Avian Behavior Conservancy

We were showing and Suyana’s great flights since they had left about 10 months ago, and I told them that Suy likes to fly to the lower rock but she prefers to leave from the higher rock as it gives better lift. And of course, she demonstrated her agency right then. Some might say that her ability to have control over the situation is a reinforcer but I would push back on that idea. Catch phrases like choice and control can get used gratuitously, and sometimes it stops us from looking for other reinforcing values.

When done right, having to restrain your bird to trim up the beak for trimming (called “coping”) is quick and your bird doesn’t associate it with your presence. Birds of prey in human care might need occasional coping because they are fed rich diets that don’t have as many of the brittle bones that free-ranging birds have that would naturally trim their beaks, so they need trimming. Nigel had a quick trim and because of my genius disguise, he never knew it was me. So I made a promise to him that I would help him find that dirty, no good so-and-so and we will give him a piece of our minds 💪

The macaw brothers Leo the hyacinth and Luca the greenwing are sitting in post-shower bliss making their lil dinosaur noises back and forth to each other. Leo’s head is *covered* in pin feathers, which are freshly growing in feathers covered in a protective keratin sheath. When wet -or rather, completely drenched- they expose his bumblebee yellow skin, and he looks so silly. It’s crazy how fast he dries out.

During this time, the macaw flock gets extra chickpeas for added protein to support the feathers growth, but it seems like it’s just Leo with the catastrophic molt over here dumping all his feathers W***y nilly.

Many species of birds run a bit hotter than we do. That’s because they have high metabolic rates due to flight being the most energetically taxing of all activities in the animal kingdom. Their basal metabolic rate is higher than mammals to fuel the demand for oxygen and power. Further, their feathers are extremely good at insulation- it’s likely the reason why feathers evolved in the first place. When they need to warm up, they are extremely good at shivering: their pectoral muscles can take up to 40% of their body weight!

I’m more like a little lizard. Put me in all black clothes in parking lot at 85 degrees and I’m finally comfortable. 🥶

Inconsistency in how we communicate to our birds during early training is one of the biggest obstacles to success. A setback during the foundation building phase looms larger than when there is more learning history based on positive interactions. We had a setback with the African fish eagle a few weeks ago when I was cleaning him as carefully as I could, and it took a little bit to right our course.

When we have to make unpleasant interactions, whether a restraint for a medical procedure or an intervention in their environment, disguising ourselves is one of the most effective ways to keep on track. That way the bird does not associate us with the negative event and we use clothing items that they will never see in real life so won’t accidentally come across it with a visitor or audience member.

For a long time, people grouped falcons with hawks because they are both birds of prey. They can hunt using similar adaptations. But DNA studies showed that falcons sit on a different branch of the bird family tree.

Falcons are part of a larger evolutionary group that includes parrots and passerines, or songbirds. That means a peregrine falcon and a kestrel are more closely related to a parrot or a songbird than it is to a red-shouldered hawk. The similarities between falcons and hawks are mostly due to convergent evolution. They evolved similar tools because they faced similar ecological pressures as predators.

We can see some of these similarities in the mannerisms of falcons that are quite different when you are in their intimate little worlds. And geez do they have a set of lungs on them 😆