In paperback at last — the definitive guide to parrot training. Originally published as The Pleasure of Their Company: An Owner's Guide to Parrot Training, this amply illustrated book is just what parrot owners need to bring up happy, well-behaved pets. You get: Hands-on advice from one of the nation's foremost parrot authorities A thorough explanation of "normal" parrot behavior and the benefits of training Coverage of everything from gentling fledglings and basic obedience to potty training, speech, and tricks"

"Filled with the information every bird-owner...needs." Joel Murphy, DVM, ABVP, author of How to Care For Your Pet Bird Praise for Birds for Dummies(r) "Squawk about this! A lighthearted...informative book about the care and maintenance of our fine-feathered friends." - Gary A. Gallerstein, DVM, author of The Complete Bird Owner's Handbook "At last - a book that contains more than just pretty bird pictures. This was fun to read. It is clear, concise, factual, useful, and understandable." -Linda Biggi, owner, Bird Gardens Full-color guide to pet birds inside! "You will not be disappointed." Walter Rosskopf, Jr., DVM, Dipl. ABVP Certified in Avian Practice Get the word on birds! From finches and canaries to conures and macaws, this friendly guide describes the species that make the best pets, explains how to select the bird who's best for you, offers tips on bonding with your feathered friend, and provides expert advice on feeding and grooming. Discover how to: Choose the right bird for your budget and lifestyle Create a bird-friendly environment Minimize noise and mess Keep your bird groomed, fit, and healthy Bond with your bird Get smart! www.dummies.com Register to win cool prizes Browse exclusive articles and excerpts Get a free Dummies Daily(TM) e-mail newsletter Chat with authors and preview other books Talk to us, ask questions, get answers

The author provides rare insights into the world of parrots, gained from fifty plus years of intense daily observations of over 200 species. Many people throughout the world keep parrots in their homes, yet they know little about their wild relatives. I want them to know, says Rosemary Low. I want them to care what is happening to them. She reaches out to those who are privileged to interact with them on a daily basis, appealing for new standards of parrot care that recognise that parrots are sentient and highly intelligent creatures whose psychological needs are too often neglected. In this book the author has woven together details of their lives in the wild and relates them to what they need when kept in our homes and aviaries. It is a treasure-trove of parrot information.

A budgie, as the common parakeet is typically called, is the subject of this Complete Care Made Easy pet guide that presents new and experienced bird keepers with insight into every aspect of selecting, caring for, and maintaining well-behaved happy pet birds. Angela Davids has written an ideal introductory pet guide, with chapters on the characteristics of the irresistible budgie, the history of budgies in the wild, selection of a healthy, typical pet bird, housing and care, feeding, training, and health care. The selection chapter offers potential owners excellent advice about selection of the color and sex, suitability of the delicate budgie with families, children, and other pets. In the chapter on housing and care, the author discusses selection of the right cage, placement of the cage, and the purchase of toys, cups, perches, and more. A bird’s diet is critical to its ongoing health, and the chapter devoted to feeding the budgie gives the reader all the info he or she needs about choosing the best diet, different types of seeds, greens, fruits, veggies, grit, as well as human foods to avoid. The chapter “Training Time” addresses finger training, towel training, perch training, and offers an easy-to-follow primer on teaching a budgie to talk. The final two chapters of the book will be useful for bird fanciers interested in learning more about the breeding and the basic color variations and genetics of this perfect beginner’s bird. The book concludes with an appendix of bird societies, a glossary of terms, and a complete index.

Join a brilliant, but stubborn, parrot as he endures the banality of the pet store before being purchased by an equally insufferable young man. But while things between parrot and owner get off to a rocky start, the delights of having a pet (or human) bring them both around in the end. From author Devin Scillian and illustrator Tim Bowers of the Memoirs series, this is sure to please fans new and old.

(back cover) An endearing personality and a facility for imitating human speech makes the Quaker parrot a favorite among bird owners. Mattie Sue Athan, an expert on parrot behavior and care, advises on training, grooming, diet, cages, and toys for this unique bird. She also tells you how to protect your inquisitive Quaker parrot from household accidents, and emphasizes the importance of reinforcing desirable behavior habits in your pet. New in this edition is a discussion of recently identified anatomical features of the Quaker parrot, plus tips on recovering escaped birds, and background information on Quaker parrots in their native ranges. Filled with color photos and instructive illustrations.

"The first book to look at naturalized parrots with a global perspective, with a wide range of chapters by 36 leading researchers"--

The adorable conure, named for its conically shaped tail, is one of the world’s favorite parrots and the subject of this Complete Care Made Easy pet guide that presents new and experienced bird keepers with insight into every aspect of selecting, caring for, and maintaining well-behaved happy pet birds. Bird specialist and trainer Nikki Moustaki has written an ideal introductory pet guide about the boisterous conure, with chapters on the characteristics of the conure, the varied behaviors of these small macaw-like parrots in the wild, selection of a healthy, typical pet bird, housing and care, feeding, training, and health care. The chapters “The Many Conure Species” and “Selecting a Great Conure” offers potential owners excellent advice about dozens of species and how to select the best one from those available commercially, from the blue-crowned conure and the green-cheeked conure to the sun conure and red-fronted conure. In the chapter on housing and care, the author discusses selection of the right cage, placement of the cage, and all the necessary accessories. A bird’s diet is critical to its ongoing health, and the chapter devoted to feeding gives the reader all the info he or she needs about choosing the best diet . The chapter “Conure Behavior and Training” gives expert advice about how to train the very talkative conure to speak and be quiet, too. The book concludes with an appendix of bird societies, a glossary of terms, and a complete index.

Charlie Parker is an African Grey Parrot. He entered the life of the Smith family three decades ago when they first encountered him in a downtown Manhattan bird shop and found him so irresistible, they had to bring him home. Charlie is many things in the Smith family, articulating them all in an astonishingly diverse and colorful vocabulary. He can be demanding, squawking imperiously "Clean my cage" or "Want some water." He can be very direct, warning an aggressive business associate who had been yelling at Debby "I'm going to kick your ass, you sonofabitch" He can be mischievous, making meowing noises to a neighbor's confused dog in the elevator. He is a survivor, who ended up recovering on an IV after the collapse of the World Trade Center filled the Smiths neighboring apartment with toxic dust. He is often the entertainer, with a songbook that extends across the opening bars of "Home on the Range" and "The Yellow Rose of Texas." Most of the time he is affectionate, as when he hangs upside down against the side of the cage and asks for his tummy to be tickled. In hearing Charlie's tales in this charming book, we come to realize that parrots are intelligent, sociable and loving creatures, to an extent that, as the renowned avian scientist Professor Irene Pepperberg insists in her introduction, they cannot meaningfully be owned by humans but should rather be enjoyed as companions.