An essay on human parrot bond

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
I enjoyed this, and wanted to share

Excerpt:
" Another study, published in 2006 in the journal Anthrozoös, found that people who prefer birds (and horses) have a higher level of empathy than owners of other pets. Researchers at the University of California in the 1990s found that bird owners are more polite, expressive, and caring than other pet owners. Other recent surveys — see Anderson’s 2003 paper ‘A Bird in the House’ — have concurred, finding bird owners to be everything from contented and courteous to unpretentious and, in the majority, communally minded and altruistic. Research has also found that bird-companionship to be a deterrent to suicide, and many parrot owners make formal provisions in their wills for posthumous care.."
Excerpt:
"It does, however, raise uncomfortable questions about the emotional exploitation of a deeply intelligent species. We generally disapprove of keeping as pets the other animals we recognise as super-smart — primates or dolphins — and plenty of people would argue they should not be in captivity at all. ‘There are some wonderful bird owners, but in the typical human-bird relationship you have to ask what is really going on,’ Toft told me. The veteran bird trainer casts an astringent gaze on the human-avian connection. ‘You have this magnanimous animal that puts you on a pedestal, that loves you, that lives for you, that is as intelligent as a child, and you stick it in a cage and deprive it of every natural behaviour. What you get — if you look closely at it — is a really screwed-up relationship.’ "
https://aeon.co/essays/why-does-keeping-a-bird-in-a-cage-make-people-happy
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
15,045
8,742
Cleveland area
Parrots
The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Wow, thanks, Roz. That's a great focus for thought, isn't it?? Wow.
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,646
10,008
Western, Michigan
Parrots
DYH Amazon
Hmmm, there goes my arguments of the advantage of being a grumpy old man! What, now I have to be kind! Life just got a bunch more difficult. :D
 
Last edited:
OP
Laurasea

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
Sailboats you are communally minded and altruistic. Look at your I live Amazon thread, a d the time you spend here helping others. Did you read the whole essay?
 

Terry57

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Nov 6, 2013
47,515
Media
47
Albums
13
38,729
Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
Parrots
Hawkhead(Darwin),YCA(Dexter),VE (Ekko),OWA(Slater),BHP(Talli),DYH(Calypso),RLA(Kimera),Alex(Xander)CBC(Phoe),IRN (Kodee,Luna,Stevie),WCP (Pisces),CAG(Justice)GCC (Jax), GSC2(Charley)
I felt so many emotions in reading this. As much as I love my parrots, I so wish they were all still in the wild, doing what birds are meant to do.Unfortunately, it is a sad fact of life that our beloved birds raised in captivity could most likely not survive in the wild. Instead, we must try to make up to them what they have lost, and I don't think we can ever do that completely. But we do what we can to make it up to them.
My heart breaks for the birds left in cages 24/7, those sad souls we see with no toys, no out of cage time and no attention. I am so thankful for our forum, where we can help make changes in their lives and educate people on their proper care.

They definitely feel our emotions, I have been so sad today and my birds who are usually loud were quiet. The ones who do not like to be held wanted to cuddle. Their empathy & love means so much, and I just hope I can give them the best life I possibly can.
 
OP
Laurasea

Laurasea

Well-known member
Aug 2, 2018
12,593
10,702
USA
Parrots
Full house
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
I feel as you do Terry, I cried.
It's why I'm here. It's why I will only take rescue and re-homed parrots from now on. It's why I promote flighted birds, that were allowed to fledge naturally, why we educating people on abundance weaning and supporting the development of the young parrot. It's why I'm always striving to do better and learn more...
 

SailBoat

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,646
10,008
Western, Michigan
Parrots
DYH Amazon
Sailboats you are communally minded and altruistic. Look at your I live Amazon thread, and the time you spend here helping others. Did you read the whole essay?

Why, in fact, I did!
But, without humor, life can creep in from the dark corners...

That all said. We provide special moments for very special Amazons.
I enjoy reading such essays and hope that individuals considering bring a Parrot into their life will consider its points. But for me, it holds little regarding my /our consideration of Loving our Amazons. We are singularly interested in assure that they know that they are loved. It's the variation in Vantage Point that we work from.
 
Last edited:

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,789
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Parrots
Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Well written bittersweet article. Left me a bit melancholy, for there is great sadness and often unanticipated loss living with parrots. Discussion weighed heavily on fragility, no doubt truth.
 

carcheker

New member
Jan 9, 2020
1
0
I never read such essays and didn’t even think about how the bird feels in a cage. When I was still a student at school, I had two lovebirds and I really liked to look at them in a cage. It really brought me happiness.
 

1oldparroter

Member
Nov 4, 2019
267
7
Waiteville, WV
Parrots
I am 71, married and fairly private. I have PM privileges but prefer the phone. Printed messages, are so limited. jh
We all know of pet abuse from the news. Some of us may also know of neighbors and friends that suffer some sort of abuse by those same owners. It's those owners that (the abusive ones) make me crabby and their family members that feel it isn't the abusers fault; that get to me. Invariably the abuser is felt sorry for and the abusee wants to protect them from their flaw. I have no use for the abuser at all and very little for the enabler humans. The animals on the other hand, have no say. On this account I have become quite a solitary person but the article excerps make me think of the reason I am his way, or the people in the past that steered me this way. The one's I have cared to associate with weren't abusers and the one's I don't care for were abusers or at least enablers. SOME are borderline, like the one's that keep things fed and housed well, but don't interact. Then there are the one's that horde, keep things as status symbols, or use them to line their pockets (flippers or people that open aviaries for profit). I admittedly have become a bit solitary and bitter because so many that could insist on change; don't. This helps make me just a bit insensitive and aloof, I have come to realize.
I am not one to sit by and do nothing though. I will speak to a person (indirectly) about what I am perceiving and suggest ways to minimize or do away with the problem. Failing progress in that manner, I have been known to be more direct and to report them if need be. Also hasn't helped my popularity with some.
I write this for "US" because sometimes it's up to us to decide to be helpful or a borderline enabler. jh
 

Most Reactions

Top