My parrot has been getting more and more aggressive towards humans so much so, I can’t even touch her anymore because she tries to bite me and quite honestly I am scared… Continue Reading

Jack the Cockatoo is displaying some strange behaviour - he pulled out all his feathers, and now he is suffering from boredom, and has started screeching as a result. How can his owner help improve the situation? Continue Reading

I’ve always known animals are smart, but not as smart as the lowly pigeon who in my book tops the “make a plan” charts. Now would you believe that these pragmatic pigeons raise their young on mother’s milk? And it doesn’t stop there either, because the fathers, not to be pigeon holed,  also produce milk for their newly hatched offspring … and that’s definitely something to crow about … um, coo about. Continue Reading

Teresa’s Rainbow Lorikeets refuse to sleep in their nesting box. With winter fast approaching, how can she coax them into sharing?  Continue Reading

My garden must be the Ibis International Airport because every brown Hadedah in Africa lands here to refill or stop over between journeys. And some of these high flyers are so impressed by my trees that they decide to set up home here and bring baby Hadedahs into the world.

And while I am a Petshrink, I am also a bird watcher so I do feel suitably qualified to comment on a pair of Hadedahs who decided to raise their chicks right outside my bedroom window. One thing I do know about these birds is they have an excellent lungs, and at 3am their little voices sound like horse and trailer brakes locking down Fields Hill. Continue Reading

This Q&A deals with a Cockatiel who won’t stop laying eggs - her owner is concerned for her and also wonders why she is not at all interested in the male bird. Included is a very informative article by Cynthia Kiesewetter which concerns excessive egg laying in Cockatiels. Continue Reading

Today is for all you bird fanciers out there. Especially those of you who keep birds in cages and neglect to spend as much time as you should with little Polly or Tweetie. Taking him on seemed like a good idea at the time, but sadly your pet bird has become a liability rather than a pleasure. Now the poor little fellow is spending more and more time on his own because you have less and less time to spare. And on the few occasions you’ve tried to make amends for your neglect by taking him out of his cage, the ungrateful little ‘devil’ has turned nasty and tried to bite you. Continue Reading

Hi there,
My African Grey lives in a large cage in my living room. I often open the door for him to come out which he does but he refuses to leave the top of the cage. I’d love him to be sociable.. do you know of anything I can do?

Another thing: said parrot likes to annoy me sometimes - he’ll bang his cage door and look at me for a reaction or he’ll hang upside down screaming or chew cushions - again looking for a reaction. I’ve tried shouting, spraying water at him (gently), and tapping him on the beak, nothing seems to stop my African Grey’s bad behaviour.. what can I do?

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Which bird species can talk?

Unfortunately no bird is able to talk a human language without first being taught to say words which is achieved by repetition, patience and perseverance.
Most of the parrot family make good candidates while some while some species and individuals learn more easily than others. Budgies, Indian Mynahs and Crows can also be taught to mimic sounds along with many other birds I guess.

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I have a young African Grey parrot who constantly shakes her head. The vet put her on antibiotics, but she doesn’t have an ear infection. She’s always lying on her side and scratching her head and inside her ears with her claws and loves it. But the constant head-shaking - could this be a habit or dry skin or what? I feel sorry for her as she’s such a lovable bird and is starting to talk now. Continue Reading