The Holistic Parrot by Leslie Moran
In 1997 when birds joined my family, my heart was first touched by Owl finches. A 12 gram bird packaged in a design of chocolate wings speckled with tiny white dots, a white face and breast with a chocolate band crossing the midsection and another encircling the neck and face. Because I was working with passerines I had the pleasure of meeting Ella Galik, a 30 year aviculture veteran, ASC (American Singer Canary) sanctioned judge and nationally known canary and finch breeder who then lived in Sacramento, California.

Through my friendship with Ella I learned a great deal about using nutrition and natural methods when caring for my finches. During one of my visits to her home and aviary she began telling me about a research project her son had done on how birds learn, using her canaries as test subjects.

During the off season her birds, numbering at around a hundred, were kept in a large outdoor flight. This provided the opportunity to observe the interactions of this substantial flock as they were exposed to new foods and items for play and enrichment.

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by Sally Blanchard
I have always believed that the more we know about the wild behaviour of parrots, the better we can understand our companion parrots and why they act the way they do. Parrot-family companions are, at most, only a few generations removed from the wild. A percentage of their behaviour is still instinctive and can even be in conflict with what they learn being raised as companions.

As most of us know, parrots are prey animals, and in the wild they can be attacked by predators including large snakes, hawks and some mammals. Snakes and monkeys will eat both eggs and baby parrots if they get a chance.  How do wild parrots keep themselves from being a predator’s meal? There are quite a few biological and behavioural ways that help keep them safe and secure. The first is that most parrots are essentially wary and it is their nature to be aware of everything that goes on in their habitat. The more companion parrots trust us, the less wary they are in their home environment..

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Personality Profile by Sally Blanchard
The range of the Blue-headed Pionus includes parts of Costa Rica, Panama and much of northern South America. These parrots are about 11 inches in length and 250 grams in weight. Pionus are sexually monomorphic which means the genders look alike. At this time the Blue-head is fairly common in its range and populations are considered to be stable.

The Blue-head is probably the best known Pionus and considered by many to be the best companions in the genus. The first Blue-headed Pionus I met was actually in Costa Rica in 1982. He lived temporarily at the Tropical Research Station at La Selva. I was told that this area was not within his natural range, but since he was so tame when he flew into the station, the people thought that someone had gotten him as a baby. They wondered if he had escaped and flown into the research station because he was so used to people. He was a really friendly little fellow, spoke a few words in Spanish, and the person who was taking care of him named him Gallospinto (beans and rice) after the traditional dish of Costa Rica. It was the main dish served to both the eco-tourists at the station and to the little Pionus. His caregiver there was going to try to bring him back to the States when his time at the research station was up. Since he was tame and had likely been someone’s pet, it wouldn’t be safe to put him back in the wild.

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by Dr Neil A. Forbes BVetMed DipECZM(avian) FRCVS
It is no great deal to acquire and maintain a single healthy parrot, but acquiring and maintaining a group of healthy parrots is an entirely different matter.

Carefully select apparently healthy birds from a reliable source, (i.e. a trustworthy keeper whose stock can be assured to be healthy), where there is a proven genuine reason for sale. If at all possible it is prudent to select all birds from one source, in this way, as long as the keeper has all the birds you require themselves and is not buying in birds to make up the group, disease is less of a risk. One has to accept that many birds will be carrying ‘sub clinical’ (i.e. not apparent) disease or infection, which when stressed (e.g. change of ownership, husbandry, etc.), will become an active disease. However birds from one source are all likely to have been previously exposed to the same diseases, and as such re-exposure to the same bugs is less likely to be an issue.

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