The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship

This is an excellent and wonderful book; it is an absolutely terrible book: the title says it all.Our author is a professional ornithologist and biologist. Her narrative is rich with detailed and insightful descriptions of parrot behavior as it naturally occurs and as it carries over into the unnatural environment of an urban human house-hold. Readers learn parrots' natural habits and communications, to notice and interpret behaviors signifying birds' "emotional" states and to understand the reasons for them. As examples: a parrot may eagerly consume a single favorite "treat" food item for several weeks and then suddenly reject it completely: why? How does a parrot first express mild threat , "warning" a human caretaker of impending aggression? Read and find out. Our author is adept in the qualitative -descriptive method an anthropologist would call "participant -observer." The best term I know for an inter-species "anthropologist" is "comparative ethologist." a student of innate animal behavior. With one reservation, this is one of the best descriptive books I have read on natural parrot behavior.Our author begins by assuming her bird "Tico" is male. It is impossible to tell gender by external appearance in most Amazon parrot species. Throughout her book she interprets Tico's behavior based on assumed male motivations of courtship, dominance, and territorial defense. As a skilled ornithologist and observer she is probably correct, but she never stated that Tico's gender was confirmed by standard veterinary procedure. Could she have systematically misinterpreted twenty years of meticulous observation based on a false assumption? We cannot be certain.It is an absolutely terrible book because our author seems to take almost no action to change her parrot'sinconvenient and- in a human context- inappropriate and even dangerous behavior. Instead, she learns to accommodate it. She describes a number of scars she carries commemorating repeated attacks by her "loving" bird. "Tico" the parrot proceeds to bully and dominate our author and her husband over a period of at least twenty years. She nonetheless describes her relationship with "Tico" as a deepening bond and mutual commitment of trust and love. How many battered women would say the same of their chronically abusive spouses?Parrot training manuals based on behavior modification (operant conditioning) through ""positive reinforcement"describe effective methodologies but may provide only limited descriptions and insight into the significance of parrots' innate behavior patterns. My impression is that our present author needed a good strong dose of behavior modification training. I doubt she would have tolerated Tico's dominance and tantrums from a human child. As a human who values my animal companions, I would not tolerate such behavior from a creature I live with, however much I respect its native intelligence. I believe our author could have developed a safer and more satisfactory relationship with her avian companion had she employed a standard, effective, empirically validated, and systematic approach to modifying Tico's behavior in a socially appropriate direction. Her book contains no consideration of any attempt at such intervention.I compare this book to Dr. Irene Pepperberg's account of "Alex," the African Grey parrot who learned functional human speech. like TIco, Alex attempted to dominate his relationship with Dr. Pepperberg and to an extent he succeeded. Dr. Pepperberg succeeded heroically in her agenda of teaching Alex to understand and interact with humans. Our present author's method and agenda appeared to be modifying her own behavior in order to understand and interact with a parrot. on the bird's own terms.Dr. Pepperberg's amazing book "Alex & Me," is available on Kindle. I highly recommend it (five stars). Alex is perhaps the single most important bird in human history, his accomplishments- and those of Dr. Pepperberg- have revolutionized our understanding of avian intelligence.Two entertaining, provocative, and very worthwhile classic accounts of animal and avian communication are "King Solomon's Ring," and "On Aggression" both by Conrad Lorentz (available on KIndle.)Two excellent & complimentary parrot behavior training manuals s for avian enthusiasts not seeking autocratic domination by companion birds are:1. "The Perfectly Trained Parrot" by Rebecca K. O'Connor (five stars) , and:2. "The Parrot Problem Solver" by Barbara Hendenreich (five stars).Both are available on Kindle, I recommend both.Happy reading!

Great read about a very special relationship, would highly recommend to anyone interested in birds and nature. Birds are the best.

A really great story, one of my favorite first person books on parrots, about a mid life parrot who needed a new home and lucked out on finding a parrot professional as a new companion. Dr Burger leads us through the initial rocky stage of adjustment all rehomed parrots go through, wondering if they can actually trust these new humans they now live with. The way she documents how Tico learns to trust and value both her and her husband, then love her is a realistic journey through what it is like to win over a large parrot as a soulmate. Parrots are not domesticated animals and forging a relationship with them is a dance of trust, respect and eventual love that takes time and patience; and her book shows this. Her book also allows us a rare glimpse into the wild life of the Amazon parrots during her field trips and vacations.Some of the scientific principles and parrot care she talks about in the book have changed over the last many years are are incorrect or unhealthy for a parrot, but one must take into account the book was written some time ago and the husbandry of pet parrots has made huge strides in the past twenty years.

This is a book about a very much loved and cared for Amazon parrot, Tiko. Some have written that Tiko was abused with chocolate and other foods supposedly not healthy for him. Tiko is still alive and thriving and still much loved. There is more to raising a healthy bird then clean eating. Tiko was used to certain foods and treats from his former home. It is insensitive and unnecessary to take away a small thing that a bird is used too when rehoming him. His new owner wanted Tiko to feel secure and comfortable after the loss of his former owner. Love is much more important then a small matter of chocolate M&M's. and peanuts. I am the caretaker of a Congo African Gray parrot. She' s happy and healthy, and yes, she does get M&M's . Some of the previous reviews sound like animal rights organizations that are totally against pet ownership. Get over it. We love our pet birds, they get treats. Maybe some of you should try a little chocolate too. You might like it.This is a love story, not a feeding guide.

There is so much to recommend. Of course, there is Tiko! The proud and jealous owner of Joanna Burger, the ornithologist full of science and heart, and her ever -patient husband, Tiko's chief rival. Joanna's story is outright fun to read. In fact, this is my second reading. I so admire the author's awareness of and respect for all flyers great and small and of the pristine habitat so needed for the continuation of species. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed most parts of this book. As it is an older book, there are things that happen in the book that would not be considered scientifically sound or best practice in parrot care. So if you are getting this to learn about parrot care, I'd suggest not listening to much of what is in the book (including feeding your bird M&M's and allowing your parrot to be your mate)!But as a person owned by 2 parrots, I could relate to some of the humorous parts of the book.

Really interesting and enjoyable book

The book arrived in a timely fashion and was in good condition, as promised. Such a wonderful story -- I've just started reading it and can hardly put it down.

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