Reading List: From Diet & Behavior to Conservation
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Sarah Wymer’s Chicken Thoughts is a collection of comics that hilariously captures the antics of our feathered kin. Featuring a handful of species, this book is a huge hit among the Instagram parrot community, and resonates with parrot lovers of all ages.
If you haven’t seen the documentary, we recommend reading Mark Bittner’s captivating memoir first. In the novel, Bittner parallels his survival story as a homeless musician in San Francisco with the survival story of the wild parrots he befriends, each with individual personalities of their own.
Across the board, avian experts agree that the majority of health and behavioral issues that captive parrots experience are due to deficits in their diet. This cookbook includes over 60 unique and healthy recipes, a 12 page nutritional list, and a plethora of articles on avian nutrition and the importance of dietary diversity.
I’ve held onto my version of Parrot Tricks for a long time and refer to it often. This endlessly valuable guide gives readers step-by-step instructions on everything from targeting and necessary obedience skills to more advanced tricks like riding a skateboard and talking using the Positive Reward Method.
All of LoraKim Joyner’s works should be required reading for both new and experienced parrot owners. As one of the world’s foremost conservation journalists, Joyner profoundly speaks to a world where climate change, political polarization, terrorism, and loss of biodiversity pose a threat to all life.
Australia is a land of unusual and striking birds that have existed in isolation there for tens of millions of years. Tim Low’s eye-opening book explains the extraordinary nature of our parrots and their ancestors, the ecological role they play in the wild, and the remarkable story of wild parrots in Australia that continues to unfold.
Alan Bond and Judy Diamond’s Thinking like a Parrot provides rich insight into parrot intelligence along with the flexibility and resilience of parrots to persist in the wild despite all odds. The book also explores a question relevant to us all: why exactly do captive parrots, still wild at heart, form social bonds with their humans? Is it out of love? Or survival?
Humans aren’t the only ones with a sense of culture. Carl Safina’s Becoming Wild examines the deeply-rooted ways non-human animals teach and learn from one another. Safina’s work shows us how parrots empathize with their communities and solve problems unique to their own worlds.
My Parrot, My Friend addresses human misunderstandings of avian nature and development along with perspectives on how and why behavioral problems begin. The novel is great for anyone considering getting a parrot for the first time, as it aims to help potential parrot owners find the right bird for them.
There’s never been a better time than now to give the gift of knowledge. Nobody’s going anywhere this year, and besides, with a parrot on your shoulder and a book in your lap, why would you want to?
