Our author knows her stuff.
If your parrot shows problem behaviors, buy this book and use her techniques. Consistently applied as described, over time, they will work. Have patience, Hold the line, and have more patience, there is no quick magic fix in this book or anywhere else.
I am a retired behavioral psychologist who began studying behavior modification at the age of seventeen, continuing the focus through my education. My first professional experiences were applications of behavior modification to teaching basic skills to moderately and severely impaired developmentally disabled adults. I have studied "ethology-" the description and interpretation of species-specific naturally occurring or instinctive behavior patterns. I have taught university courses integrating behavior modification and comparative ethology under the interdisciplinary rubric of "cognitive science."
At different times I have kept two "used" Amazon parrots, addressing their behavior problems with nothing remotely approaching the success, insight, and skill our author describes and demonstrates.
Our author is DOING much more than she is DESCRIBING. The gaps may be confusing to some readers.
There is a fine line between overwhelming readers with technical information and providing necessary detail on principles behind applied examples. Our author could have devoted at least a chapter to explaining development and use of "ethograms," a term she mentioned only once without explanation-though she later defined it in her glossary. She nonetheless provided meticulous and insightful descriptions of parrots' innate behavior "ethograms," particularly her descriptive hierarchy of threat and aggressive behaviors.
The behavioral term "positive reinforcement" was correctly defined and then used throughout the text. Elsewhere it has too often degenerated into a hackneyed buzzword. Our author's applications could be explained more clearly in relation to the principle: she employed and procedurally described conditioned reinforcers such as the use of a clicker as an immediate consequence for appropriate behavior, but she never used the term. She substituted, "bridging stimulus," a term I did not recognize.
Understanding of "negative reinforcement" is a common stumbling block for writers attempting behavioral terminology. I respect that our author clearly distinguished "negative reinforcement" from "punishment," different processes often confused. She avoided contrived meaningless technobabble such as "negative behavior" and other common malaprops.
Before attempting to raise another bird, I will return to this book many times, filling my Kindle copy with highlights, notes, and cross references. The book was most valuable to me because it raised the question, "how could underlying theoretical concepts be expressed and integrated more clearly without overwhelming a general reader?"
A complimentary book based on the same principles of behavior modification and providing excellent detail on training bird behavior is "The Perfectly Trained Parrot," by Rebecca K. O'connor; also available on Kindle.. While either book stands alone, The two fit together perfectly. Ms. O'Connor's book could be "Volume two" of a single "how to" parrot-training manual. I give it another five-star review.
If you're interested in parrots, I also recommend "Alex & Me," by Irene Pepperberg, available on Kindle. It's not primarily a "how to" manual, It's an amazing true story that has changed scientific understanding of avian intelligence. "Alex" the parrot is perhaps the single most important bird in human history.
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021
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Top reviews from other countries
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on September 17, 2016
Excellent read and essential for behaviour modification
