Answered by Lee McGuire:

What a great question Steve.

Why on earth should a macaw vocalize when a human species leaves it's vicinity? What function could it possibly serve? When screaming is ongoing, if we stop to think about it for a few minutes, we could say that those vocalizations serve some purpose for Grover. He gets something out of it. Otherwise, why be bothered wasting time and effort to behave in such a way. What that purpose might be is up to us to find out.

Parrots, like most species on this planet, behave in ways that work for them in their current living situation whether that be free range or captive. That work in ways that are effective, relevant and cost the individual the least amount of it's available resources both behaviorally and physically. In other words, each individual does what works for that individual, in any particular situation, as it wanders through life finding out what has value and what should be avoided.

Using the previous comment as a starting point, we can infer that Grover gets something from those screams of his. If we could discover what purpose those screams might serve, that can form the basis for any intervention in a sound, scientific, respectful and VERY humane way. When you think about it , behaviors that are ongoing, generally occur for only a couple of reasons. Either Grover is vocalizing "to get" something in the surrounding environment or to escape or avoid that which has produced unpleasant consequences in the past. It can be that simple and that complicated trying to deduce what is maintaining any behavior.

What is wonderful Steve, is that you've identified a specific context in which Grover vocalizes. If you leave the room, Grover screams. So we now know what set's the scene for the behavior to occur. What we have here is one half of what's known, in Applied Behavior Analysis, as a Functional Assessment (FA) . To complete our assessment, we would need to know what currently maintains the behavior. In other words, what does Grover "get" when he vocalizes?

How can we discover what might be reinforcing Grover's behavior? By looking at the Grover's surroundings and everything that happens immediately before and after the screaming. Part of that environment includes Steve and his reaction to Grover's "yodelling". You see, very often with captive parrots any excessive vocalizing is a learned behavior that occurs when the bird is soliciting attention from the caregiver.

If our hypothesis is correct we could say:

WHEN: Steve leaves the room
BEHAVIOR: Grover screams
TO GET: Steve to look at or talk to him
Prediction of Future Behaviour: Grover will scream more


Bingo! That look or word is often all that is needed. No matter if it is an annoyed or disgusted look or a less than friendly "shut up!", "stuff it" or any of the other myriad of phrases we humans are prone to come up with. Grover has gotten your attention. That is especially true if you don't comment or look at him all the time. Intermittent reinforcement does make for very persistent behavior on the part of our birds.

Does that mean we can't change the behavior? NO! If we want to alter one behavior, we should be replacing it with another that is of equal value to Grover. Fair is only fair is right? If we identify another behavior that serves the same function and reinforce that while ignoring Grover's excessive vocalizations we can meet that target. For instance, if you recognize Grover for making any sounds that are pleasant to your ear (talking, whistling,etc) and provide lots of feedback in the form of your attention for that then the screaming will serve less of a function for Grover. In other words, it will no longer be worth the extra effort it takes to make loud noises.

Another tactic might be to preempt the behavior before you leave the room by chatting with Grover for a few seconds and telling him you'll return shortly. As with humans, often those few words will be enough. Teaching him to find other reinforcement through foraging and toy playing could also be considered. Not all birds have learned how to interact with the "cage decoration" we put in their cage.

That doesn't mean that any given bird will not have it's moments of exuberance for life. It simple means that excessive "screaming" will reduce if we offer immediate praise and attention for behaving in ways that we appreciate and don't require ear protection.

All in all Steve there are a number of ways that you can reduce the loud noises Grover makes when you leave the room.

Best
Lee

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

Thanks for your warm hello, Janet! Sending a video link of Sydney's behavior is a great help. To catch everyone up with our previous correspondence, Sydney is being seen by a veterinarian and you are improving her nutrition and enriching her living environment. This trio is always the right first step.

According to Barrows Animal Behavior Desk Reference, A Dictionary of Animal Behavior, Ecology and Evolution (2nd ed.), anting is a bird's seizing one or more ants and placing it in its feathers under its wing or elsewhere; crushing the ant with its bill and rubbing its juices on its feathers; dusting itself in an ant hill, or a combination of these activities. Apparently over 200 species of birds do it but I am not aware of any scientific data describing anting with parrots. This would be a good question for you to ask on the main WPT list.

There is a lack of consensus over whether or not similar behavior patterns exhibited with objects rather than ants (wood, eucalypt leaves, paper, novel objects) should be included in the definition of anting. This issue is based on the same reasoning that forms the crux of my response to you: No one really knows why birds engage in anting. Commonly repeated hypothesis include parasite control, food preparation, and sensory reinforcement but it remains, “mysterious and controversial”, according to Barrows. So, while the topography (its physical shape and form) is similar to what we see our captive birds do, the extent to which it shares the same function as anting is not knowable at this time.

This is a good opportunity to exercise critical thinking skills. Lots of behaviors have a similar topography that are not functionally the same. For example, the topography of putting on lipstick is the same as putting on lip balm but the function of the former is decoration and the latter is medicinal, relieving dry lips. Sometimes the topographies of 2 behaviors differ but the function is the same. For example, shouting "Hello!" across a crowed room has a very different topography than waving wildly but they share the same function -- getting someone’s attention.

Regarding the relation between anting and Sydney’s behavior, alluring logical hypotheses notwithstanding, more research is needed. Unfortunately, the more urgently we need answers to solve behavior problems, the more likely we are to connect dots invalidly. It takes discipline to hold the line at creative thinking without crossing over the line by generating explanatory fictions.

Another phrase in your email is also relevant to this point. You describe Sydney's behavior as ceremonial/ritualistic but we can't know if the behavior serves a similar function as the ritualized behavior of, for example, people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), in spite of its similar topography. The function of the compulsive behaviors in OCD is said to reduce feelings of dread.

Sydney's behavior is also similar in topography to another behavior pattern called stereotypies, which are characterized by relatively invariant, repetitive behaviors that have no apparent function. Stereotypies are very common among captive animals and people with developmental disabilities. It has been well researched in both the human educational and zoo settings. See http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110573483/ABSTRACT for more info with zoo animals).

Anting? OCD? Stereotypies? Too much time on her beak? Other hypotheses? Our questions exceed our science. Fortunately, if you think Sydney’s quality of life would improve by doing this behavior less, the teaching technology of applied behavior analysis can help you teach her to do other behaviors more. Strategies like shaping new behaviors by reinforcing gradual steps toward the goal behavior and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors are powerful tools to change behavior humanely. I know you are well on your way to accomplishing that goal.

All best,
S
Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D.
Utah State University
Dept of Psychology
Dept of Special Education


“Do not go where the path may lead;
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Emerson

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

Thank you for your important question. The very first step to understanding behavior is to replace diagnostic labels with the observable behavior your bird *does* and the conditions in which he does the behavior. You've used two labels: Territorial and aggressive. Those labels are used to describe a wide variety of behaviors. What does you bird do, that can be observed, and what are the immediate conditions that predict when he will do them? We modify behavior by changing the conditions under which it occurs, one behavior at a time. I hope you don't mind my answering your question with two questions! After you tell me the observable behaviors and conditions in which they occur, we can proceed with the next step. All best, Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. Utah State University Dept of Psychology Dept of Special Education “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Emerson

Answered by Sue Larson:

On average the life span of the Maroon Bellied Conure is 18 - 25 yrs.

Answered by E.B. Cravens:

This is a controversial question to answer. for so man years, certain veterinarians and pet bird keepers have continued to preach that captive parrots can overdose on grit and become crop-impacted as a result.....truth is, field studies have shown that psittacines of all kinds do go to the ground and ingest grit for many reasons--they even feed it to the chicks in the nest. My breeder parrots, all of which have access to the ground, will begin to ingest soil and sand and crunchy substrate one to two weeks before the laying stage and continue to eat grit well through the first weeks of chick feeding. I first observed this in my older experienced and imported pairs of parrots and so I began to take notice! The key for the pet owner is what species you are keeping---certain parrots like cockatiels, lovebirds, princess and other ground foraging species (including cockatoos) will take more grit that eclectus, capes, lorikeets and the like. Soft food eaters need less grit than do seed eaters such as budgerigars. Sometimes the soft food lovers will choose less course grit to satisfy their needs---things like clay and very fine soil. These are perhaps less gritty and do not precipitate the same digestive activity--instead acting as soil type filler and mineral supplement for the birds. Study your species...it will tell you much about a need for ground minerals... Finally, it must be emphasized that the addition of grit to the domestic parrot diet can be done very safely if one gives small salt and pepper amounts of clean bird grit to the diet once every two or three weeks. For example, I add two tablespoons of oyster shell/sand/mineral grit to my flocks wet foods once every two to four weeks (more often during breeding season). This amount is for 24 full sized parrots, grey to macaw size. With aloha, EB