Pet Birds : How to Buy a Cockatiel
Buying a cockatiel first requires deciding if the bird should be predominantly attractive or primarily friendly, and then visit a local pet pile up to ...
How to Choose a Pet Bird : Pet Birds for First-Time Owners
Pet birds for new owners, such as cockatiels, macaws, amazons or positive species of parrots, arediscussed in this free video . Masterly: Sarah ...
Pet Birds : How to Teach a Pet Cockatiel to Talk
Teaching a pet cockatiel to talk is basic by repeating a phrase over and over, showing emotion when saying the desired maxim and rewarding the ...
Escaped Pet Birds Are Teaching Wild Birds to Speak English
Across parts of Australia, reports have been pouring in of extraordinary voices chattering high in the treetops — unknown, nonsensical conversations in English. But while this phenomenon is certainly fairly odd, its explanation isn’t paranormal. It turns out that escaped pet birds, namely parrots and cockatoos, have begun teaching their uncontrolled bird counterparts a bit of the language they picked up from their time in custody — and, according to witnesses, that includes more than a few expletives.
Jaynia Sladek, an ornithologist from the Australian Museum, says that some birds are only natural mimickers, able to acquire new sounds based on things they be told around them. For birds kept as pets, these sounds tend to mirror mortal language — but that influence doesn’t forever even after said birds escape or are released back into the wild.
Once back in their natural environments, these chatty ex-pets in the end join with wild birds who, in turn, start picking up the new words and sounds. The remnants of that vocabulary also eventually gets passed along to the escaped birds’ progeny, much like it does for humans.
Flu in Pet Birds: Should You Be Concerned?
With so many reports of influenza in the news, it can be hard not to wonder if your pet bird could be at risk of contracting this serious illness. While the media provides a plethora of important information about these viruses, myths and half-truths abound in discussion of the flu.
To protect your bird and your family, it is important to have a clear view of what the flu really is, how it functions, and how you can prevent it. Check out Flu in Pet Birds: Should You Be Concerned? for a rundown of the facts. Protect your pet and your family this flu season by knowing how to prevent the spread of zoonotic illness.
Photo of H5N1 Avian Flu 1997 Cynthia Goldsmith CDC/Courtesy of Cynthia Goldsmith, Jacqueline Katz, and Sharif R. Zaki.
