PH>Yeesh! I don't know how loud conures are, but that seems extreme to
PH>get kicked-out of an apartment due to a screaming bird...
Like most parrots, they have the potential to be pretty loud. This
particular bird ISN'T very loud compared to, say, her own parents .
BUT, some neighbors are more understanding than others, and Tracey
(the bird's owner) didn't have good neighbors OR a good landlord.
Fortunately, Tracey's parents gave in and let her bring Cherry Lou home
today! So bird and owner are reunited, at least on a trial basis.
PH>But one of the things that was drummed into my head while in college
PH>training to be a counselor was "find out who owns the problem."
PH>In this case, is it the conure that is the problem, or is it the
PH>conure's owner that is the problem? Sounds like both of them own
PH>the problem and both of their behaviors must be changed in order
PH>to eradicate the screaming.
Exactly. I went over some of this today when Tracey picked up the bird.
In the 2 weeks or so Cherry has been at my dad's, she's not been very
loud. I explained to Tracey that WHENEVER Cherry screams, she is to
LEAVE the room, even if she needed to be in there for some reason.
Cherry MUST learn that screaming DOES NOT get Tracey's presence. Since
it's imperative that Cherry figures this out FAST or she'll be "evicted"
from Tracey's parents' home, I think Tracey will do it this time.
PH>As a novice, of course, it is difficult for me to seperate the
PH>wheat from the chaff, so to speak, as I read. I did see a few things
PH>in the book you're referring to that I felt did not make sense from
PH>a behavior modification theory standpoint, but not being familiar
PH>with parrots, it's difficult for me to assess the valididty of what I
PH>was reading. Sigh...
 That particular book was not written by a B-mod expert, nor a parrot
"expert". Just a person who felt she "knew something about birds". Some
of her ideas ARE a bit vague, and have no basis in reality, IMHO. I
believe a better job could be done by someone with a background in both
psychology AND parrots. And the need is out there--MANY people have
behavior problems with their birds. 
Part of those problems could be avoided by, as we've discussed, a little
advance education BEFORE bringing birdie home. And part of them could be
defused by good, consistent training techniques, such as the above
method of teaching birds not to scream. But many people don't KNOW about
such things, so the bird just gets worse and worse, until the owners
can't handle it anymore. Voila, another "bird and cage for sale" ad in
the Sunday classifieds.
--Kathy
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