Product Description
The Essential Guides have all the facts that the new or experienced pet owner needs for a successful relationship with his or her pet. Packed with interesting sidebars, the books discuss the special characteristics of the pet; bringing your new pet home; the optimal way to feed your pet; and how to properly groom your pet. Also included are comprehensive chapters on health care and how to train your pet like an expert.The many vibrant and descriptive photos in the Essential Guides are taken by a professional photographer, and each book contains perforated fact cards with lots of helpful care tips. Consulting Editor Ian Dunbar, Ph.D., MRCVS, is the founder and an ongoing member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. onsulting Editor Pamela Leis Higdon, an aviculturist of long standing, was an associate editor for Bird Talk magazine and the first managing editor of Birds USA. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Must have for the beginner!!
I have to agree with the rest of the reviewers.This is a must have for the beginner with Greys!!My baby looks just like the one on the cover and she is now 5 years old.I got this book amoung others when I was doing my research.This is one of my favorites for information!!

TehEssential African Grey
Being a proud owner of a grey this book is a good source of reference.

African Grey
This is a very complete little book on the basic's of owning an African Grey.Very descriptive with good photos showing the differences between the varieties.

Good Basic Infomation
This book provides a good general overview of caring for an african grey. You'll need other books that go into more depth for behavior management, etc., but this book is a good starting point. While the book is current and up to date for the most part, the author does recommend giving your parrot a nut and bolt as a toy. Surprisingly, she does not warn that you must be careful that it does not contain zinc. The nut and bolt would have to be made of stainless steel to be safe, otherwise your bird could get heavy metal poisoning.

A Must Have Book For Beginners
I must say that the reviews that I read here on Amazon.com prior to me purchasing this book were right on."The Essential African Grey" is wonderfully done and extremely informative.It is very easy to read with its subheads.This book not only covers the basics which are important, but also touches on possible diseases of African Greys, and details "what to look for" in a number of scenarios to help ensure your grey's health. This book is something you must own and perused again as situations may occur with your bird.And remember, greys (parrots) have only been domesticated two generations which still leaves the tag of wild for quite some time (way beyond our lifetimes), so we will always be learning and adapting new techniques, finding diseases (and hopefully proper vaccinations in the future, etc., etc.).This means that you need to check future books for more up-to-date methods and treatments in the future (as this author clearly spells out). ... Read more

Product Description
Bobbi Brinker shares her knowledge and experience with African greys in all of the areas that are important for the pet owner and for the breeder. The author's unsurpassed understanding of the essential African grey is matched only by her ability to convey the information with respect, compassion, and empathy for greys and for the people with whom they share their lives.

Ms. Brinker's love and respect for these birds is obvious throughout the book. She offers sound, sensible information in a series of thought-provoking articles. The book represents the author's deep convictions drawn from years of observation and experience hand raising grey babies. Common misunderstandings about African greys are explained clearly and with an inescapable logic. The book contains important and vital information presented in a clear and relevant way for prospective African grey owners. Although the title leads one to conclude this book is exclusively about grey parrots, it is an important guide and reference for owners of all parrot species. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Slightly Disappointed
I wanted more information specific to African Greys, but the book just went on and on about how to treat parrots, which I already knew.

FOR THE LOVE OF GREYS
IT IS A GREAT REFERENCE BOOK FOR ANYONE WHO PLANS TO BUY AN AFRICAN GREY OR WHO ALREADY HAS ONE.

Grey owners should read this
She has many excellent ideas & concepts for a grey owner. Most of us won't breed them, but it is good info anyway. But boy does she repeat herself. She could probably edit the book down to half its original size without losing anything of value.

For the Love of Greys
This book is the best Grey book on the market!My breeder highly recommended it.It covers everything needed to raise healthy happy African Greys.It even covers breeding in detail if thats what you're into. A must read.

For the Love of Greys.
This is a must have book for all African Grey owners. It is well written, and full of pertinent information regarding the African Grey.

I have read three other books on the subject, but none was as informative as this book. This book does not just gloss over various topics, but rather goes in depth on each matter explaing the why and why nots.

I highly recommend this book. I will keep this book at arms length all through my Grey's life. ... Read more

Product Description
This is our seventh set of Happy, Healthy Pet titles. These are books pet owners can turn to for the essential information they need to raise a healthy pet. All books contain information on:

• feeding
• housing
• grooming
• health care
• what to expect from the pet
• basic training

Customer Reviews (12)

Very Good
I thought this book was very informative...
Lots of new things I didn't know about the African Grey..

Good Book
This is a good book about Greys.It has lots of pictures and good info about Greys.I got every book about Greys that I could afford before I got my Timneh.I wanted to make sure I was an informed owner.

Decent for youth and under-educated, but...
Ms Rach seems to have tried a bit too hard to write a book for youth but seems to think you talk down to them.

A fine try and the book does have a good deal of specific information but the detail is in all the wrong places to be of much interest to me.

Better to buy THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT HANDBOOK, or KEEPING AFRICAN GREY PARROTS.

WOW! I love this book!
This is the bestest book I ever readed in my whole life! Yeah, that's the ticket! I have one to sell, please buy it! PLEASE! Once I sell it, I will post my actual thoughts on this wonderful wack job... I mean expert of african greys.

The greatest advice in the entire world. Like, this book opened my eyes and made me think just like the bird does. Yeah, that's it! That's the ticket! I can speak African Grey now, because I read this wonderful book. Did I mention I am selling this book? Oy, chock full of information and history and will make you suicidal ... er I mean an expert!

Now days, anybody can call themselves an "Expert"
This woman is a wack job at best. This book should be titled "The Adventures of my African Grey Sinbad!" The book is based on her bird and what little knowledge she has. You can learn more by spending 30 minutes with the guy at Petco or Petsmart. Want a good book on Parrots? Look up Mattie S. Athan!

She gives tips in her book, then on the next page the tip goes against what she just said on the last page! For instance: Don't buy a galvanized cage for fear of poisoning. Next page tells you to let it play with a nut and bolt. HELLO! Galvanized! One page says they are creatures ofroutine and let it get one. The next page says don't let it get into routine. Now days anybody can get published. THe book is more about her bird who she loves so much but is nutz. Her bird is crazy, bottom line. If you buy this book, keep it in the bathroom :) Just ... incase. ... Read more

Product Description
This all-new, highly visual guide is written by a parrot behavior specialist and provides concise yet complete coverage of key subjects like parrot biology, feeding, housing, and training. An invaluable chapter of frequently asked questions offers expert advice on this very popular species of parrot, while the full-color photos, sidebars, and tip boxes deliver the information in an easy-to-understand format. The author thoroughly discusses solutions to various behavior problems as well as advice on finding an escaped African grey. ... Read more

Product Description
The Alex StudiesCognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey ParrotsIrene Maxine PepperbergCan a parrot understand complex concepts and mean what it says? Since the early 1900s, most studies on animal-human communication have focused on great apes and a few cetacean species. Birds were rarely used in similar studies on the grounds that they were merely talented mimics--that they were, after all, "birdbrains." Experiments performed primarily on pigeons in Skinner boxes demonstrated capacities inferior to those of mammals; these results were thought to reflect the capacities of all birds, despite evidence suggesting that species such as jays, crows, and parrots might be capable of more impressive cognitive feats. Twenty years ago Irene Pepperberg set out to discover whether the results of the pigeon studies necessarily meant that other birds--particularly the large-brained, highly social parrots--were incapable of mastering complex cognitive concepts and the rudiments of referential speech. Her investigation and the bird at its center--a male Grey parrot named Alex--have since become almost as well known as their primate equivalents and no less a subject of fierce debate in the field of animal cognition. This book represents the long-awaited synthesis of the studies constituting one of the landmark experiments in modern comparative psychology.Irene Maxine Pepperberg is Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Affiliate in the Program in Neuroscience at the University of Arizona.January 61/8 x 91/4 10 halftones, 11 line illus., 44 tables 448 pp.Amazon.com Review
When Irene Pepperberg, a professor at the University ofArizona, says goodnight, she typically hears the reply "Bye. I'm gonnago eat dinner. I'll see you tomorrow." Though the response itself isnot unusual, the source is, for it comes from Alex, a gray parrot,Pepperberg's main research subject for the past 22 years. That parrotscan talk is well known; what Pepperberg set out to study was theircognitive abilities. By teaching the bird the meaning--not just thesound--of words in order to communicate, she hoped to discover how hisbrain worked. She exhaustively details her fascinating results inThe Alex Studies.

Pepperberg bought Alex--a parrot of average intelligence and withoutlofty pedigree or training--from a pet store when he was 1. Sinceworking with Pepperberg, he has developed a 100-word vocabulary andcan identify 50 different objects, recognizing quantities up to six,distinguishing seven colors and five shapes, and understanding thedifference between big and small, same and different, over andunder. He can tell you, for instance, that corn is yellow even ifthere is no corn in view, as well as correctly select the squareobject among various shapes and identify it verbally. What this allmeans, stresses Pepperberg, is that Alex is not merely parroting butactually thinking; he bases answers on reason rather than instinct ormimicry.

Though the anecdotes are rich and Alex makes a lively subject, this isprincipally a research paper relying on intricate details and aprodigious amount of data (the notes and references alone run to 79pages). This is not light reading, particularly for thelayperson. Still, The Alex Studies manages to be more than avaluable contribution to science, for in providing ample evidence ofour similarities to other creatures, the book ultimately calls intoquestion the concept of human supremacy over the animalkingdom. Pepperberg's stated goal is "to provoke awareness in humansthat animals have capacities that are far greater than we were onceled to expect, and to remind us that all we need to examine thesecapacities are some enlightened research tools." She has provided suchtools in this seminal work. --Shawn Carkonen ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

AN INTRIGUING "HUMAN/ANIMAL COMMUNICATION" STUDY
Irene Maxine Pepperberg (born 1949) is an adjunct professor of psychology at Brandeis University and a lecturer at Harvard University, and is perhaps most noted for her studies in animal cognition. She notes in the Preface to this 1999 book, "When I began my studies, the capacities of Grey parrots were unknown... How much DID these birds really understand? How much COULD these birds learn to understand? Given an appropriately enriched environment, might parrots turn out to be the great apes of the bird world? I set out to find answers to these questions."The Grey parrot was named Alex, and this book summarizes her research with him.

She states, "At the very least, my research demonstrated that a Grey parrot was capable of far more than simply the ability to mimic human speech."Her results were ambiguous about Alex's counting ability, and she admits, "despite intriguing data, I cannot claim that Alex counts."

She states in the concluding chapter, "I have, however, avoided even trying to answer a question that arises at many of my public talks: Why do these birds have such abilities? I have suggested that a parrot's capacity to learn what I teach in the laboratory must be based on an existent cognitive architecture, but have not intimated why this cognitive architecture should exist--or, from an evolutionary standpoint, what selection pressures may have shaped such an architecture and hence Grey parrot behavior."

Excellent condition!
I needed this book for a research paper I was writing; the only problem was that the latest possible delivery date was five days after the paper was due.But I took a chance and scored big, because this book arrived promptly and in excellent condition and I made an A.

Alex and Me
I have followed Irene Pepperburg's articles on her African Grey Parrot, Alex, for years, both learning and teaching my own African Greys with her methods.I was so happy to see her write this book as her own personal tribute to Alex who was not just a lab specimen but a friend as well.Thank you, Irene.Alex will be missed by many.

Too technical!
I read Alex & Me first and I'm glad I did.This 'studies' book is NOT for the lay person as it is very scientific and technical.I read one page and put it back on Amazon.Unless you want to duplicate these studies you probably will not enjoy this book.

There is so much more we could understand
Animals have magnificent powers of communication. I'm convinced of it. We humans just have not taken the time to ask them questions. All too often we treat all animals as livestock, here on earth as decorations or food. Again and again I've seen people make amazing communications with their pets, ones you wouldn't think pets were capable of -- because we have to change our thoughts about animals. We are the weak ones because we have cognition and communication skills but have not chosen to bring out the same skills in animals. For more on these kinds of ideas I would recommend Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, which shows how amazing dogs can predict heart attacks and diagnose cancer. The book shows that probably all dogs can do these things -- we just haven't asked them. Animals are amazing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A lot of bad information.
This book contains some of the worst information I have ever had the displeasure of reading concerning the care of African Grey Parrots.The information is extreemly outdated and belongs in of the dark ages of aviculture.

OUTDATED DIETARY INFO
THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED IN 1987 BY A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN, WHOSE DIETARY AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE GREY MAY NOT BE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL TO TODAY'S AMERICAN AUDIENCE. ... Read more

Product Description
When my husband and I brought AJ home a few years back we had no idea that he or the African Grey parrot was so intelligent, talkative, personable and adaptable. He had so many human characteristics that I had to capture some of his antics in writing. I decided to write a series of books about AJ the African Grey. This is the first book in the series. Book#2 AJ the African Grey, First Flight will be released in first quarter 2010. ... Read more

Product Description
Este libro tiulado El Excepcional Yaco, tiene el ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

El peor libro que he visto en mi vida.
Me sorprendió lo terriblemente malo que es el libro en casi todos los aspectos.

Está muy mal escrito, la sintaxis es pésima. El nivel de lenguaje que maneja en español es mínimo. Incluso está plagado de errores ortográficos.

Por si fuera poco, el autor hace observaciones o plantea algunos consejos equivocados y lo hace con tal firmeza que hasta pareciera que sabe del tema, induciendo al lector novato a errores importantes sobre los yacos.

Como editorial, Trafford debería tener vergüenza de publicar algo tan malo. Por mi parte, acabo de tirar a la basura el ejemplar que compré. ... Read more

Product Description

There once lived happily together, in a fine house, a tortoise-shell Cat and a pretty white Dog: the Cat's name was Tittums; the Dog's, Fido. In course of time the pretty Dog fell in love with the Cat, and only waited for a good chance to disclose his affections. This came one day, when Tittums had put her paws on the fender, dropped her head a little on one side, half closed her eyes, and seemed thinking of nothing at all. Then Fido, who lay stretched at full length upon the hearth-rug, looked steadfastly at her, and heaving a gentle whine, said,-- ... Read more

Product Description
A passage from the book... "Hallo, old Yellowbill! what's brought you out so early?" said a fine fat thrush, one bright spring morning, stopping for a moment to look at his companion, and leaving the great broken-shelled snail he had rooted out of the ivy bush curling about upon the gravel path. "Hallo, old Yellowbill! what's brought you out so early?""What's that to you, old snail-crusher?" said the blackbird, for he was in rather an ill temper that morning, through having had a fright in the night, and being woke up by old Shoutnight the owl, who had been out mousing and lost his wife, and sat at last in the ivy-tod halloaing and hoo-hooing, till the gardener's wife threw her husband's old boot out of the window at him, when he went flop into the laurel bush, and banged and bounced about, hissing and snapping with his great bill, while his goggle eyes glowed so angrily that the blackbird's good lady popped off her nest in a hurry and broke one of her eggs, and, what was worse, was afraid to go back again till the eggs were nearly cold; and then she was so cross about it, that although the broken egg was only a bad one, she turned round upon Flutethroat, her husband, who had been almost frightened to death, and told him in a pet it was all his fault for not picking out a better place for the nest.So it was no wonder that Flutethroat, the blackbird, turned grumpy when neighbour Spottleover, the thrush, called him "Yellowbill;" for of course he did not like it any better than a man with a red nose would like to be called Hot-poker. But it was such a fine morning, and there were so many dew-worms lying out in the cool grass that the neighbours could not stop to be crabby. ... Read more

Product Description
A young scientist successfully implants a human intelligence gene into six African Grey parrots. His series of fruitful experiments is brought to an early end when sensationalized media coverage and political opposition threaten his university’s funding. Rather than face the prospect of having to put the entertaining, talkative parrots to death, he secretly places them with a retired bird breeder, safely removing them from the public eye.

Mandy Grant, the breeder’s 19-year-old niece, is spending the summer at her uncle’s aviary, helping him care for his already sizable parrot flock. She’s thrilled by the addition of the amusing Greys and quickly bonds with the new arrivals.

But when the transgenic birds breed and their mutant, eagle-sized offspring escape, Mandy’s quiet vacation turns into a headline-grabbing chase through the forests of New York’s Hudson River Valley — in a dogged effort to rescue her Little Birdies! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Gripping and suspenseful!
"Little Birdies!" by Anthony F. Lewis was a truly delightful read. The characters, human and avian alike, were well developed and piqued my interest throughout the story. This book was extremely well researched and thoroughly enjoyable.

A lifelong fan of the underdog, I was very pleased to see an ideal mix of ethics, compassion, and loyalty exhibited within the characters as they found themselves amidst questionable decisions made for all the right reasons.

As a resident of the Mid Hudson Valley, I found great enjoyment in following their adventures through my own backyard.

Put "Little Birdies!" on your reading list, and you'll never look at birds the same again!

Gripping and suspenseful!
"Little Birdies!" by Anthony F. Lewis was a truly delightful read. The characters, human and avian alike, were well developed and piqued my interest throughout the story. This book was extremely well researched and thoroughly enjoyable.

A lifelong fan of the underdog, I was very pleased to see an ideal mix of ethics, compassion, and loyalty exhibited within the characters as they found themselves amidst questionable decisions made for all the right reasons.

As a resident of the Mid Hudson Valley, I found great enjoyment in following their adventures through my own backyard.

Put "Little Birdies!" on your reading list, and you'll never look at birds the same again!

Delightful Fantasy
I loved the concept of a genetically-enhanced African Gray in Crighton's Next, even though it was taken to the point of comic absurdity.Little Birdies makes the concept far more believable.The characters are clearly parrots in their behavior, even though they are super-smart.As others have noted, Lewis clearly knows and loves parrots.

It is a fun story, with fun, believable characters, well-written and enjoyable. ... Read more

Product Description
spine stapled booklet. 24 numbered pages. original copyright was 1989 and this is the December 1991 revised edition. Contains information about African Greys. ... Read more

Product Description
Pet birds covers such topics as choosing the right pet bird for you, choosing a bird breeder, selecting a cage, choosing toys, feeding and grooming your bird, teaching your bird to talk, stopping birds from biting and caring for sick birds.African Greys, Conures, Senegal Parrots, Cockatiels, Cockatoos, Lovebirds, Parakeets, Parrots and Macaws are just some of the bird species discussed.
... Read more