Ask An Expert: Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

Hello Jade, Thank you for sharing your question with us (in very fine English).

Behavior is a tool, part of our biological endowment, to change the environment in some way that has value for the individual behaving. In other words, behavior serves a purpose.

To determine why an animal repeats a behavior pattern such as the one you describe, the first step is to identify the consequences (outcomes) that have been produced by doing the behavior in the past.

The behaviors you describe sound very much like the pattern a baby parrot learns to demonstrate to get food from its parents. It is not hard to imagine that if these behaviors result in other outcomes, such as food or attention from you and your husband, your bird will offer the pattern more, as a general "I want" communication.

If the behavior is reinforced only occasionally, it may make it harder for you to identify the maintaining reinforcer. Intermittent reinforcement of the behavior will also make this behavior pattern exhibited by your bird more persistent -- in the same way that intermittent reinforcement results in persistent gambling behavior.

These four questions help us focus on the ways in which behavior and environment interact:

1. What does this behavior look like (use observable, measurable terms)?
2. Under what conditions does this behavior occur (when is it most likely to occur)?
3. What is the immediate consequence (outcome) the behavior produces for the animal (what purpose or function does it serve)?


From your description, I can posit the following assessment:

Antecedents: When Jade and husband are on the sofa watching TV
Behavior: the bird comes to husbands leg, vocalizes with a "duck cry", and crouches and quivers his wings
Consequences: Sometimes we [fill in the blank]

You can think about the different outcomes this behavior has produced in the past that account for your bird repeating this pattern under the conditions your describe in the Antecedent term above.

It sounds like your bird has good independent play skills since, when you distract him from the behavior, he flies away and engages in some activity on his own. That is what we strive for, to keep our birds active, independent and behaviorally healthy. If you want to reduce this behavior (which is not always necessary, of course), first determine what the reinforcer is that maintains it, and provide that reinforcer for a behavior you want to see more.

We hope that helps!
All best,
Susan and Gay

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

What a great question Antonia. It's one that generated a good deal of discussion amongst out group of LLP graduates who have an interest in the behavior of parrots both free range and in the home. Rather than come up with suggestions as to the species that might co-existed best with your Ducorp's cockatoo, we felt that it might be more prudent to discuss whether or not another bird in the home was necessary.

To that end, after editing for readability, we decided to answer in a point- counterpoint fashion so that you could review different thoughts that arose during the discussion.

One point we were unclear about was whether or not the "month" you speak of meant you would be busy for just one month or if in a month's time you would be begin working longer hours which would reduce the time spent with your current bird. That is an important factor to weigh in making your decision.

1) Can a single bird thrive in the home?

*Lee said:
Certainly! In the late 60s into the early 80s, before I took in a re-homed birds, I only ever had one bird at a time. Can that one bird thrive and survive while I was away all day at work? You bet. But there are some correlates to be considered. Enough enrichment to keep the bird busy during the day when it is not napping, work for it to do in the form of foraging for food; audio/visual stimulation of some sort and assorted toys with differing textures to play with during the day were items that I addressed.. Additionally, when at home, both ambient and direct attention were provided along with some form of exercise. We also taught the parrot some bird tricks a along with new new behaviors which added to the one on one interaction time, increased my observation skills when it cam to body language as well as made me a bigger reinforcer for my bird. In lay terms that means we developed a closer bond.

2) Bringing a new bird into the home as a companion.

*Lee said:
Bringing another bird into the home whether it be the same or a different species can bring problems of it's own? If a new bird reduces the time the caregiver spends with the in situ bird and that time is, as I suspect, very reinforcing to the bird, then behavioral trouble such as screaming and biting might be on the horizon with a reduction of the overall level of available positive reinforcement. It seems to me that we can't take for granted that the two birds of the same species, or a different species, would interact although they might be company for one another even with out observable interaction. Are there "solo" birds in the wild? I suspect so but can't prove it other than that loan wild Spix's macaw that was last seen in 2000. .

**Gay said:
I would advise not to though. I don't get this one month of change versus a whole lifetime of change.

Nothing says the birds will be friends no matter what type of bird they get. So you put two birds in proximity that really aren't friends and I personally am not sure if you've done anything good. Far more important to me to compensate for that month of more alone time by giving the bird lots of enrichment and giving it some good personal time. People get the idea that the birds needs hours and hours of your undivided attention and it just isn't true.

A new bird would not be a month. It is supposedly a life long commitment. I would never advise buying a second bird solely for the first bird.

*Lee said:
Yes, you are right. Getting another bird as company for the existing bird in a situation where I was speaking one on one to a person, I might ask for more data including life style, current interaction level with the bird, fiscal and physical constraints, time available, etc before I would offer specific advice to the individual.

Another factor to consider would be the age of both birds. The research is there that we all need some sort of interactive relationship with the environment especially at key points in our lives and there after. Perhaps in an ideal world it would always be with the same species in a family unit but life sure isn't ideal and most of us adapt in one way or another including single birds.

How many times have we heard of a bird that begins to overpreen/pluck after a new bird is added? We wonder if you are prepared for any eventual behavioral or reproduction behaviors that might arise? Those are important points to ponder when considering both same species, same sex versus another species.

**Gay said:
People get the idea that the birds needs hours and hours of your undivided attention and it just isn't true. IF the only reason is for bird number 1, then I would still say nay. It's the wrong reason, for this human and for the new bird and possibly the existing bird.

*Lee said:
Agreed!

**Gay said:
Another point to bear in mind is that you are going to buy a new bird, bring it to a strange home, with another strange bird and desert it at a time when it might require greater interaction. IF the only reason is for bird number 1, then I would still say nay. It's the wrong reason, for this human and for the new bird and possibly the existing bird.

I say these comments though, knowing that birds are more flock animals and living in segregation is (or should be) totally alien to them

*Lee said:
Don't forget that not all species of parrots live in large flocks (not sure about Ducorp's as I haven't researched them). Look at the South American birds who might show up at a clay lick for the “town hall meeting” and then be solitary or in pairs for the rest of the day. Even with those that live in pairs do you thing that nature always balances it out - exactly? My bet, although I don't know definitively nor do I even know if it's been researched, is that there will be spinsters or bachelors in the wild as well. What they are is adaptable given half a chance. What happens to the males that aren't colorful enough or sing great songs well enough to get a female? Wouldn't they some how adapt as evidenced by the period of time that last wild Spix's macaw was alone?

3) Quarantine concerns.

Dana said:
Shouldn't a new bird be quarantined from the original bird for about 3 months??

Lee said:
Valid point Dana. I'm afraid I don't know the disease status in Japan, if parrots are still imported or locally bred. Those should always be considerations when bringing a new bird into a home where an existing bird resides. A quick check reveals that Japan does still import parrots, without quarantine at the point of entry, so segregation prior to interaction with an existing flock would only be prudent,

There you have it Antonina. Some slightly differing opinions that are leaning toward not bringing in another bird at this time. . The bottom line is that we really don't have enough information about you, your circumstances, the existing bird nor the current status of parrot diseases in Japan to give an informed answer. Nor do we have enough inforamtion as to how you interact with the current resident. We do not know what your expectations are for the new bird in relation to yourself as well your yearling Ducorp's. As it stands, we don't know if you are just getting a new bird for your existing bird or for other reasons. That would be a key piece of information to have in order to better answer your question.

When a new bird arrives in one of our houses, great pains are taken to ensure that the routine of the resident flock isn't interrupted and the new one is introduced in a controlled supervised way as the helps to prevent behavior problems down the road.

Best of luck in making your decision

Lee McGuire, Gay Noeth, Dana McDonald for Susan Friedman Ph. D. and the LLP grads group.

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

What an interesting question. If I understand you correctly, you are asking if parrots recognize their own species should a similarly colored species be nearby. Certainly they do. In much the same we way recognize immediate family members by size, height, skin color, hair color, specific possible idiosyncratic behaviors, how they talk, and the location in which we see them. We learn about family members via tiny observations that we are not aware of as well as making conscious observations. Moving onto birds in the wild, we find that ornithologists and bird watchers differentiate different species in a similar way using diagnostic field criteria. Observable factors such as size; color; identifying marks and color patterns on the head, body and wings of of the bird such as wing bars, eye stripes or spots; the bird's song or vocalization; the size and shape of the tail; the flight silhouette; it's feeding patterns; it's habitat and diet can all contribute to identification.

Now we've laid out how we humans differentiate different species of birds let's look at how birds might accomplish the same thing. When it comes to identification we move into an area where birds have a little bit more of an advantage. Not only are all of the above field marks available to birds but recent research has indicated that the bird's eye also see in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength. Even when two species are difficult for the human to identify in those locations where their ranges overlap or they coexist, birds are able to distinguish their relatives. Robert Bleiweiss from the University of Wisconsin has been quoted as saying although two sibling species of the South Amercian mountain tanager are extraordinarily similar, other than back color which often difficult for observers to see from the ground, their feathers show distinct patterns when viewed under UV light. Budgerigars also have that same feather fluorescence when illuminated with UV light. Along with the factors we humans use to identify specific species, we can add another element - data from the UV wavelength light that only the birds can use without further equipment.

It's also wise to bear in mind that those parings you mention in your question for the most part have differing ranges where they live and breed in addition to identifiable field marks. For instance in your first example, the throat patch on the Blue (Ara glaucogularis) versus the Blue and Gold Macaw (B&G) (Ara ararauna) is clearly diagnostic to even the human eye. Although the ranges may overlap at the extreme southern end of the B&G range and the northern end of the Blues' range, I suspect it's not the norm given that B&Gs are far more numerous than the "Blues" who are endangered in the wild. It would seem they can easily tell their "own". The same criteria listed above could be used for the other pairings you mention.

Lee McGuire for Susan Friedman and the LLP Grad Team

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

Hi Lindsey, Your question fits right in with a discussion I was having just this morning with exotic pet veterinarian, Lore Haug. We were talking about the importance of distinguishing between behavior problems that are primarily the result of a disease process vs behavior problems that are primarily the result of a learning process. In the case of a disease process, behavior is considered a symptom and the medical model is appropriately implemented to investigate the underlying cause of the symptom and to determine a cure. The question,"Why does he do that?" is answered by determining the way in which an animal is sick.

In the case of a learning process, behavior is not a symptom of underlying disease. A different model, the behavioral model, is the appropriate framework to investigate and resolve the problem. With the behavioral model, we aren't looking for a cure for an illness but rather teaching opportunities and new environmental arrangements that make the problem behavior irrelevant, inefficient and ineffective. We reframe the question "Why does he do that?" by asking, 1) what does the animal get, or get away from, by behaving like that, and, 2) what events or conditions in the immediate environment signal to the animal that the problem behavior will be reinforced with some outcome.

This translates to the ABCs of behavior - antecedents-behavior-consequences - a feedback loop whereby antecedent events signal that a particular behavior will yield reinforcing consequences, which accounts for the motivation to perform the behavior again when similar signals appear again in the future.

Of course there are plenty of behavior problems for which these models overlap. Some behavior problems can be helped by using both the medical and the behavioral models, concurrently. The reason I shared the difference between the medical and behavioral models is that it isn't clear to me which model is most appropriate to resolve the behavior problems you describe. It is possible that the feather picking and vent kicking are learned behaviors, that is, the behaviors are maintained by antecedent conditions and reinforcing outcomes (e.g. insufficient opportunities or skills to engage in alternate species-appropriate behavior and social or sensory reinforcers). There is abundant research in the human literature demonstrating that highly destructive, self-directed behaviors can be learned and maintained by antecedent conditions and reinforcing consequences.

However, my guess is that the behavioral explanation is less likely in this case than physical explanations, such as allergies to particular foods or other items that your bird comes into contact with. As a result, I urge you to continue to pursue the physical possibilities with experts in the medical and nutritional fields, as well as with professionals with a special knowledge of captive eclectus parrots.

That said, given our commitment to an ethical standard of behavior management in which our teaching interventions follow the "most positive, least intrusive, effective solution" rule, we will do no harm by considering behavioral interventions at the same time you pursue the physical possibilities. In this case, you should first try to identify the antecedent conditions that predict when your bird will engage in these behaviors and also carefully observe what are the consequences immediately gained by feather picking and vent kicking. To do this well, keeping a written log of the ABCs for a week or so will be really helpful.

In terms of interventions, the bottom line is that your focus should be on what you want Fenway TO DO instead of feather picking. You can then develop a positive reinforcement teaching plan to teach these alternate behaviors. You should also consider changing the environment so that the alternate behaviors are easier to exhibit and more reinforcing than the problem behaviors.

This program can be concurrent with ongoing medical investigation because even if the problem is not behavioral, Fenway only stands to gain by learning more enriching behaviors in a well-arranged, complex environment.

I hope that gives you more direction with which to understand and resolve this behavior problem. Your commitment to Fenway comes through loud and clear, for which I greatly admire you.

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


"The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action." Herbert
Spencer

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

Hello Eva, Asking this question is like lighting fireworks: It produces a shower of bright lights about behavior! You asked if there is a way to discourage your parrot from climbing to the floor and walking around the living room. Further, you hypothesized that his motivation may be being with the dogs you are pet sitting. I see that you have a good nose for behavior by how naturally you assessed the probable function of this behavior and the events that set it into play:

Antecedents (Predictor): Dogs in house
Behavior: Climbing to floor
Consequences (Purpose): Access to dogs

To know for sure if this functional assessment is correct, we would need to test it by varying the antecedents and consequences, and observing the resulting effect on the behavior. However, it sounds like a reasonable working hypothesis if Pyewacket has not gone to the floor before the arrival of the dogs and if he orients himself toward the dogs once he's on the floor.

As you imply, behavior doesn't spew out of parrots (any animal) willy-nilly and Pyewacket is not being "obstinate", "stubborn" or "recalcitrant" or any other such vague label. Even positive labels like "curious" and "bold" don't tell us what we need most to know: The behavior that Pyewacet *does* and the *conditions* under which he does it. Pyewacket behaves in this way given the particular conditions described in the antecedent because it serves a particular purpose described in the consequence (pending further info). That's very informative.

You mentioned parrot-proofing the house and by that I'm guessing that you mean doing whatever it takes to prevent the dogs and parrot from having access to one another. That is certainly a reasonable approach to the problem. However, if you are looking for a learning solution, this is what you need to know: We have only antecedent changes and consequence changes with which to change behavior. That's the short and the long of it! So, rather than giving you a recipe, here are some suggestions to consider as you develop your behavior intervention:

First, let's change the orientation of your question: Instead of asking if we can get Pyewacket *not to do* something, let's ask a more empowering question:"What do we want him *to do* instead? This way we identify a behavior target to increase, which puts us squarely in the positive reinforcement zone where we want to be (given the known postive relationship between rate of reinforcement and quality of life).

It's tempting to choose a behavior target like *staying* on the cage or tree but we know that parrots, like all animals, are *built to behave*, not to be still. So, we need to identify an *active behavior* for our target. From there it becomes a relatively straight-forward matter of either 1) arranging the environment so that a behavior your parrot already does is even more reinforcing than going to the floor, and/or 2) teaching a new behavior that requires the cage or tree location and then following the plan in #1.

Now we're thinking like behavior analysts!

Competing with the novelty reinforcer produced by investigating dogs won't be easy but it can be done by arranging *highly reinforcing* activities on the cage and tree. That may take the form of favorite chewable and manipulable items and food treats presented in interesting and engaging ways and changing them frequently to add a high degree of novelty and variety, the reinforcing spice of life!

We can add to that the strategy by "draining" the strength of the reinforcement provided by going to the floor. This may be accomplished with a supervised introduction to the dogs, depending on the dogs' behavior of course. But, this may be less practical with dogs who are only temporarily in your home as you may not have the time needed to build a safe relationship.

Increasing the behavior we want to see more is always a matter of making the right behavior easier than the wrong behavior and making the right behavior more reinforcing. How we accomplish that is only limited by your creativity.

Hope that helps you solve this and any future problems that may arise!
All best,
S

Answered by Susan Friedman & LLP Course Graduates:

Dear Colin,
I’ve asked Gay Noeth to respond to your question. Gay is an instructor for my Living and Learning with Parrots (LLP) course and related lists. She raises small numbers of parrots and disseminates excellent behavior and parrot care information (see http://onafricanwings.com/). Another WPT member in your region will contact you directly with information about re-homing your bird if that’s what you decide to do. Gay suggests that you rethink your choice. All best, S.


Hi Colin,
My name is Gay Noeth and I work with Dr. Friedman on her Parrot Behavior Analysis list. I see you have asked for help finding your parrot a new home. While that is really all you asked for help with, I would like to take this opportunity to mention a few other things.

We really don't know that much about feather destructive behaviors. Does it stem from an underlying medical cause? Does it stem from an underlying behavioral cause? An interesting discussion of the different correlates associated with feather picking can be found at http://www.dds.com/store/files/49/1860827.pdf.

If you are interested in reconsidering re-homing your bird, here are some guiding questions: Are you thinking of re-homing your bird because you feel it is necessary for your situation or are you thinking of re-homing him because you believe that somehow you are failing the bird? Feather plucking shouldn't make us feel the bird needs a new home. Instead, it may be a call to action. Yes, you need to ensure all medical avenues have been explored, and you might need to take a closer look at the bird’s environment to reduce possible stressors (like noise and air quality), or to see if there is someway you can make your bird’s daily activities more enriching. There is a great little book written by Kris Porter that she donated to the Internet community called, "The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book." It can be found right here on the WPT website at http://www.parrots.org/index.php/referencelibrary/behaviourandenviroenrich/. On that same page are some great behavior articles that might help you learn more about your bird’s behavior.

You're already working on changing the diet and there is a good list at yahoo that can help you even more with that aspect of keeping your bird (see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeedingFeathers). Many birds do just fine with their caregivers going to work. Even with all these possibilities accounted for, our birds may pluck. Accepting the situation may be all we can do for now. Bottom line, If you are doing all you can, that's the best you can offer, and that may well be enough from your bird’s point of view. A new home won't necessarily stop the plucking. It's even possible that the stress of the move could add to it! As you can see, I lean toward keeping birds in their homes whenever possible.

Good luck with your decision,
Gay
http://www.onafricanwings.com

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