing environments, inhabit more areas of the world and to generally deal better with extraordinary situations. Baby parrots are highly dependent on their parents and need to be taught virtually everything from eating to mating. But it's their learning ability and lack of instinctive forces pulling them in one direction or another that has enabled them to spread throughout the world and into our homes. And it is this same need/ability to learn many of their behaviors that gives them the potential to be such good companions. In other words, one of the natural traits of parrots that makes them good companion animals is that they don't have very many natural traits.

Although slightly off-topic, the fact that parrots are such behavioral "blank slates" is why so important to purchase a bird from a breeder who appreciates their role in the behavioral socialization process. It has become very clear that the breeders who understand and follow thenatural developmental stages of neonatal (a fancy word for "baby") parrots, adapting them for companion situations, are raising birds that are happier, better adjusted, more secure and much less prone to behavioral problems.

Enough preamble already. Despite the fact that they're not particularly instinctive animals, our birds aren't completely programmable. Their hard drives do come with some preinstalled and unerasable software. Here are some of the programs:

1. Parrots are prey animals.
Don't confuse this with being a predator or a "bird of prey"; it is the opposite. To be blunt, parrots are on some other animal's dinner menu. This isn't simply a reality of the food chain but, as advertised, something that parrots know coming right out of the egg. This is demonstrated in the natural, instinctive behaviors of all parrots. For instance, captive parrots will react very violently to disturbances from above and behind them such as being pounced on by a towel, an approaching person or a loud noise. This is because their backs are sensitive to vibrations and air pressure, like those that are caused when a hawk or eagle is swooping down on them. This is why young birds should be taught to like towels and why parrots should always be toweled from the front and why mobiles or other objects shouldn't be hung near a parrot's cage, even if it is out of his reach. This is also one of the main reasons why birds hate earthquakes so much as they feel the vibrations, which triggers the flight response.

The other reason, of course, is that after an earthquake the cable TV is usually out for a few hours. Garden hoses also petrify many parrots and it's not because they're concerned about water conservation. It's a snake thing. Another indication of the instinctive knowledge that they are not at the top of the food chain is that when cornered, all parrots react the same way, which is to roll over on their backs. It is arguable as to whether this is a defensive position or one of ultimate submission, but under either scenario it shows an instinctive awareness of their vulnerability to predation. For the companion bird companion (that's us), the most important aspect of "prey mentality" is not in any specific behavior but that we always remember that our birds are keenly aware of their vulnerability and that it is our basic duty to make them feel safe at all times; this is the foundation of the human/parrot bond.

2. Parrots are very visual.
Nature takes animals that are not at the top of the food chain and adapts them for survival. These adaptations are everywhere- the speed of an antelope, the camouflage of a chameleon or the reproduction rate of mice - and parrots are no exception. Parrots have their eyes on the sides of their heads which gives them an almost 360 degree field of vision. This enables them to see a predator no matter where it's coming from. Since each eye sees separately, they sacrifice some depth of field, but this doesn't really matter since as soon as they see a predator, they assume a defensive posture irrespective of how far the predator may be. Predators need to have their eyes on the front of their heads so that they can better judge distance. A Fish Eagle would be one wet, tired and hungry bird if he couldn't tell how far away that trout was.

Since we now know that your bird has a genetic fear of becoming lunch, and one of his primary defenses to this is to see the potential diner before becoming the dinee, how can we use this information to improve the lives of our feathered houseguests? To start with, don't make sudden or jerky movements around birds. Also, you should never place a bird's cage, perch or playpen right next to the door used for the entry into a room or anywhere that people could just suddenly appear. The best place for a cage is opposite a doorway so that they can see you coming. You should also make a little noise (footsteps are usually enough) as you approach, before coming into view.

The same thing applies to dark rooms. In the wild, parrots sleep when it's dark and are awake when it's light. This is also a defense mechanism against visual predators. If you have to approach a parrot in a very dark room, again, make some soft noises before entering, enter slowly and maybe turn on a small light. They protect themselves by seeing their predators, so they feel even more vulnerable when it's dark.

Parrots may react differently to different colors and may have a "flash color" that will get them very excited. This will vary from bird to bird and, to that extent, may be learned. But the general sensitivity to color is inherent. It's pretty common for parrots to have real color preferences when it comes to food. Even pelleted foods where the different colors taste the same. Eye contact is important to parrots. With trusted individuals it is very reassuring and should be used to "connect" with your birds when you're on the phone, running around the house or doing other activities that don't directly involve them...when they'll let you, that is. On the other hand, when first meeting a shy bird it may be a good idea to avert your glance a bit if he seems particularly uncomfortable with your presence. With these birds, you first work your way up to eye contact, and then proceed to physical contact.

Finally, a lot of so-called "aggressive" birds are absolutely captivated by eye contact so, when working with them on hand taming (and other contact sports), it is a good idea to always maintain that eye contact because a bird that's looking at you isn't biting.

3. Parrots are flock animals.
Again, for protection, parrots gather together in flocks. Since many parrots are not exactly subtle in coloration, flying in large groups makes it harder for an airborne predator to pick out one particular individual. Now, once again, evolution has engineered parrots to take advantage of the fact that they aren't going to lead private lives and has made them very social, communally oriented animals. Group participation in a parrot's life is fundamental that they can't even groom their entire bodies without help, so it is imperative that we make our birds a part of our flock and involve them in a good portion of our home activities.

What our companion parrots do with an urban living arrangement is to make a "flock" out of their immediate surroundings. Family members, pets, and frequent visitors belong to the flock and others do not. A particular bird may not like everyone in the house but, under normal circumstances, they aren't terrified of them either. And if you don't think other pets are accepted, just ask anyone who has both birds and dogs. They will tell you stories of parrots dropping food for their furry flock mates. Does this relationship extend to furniture and other inanimate objects (which would actually describe an uncle of mine)? Probably not, but a change in room arrangement or a new painting can be perceived as a threat, so be cautious and proceed gradually. This "flock mentality" frequently results in a question that goes something like, " My macaw is great around me and my family, but is terrified of everybody else. What's wrong?" The answer: Absolutely nothing. How would you feel about someone who you thought might make you their appetizer? This is how a parrot perceives strangers. But the good news is that this is one of the few inherent behaviors that can and should be partially overridden because a parrot that will accept new things (toys, food, people, schedules, your bad haircuts) is less likely to be traumatized and probably has a more developed sense of curiosity and independence.

As parrots go through their developmental stages, there are times when they are receptive to learning what is safe and what is not safe. It is during this stage that they're more easily taught to accept a variety of people, and that changes or new things are not necessarily bad. As they mature, this could be constantly reinforced by frequent forays into new, safe places and introductions to new people who know how to handle birds. Mature birds can also be taught to expand their horizons, but itis much easier when this process is initiated at a young age by anexperienced and knowledgeable breeder. So much of the credit for hypothesizing, discovering and fostering these theories to fruition mustgo to breeder/developmental behaviorist Phoebe Linden of Santa Barbara (CA) Bird Farm. She has truly brought the world of humane, behaviorally oriented breeding to the next level.

4. Parrots will seek dominance.
I know your bird is so sweet and loves you and looks up to you, but wait. One day she's gonna wake up and think, "I wanna be in charge."It's got to happen because parrots are wired that way. Most animalsthat travel in flocks, packs or other groups are genetically programmed to seek group dominance to prevent a situation where an animal with the ability to lead might lack the motivation. Although little is known of the flock and social structure of parrots, some things seem clear. Many cockatoos are ground feeders which is a very vulnerable position for them, opening themselves up to a group of predators that wouldnormally pose no threat. So these birds employ "lookouts" who will sound the alarm if they spot danger. This is clearly a situation of importance in the flock and one that should not be left to the uninitiated. This seems to hold true with the New World parrots who, while being arboreal feeders, also sound alarms and immediately mass in their flock for protection.

Again, it appears as if it is the highest bird in the tree, the one with the greatest amount of unobstructed vision who will be most likely to sound the alarm. And, not coincidentally, it seems as if there is a great deal of jockeying and squabbling for that position and that it invariably goes to a larger, older, more experienced bird. These behaviors and theories impact our relationship with our birds in many ways. Let's look at the "highest bird in the tree" situation. How many people have a stepladder to a bird's cage? When the bird is feeling really bossy, all you do is step upon the ladder and the bird becomes totally compliant. Sound familiar? This applies not just to the tops of cages, but to play stands, manzanita trees and other place where the bird will be spending any amount of time. If their eyes are consistently higher than yours, they will automatically believe that they've "earned the top spot" and that they're the boss. This is also why it is generally said that you should not allow your bird on your shoulder. There's more to this debate but if there were to be a single rule, it would be that the shoulder should be off limits. As behavior consultant Liz Wilson says, "There are two things you'll notice about Pirates: they always have a parrot on their shoulder and they always have an eye patch." If your bird is not fully "Up" trained, if he is in breeding mode, has any aggression/dominance issues or is just startled, your shoulder is the last place he should be.

The same results are seen in birds that have no rules or boundaries. In the wild, birds have many things that they clearly can and cannot do. This must translate to their domestic environment. The greatest example of this is with parrots that are not wing clipped and allowed to fly around the house. (Obviously, there are huge safety concerns with free-flying birds, but this is not the topic of this article.) This is a bird that does not have to stay where you put it, does not need you for locomotion and can make many decisions on his own. The reason many well intentioned people do this is to allow the bird to remain"...as natural as possible.

Excuse me, but, HELLO! C'mon, folks. Let's give up the ghost and surrender to the fact that a condo in Los Angeles and the rain forest are just not the same, and they aren't ever going to be? We can make all the monkey sounds we want, but it isn't going to change the fact that this critter is far from home. Now that we've returned to reality, we can concentrate on what really is natural, and that is for the bird to have boundaries, rules, order and a strict limit to their autonomy. Maintaining clipped wings is a required portion of this equation. Another component of counteracting the natural quest for flock leadership is the theory of Nurturing Dominance. The simple fact is that that we must be perceived by our birds as dominant. I wish that there were a less stringent word to use, but sugar coating it doesn't make it any less true. But "Nurturing Dominance" is truly a unified concept in that neither works without the other. If you just nurture and don't establish yourself as the flock leader, your bird will be miserable. Similarly, if you use intrusive, non-nurturing forms of domination like striking, frightening, dropping, flicking or squirting them with water, you will compromise your bird's sense of security. So what to do? We have to establish ourselves as the flock leaders but can never do anything to lessen our birds' trust in us.

Well, aside from clipping wings, keeping birds no higher than chest level and establishing boundaries, we should teach a few simple commands. The best, easiest to teach and most pragmatic are "UP" and "Down" because, well, we all have to pick out birds up and put them down all the time. But seriously and very importantly, every time you say "UP" and the birds steps up, that fact that you are the boss is reinforced. It's no different with people. Who is the person always giving you commands that you have to follow? Right, your boss. There is never any ambiguity as to who is in charge when one being gives a command and the other follows it. It is amazing how effective these simple things are when it comes to neutralizing any aggression/dominance issues and supportively establishing yourself as commander-in-chief. Another problem that I see all the time with the failure to establish flock leadership (height, lack of rules, no Up/Down training and unclipped wings) relates back to safety and security. If a bird believes that he is in charge often, logically, he believes that you aren't and that you won't be able to protect him. Worse than that, he may have to protect you! I frequently see flighted birds that have no have no rules that are emotional wrecks. They scream. pluck, bite, you name it. These birds feel insecure because they simply don't know what to do; they haven't been trained to be in charge of a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house in the suburbs and they're scared. It is remarkable how much happier and more loving these birds become after their wings are clipped, they start sleeping in a closed cage, learn some rules, and start thinking that their names have been changed to "UP" or "Down".

5. Parrots are emotional and empathetic.
Not only do our birds, like all advanced creatures, have their own moods, but they are very attuned to and influenced by the energies around them. It is important to remember this because, even though we may want to scratch our companions at a particular time, they may not want to be scratched. This is what separates the birds from the dogs, so to speak. Dogs are pretty much love and acceptance, with fur. Parrots are much more particular about these things and if they don't pay attention to their moods, they'll inform you of them in some very clear manner! It is frequently because of this "companion dog mentality" that we teach parrots to bite. That's right, parrots are not natural biters and try desperately not to do it. What happens is that we forget that our parrot is not a dog and may not be in the mood to be scratched. So we don't notice his increased distraction, trying to move away, the growl or other verbal protest. We don't give the poor bird any choice but to bite and once they've learned that this works, it's very hard to unlearn. Pay attention and respect your bird's moods.

You may also want to pay attention to your own moods. I've seen people who can control their macaw with one eyebrow. Raise the eybrow and the bird starts to pin its eyes and the head feathers come up, furrow the brow and the bird hunches down and starts making baby noises. And then there's the the person who is very late for an important meeting and needs to get her bird in the cage. She dashes in all frantic with her coat half on and half off, balancing a cup of coffee in one hand and something that would have been breakfast in the other. She sticks her elbow out and says," Okay, I gotta go, Come here. Up. Hey, where are you going? Don't you know I'm late? Get over here! Up. Up! UUUUUPPPPP!" while bird runs all over the place, crest raised and heart pumping. Aside from feeding off the person's energy, the bird is probably terrified, entertained, or both. This person needs to leave the room, take a deep breath, count to ten, switch to decaf and then go back in, approach the bird and calmly say "Up". Works every time. Sensitivity to your moods can help with screaming aggression as well. Just concentrate and control the bird with energy. The more you relax, the more the bird will relax. Similarly, you should never obsess on a bird's plucking problem. If your bird over-preens, feather chews, plucks or mutilates, first see a qualified avian vet to eliminate any physiological causes, then see a qualified avian behaviorist. But there can be no more counter-productive an act than to take an empathic animal with a potential obsessive/compulsive disorder and to obsess on it. The best thing that you can do while working on the problem with the appropriate professional is to relax. You're doing all you can do and everyone's going to be fine. Let your attitude convey this message to the bird.

Parrots have their own idea of fun. Imagine, if you will, that your parrot is filling out a personality profile. Maybe he's at a parrot video dating service. Anyway, under "Likes" you're going to find: vocalizing, taking baths, chewing, making a mess, playing, and, of course, feeling secure. Okay, so none of these come as a big surprise, but it's always important to remind ourselves that these are important natural behaviors which should be fostered and tailored to your environment.

6. All parrots are vocal in some form or another.
Verbal communication is important to parrots as well as most all social animals. If you happen to have a bird who is able to make loud noises, expect some once in a while. If nature didn't intend for them to use this ability, then they wouldn't have it. This is not to say that screaming for attention shouldn't be eliminated (even though we did teach them that trick), but we should not seek to eliminate natural behaviors like dawn or sunset vocalizations and exuberance demonstrations. It's okay to limit them, but training a bird not to do this will have a correlating negative effect.
If you can't take the noise, don't buy the bird.

7. All wild birds bathe and all domestic parrots need to bathe.
It is necessary for their physical and psychological well being. A bird that will not take a bath was either not to do so, was not raised in a manner that encouraged curiosity and exploration or was later traumatized. The "My -bird-hates-baths" bird still needs baths. It's not unusual for birds to hate (which is really fear) things that they badly need like baths, toys, interaction or healthy foods. Remember, if something is unfamiliar to a bird he will fear it and water, sinks showers or squirt bottles are no exception. There are gentle, gradual ways to get a bird to bathe and most behaviorists can help with this.

8. Parrots are naturally active.
In the wild, birds spend hours each day flying, playing and chewing on branches, trees, husks, fruit, pods and just about everything else in sight, both for food and for fun. But in captivity all they have to do is walk over to a bowl. So it's important to provide: A large cage with several perches, lots of toys, a separate tree or play stand, as much chewing material as possible and (depending on the species) to vary their diet, supplementing a quality pelleted diet with vegetables, fruits, nuts, healthy "people food", grains, protein and, yes, even a small amount of seed. The sedentary bird that does not chew and/or play with toys can and must be taught to. He is, for some reason, suppressing an important natural desire and must be helped to overcome this. True story: I'm in the rain forest, surrounded by wild macaws. I've washed a shirt and hung it out to dry. I go over to the line, shoo away a few Scarlets, take the shirt down and put it on. Guess what; no buttons. Coincidence? I think not.

9. Even in the wild, parrots are messy.
You always know where parrots are or where they've been by looking at the ground. Messy, messy, messy. Pods, seeds, husks other "droppings" are everywhere. Parrots, and other fruit/seed eaters are responsible for reforestation. In other words, it's their job to drop stuff! Given this, messiness is something we must learn to accept and control with mops, cage skirts, feeders and brooms, and not behavior modification. Unless, of course, you've found some way to modify another person's behavior so they do all the cleaning for you. But the birds have to be allowed to shred, toss, ignore, crumble, and otherwise decimate their food as they see fit.

Finally, there is the anti-instinctive trait, and this is that parrots are just plain smart. Obviously, I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's something that we should always keep in mind. Just like their need for security, their intelligence underlies every aspect of their behavior.
Accordingly, we must remember that:

• -Parrots do things for a reason, and usually and fairly logical one.
• -Parrots need stimulation. Family involvement, toys, chewing materials and new, safe challenges. Most parrots love learning tricks, behaviors and words but generally have the attention span of a young, caffeine -addicted ferret, so don't expect to teach them the collective works ofShakespeare in one sitting. Make learning fun.
• -Parrots are among the few companion animals that are just as busy trying to figure you out as you are trying to figure them out. Less intelligent animals become confused because they don't understand, parrots become conflicted because they understand too much. Make your messages and signals clear and very consistent.

In the end it is this interrelation between instinct and intelligence that makes parrots so wonderful. How their lack of domestication makes them so similar yet their intelligence makes them all individuals. How they can be both adaptable and challenging at the same time. How they can be such great household companions yet their behaviors are so similar to the birds you can still see in Australia, Brazil, and Ghana. All in all, they are truly wonderful and truly wild animals. On the other hand, when was the last time a Wildebeest came up to you and said, "Good morning, Sweetie. What's for breakfast?"