Training your bird for transportation isn't just an important part of education programming, it's a good life skill to have. For wildlife rehabilitation organizations, nature centers, and other small bird of prey centers, this is an essential skill that trainers rely on. For companion parrot people, this is an important behavior to trainer before it is needed in case of emergencies. This episode is an excerpt from our roadmap on Your Bird's First Education Program inside the Avian Behavior Lab. It's full of tactical advice on how to shape calm behavior for riding comfortably in a crate in a vehicle. We talk about what to do about tidbitting, why we don't use food very much to shape this behavior, and what we use to reinforce with instead. We discuss challenges with equipment and how to use context to shape the behavior.

Support courses in the Avian Behavior Lab include our latest updated version of Crate Training, the roadmap, Creating a Training Program, and How to use context to shape a behavior.

Looking to the wild for answers is a common refrain among bird people when it comes to care advice, particularly nutrition. And while this concept seems well grounded in science, the actual practice is much more complex and nuanced. For parrots, we don't always know what, how, or why the eat what the eat. And when we do know, replicated the conditions and food stuffs can be impossible for those of us who have parrots in our care.

We sit down with fellow science communicator Dr. Stephanie Rosenbloom who not only has a PhD in chemistry, but a keen interest in parrot nutrition. We tease apart the idea of the appeal to nature fallacy, that occurs when a person assumes that what is natural is good and true, without considering the effects of their actions on the environment. We discuss a recent post that went viral on social media about parrots eating meat and other topics about diet and further into philosophy.

For more of Stephanie's talks, you can check out https://avianbehavior.thinkific.com/courses/avocet-2024

News flash, if your bird is attacking you, it probably doesn't mean that they hate you. What it does mean is that we have a lot in our relationship to unpack, from environmental conditions to expectations. When parrots in our homes come at us, either from the ground or on the wing, it can be really scary. Even cockatiels and small conures can pack a punch with those little beaks. Bird drama also can cause family drama, and no one wants to feel unsafe in their own home. We talk about behavior advice that belongs in the Dark Ages and why it is keeping you from success, we get real with how to realistically approach this problem, and we introduce our free challenge, Stop Attacking Me! Join us with the live version starting October 1 2023, or whenever you can!

As always, enjoy a free trial of the Avian Behavior Lab with the code AVIAN at https://avianbehaviorlab.com

Karla Bloem, Executive Director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota, and Hillary have a fascinating conversation about owl vocalizations and Karla's journey with Great Horned Owl behavior. They discuss owl behavior observation influences, species differences, reinforcement strategies and all things owl. This conversation will fascinate any professional or amateur owl enthusiast.

If you have yet to take one of our free challenges or just want awesome bird information, sign up for our newsletter.

For more information on ABI's Advanced Animal Behavior Workshop, check out our few spots left here.

For the International Owl Center Conference, you can get information here.

Sign up for their awesome newsletter here.

Hillary answers more questions from a workshop regarding how to prepare a bird for a program, are we friends with our birds, how to know when you are doing more harm than good and much more. We get philosophical on this one!

 For more information on our upcoming Advanced Workshop in November 2023, check out this page for registration and details

Welcome to the Avian Behavior Podcast, where we bring innovative approaches to progressive animal training and behavior, wildlife conservation, bird nutrition, and all things avian. We appreciate all of the supporters who have helped us fund our collaboration in South Africa with the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project coming up in August.

You can still get your trouble-making hornbill merch and much more!
You can make the most impact with a small donation to GoFundMe
You can get your Hornbill swag here
Caracara shirts are one of the most popular
The full page is here.

Hillary answers questions from a workshop regarding do's and don'ts on building relationships with birds of prey, what to do about a kestrel that attacks the bait bag, weight managing owls, and more. For more information on our upcoming Advanced Workshop in November 2023, check out this page for registration and details

Welcome to the Avian Behavior Podcast, where we bring innovative approaches to progressive animal training and behavior, wildlife conservation, bird nutrition, and all things avian. We appreciate all of the supporters who have helped us fund our collaboration in South Africa with the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project coming up in August.

You can still get your trouble-making hornbill merch and much more!
You can make the most impact with a small donation to GoFundMe
You can get your Hornbill swag here
Caracara shirts are one of the most popular
The full page is here.

We sit down with good friend and well known aviculturist Dick Schroeder to talk about what we can learn about working with the Southern ground hornbill in a variety of different ways. Dick is a celebrated member of the avicultural community, he has raised numerous hornbill species, including over a dozen Southern Ground Hornbills (baby Kipling was his eighth!). He has boards seats, first time breeding awards, speakerships, and other accolades all over the world in aviculture. We talk about community and the importance of working together.

This conversation kicks off our fundraising campaign for our efforts to work with the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project this coming August. Help us reach our $4000 goal and enhance the release and monitoring program.

The website is https://avian-behavior.org/hornbill/

Our Patreon is https://Patreon.com/avianbehavior.

Our two favorite subjects, owls and raising ambassadors. Owls are considered flagship species, which means that while they may not necessarily be directly endangered, they are species chosen to raise support for biodiversity conservation in a given place or social context. This means that due to their widespread appeal, they have the capacity to draw in an audience to more complex issues related to their ecosystems and less charismatic components. What this also means is that they can act as flagship individuals for education programs. We often say people come for the owls and stay for the vultures.

But raising an owl for life as ambassador is challenging, even to be a glove bird. We want the bird's presence to reflect the care and expertise that the organization requires. In this episode we discuss what this looks like in the beginning stages and how the many mistakes we made led us to our mission of raising ambassadors over ten species of native and non-native owls.

You can sign up for the Masterclass of How to Raise an Ambassador Owl

and you can also find our exclusive, limited seats only 4 week live mentorship, Train with Me - Owl Ambassador Training and learn the ins and outs of this intricate and incredibly important process.

Join us with a free 14 day trial in the Avian Behavior Lab with the code AVIAN

We are going to be talking about how LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive) and the humane hierarchy structure stopped serving me in my animal behavior progress, what got me there, and how I help my clients instead. We take a HUGE look at how it's not uncommon in science for us to wittingly or unwittingly select the results that we want to move our hypothesis along, and this can have enormous results in health, nutrition, and yes, animal behavior.

To purchase the entire conference of AvOCET on demand: https://avianbehaviorlab.com/avocet-conference-recording/

The full video is here 

► Having issues with your bird not stepping up on your glove or approaching you? Take the free 7 day fearful and aggressive Challenge https://avianbehaviorlab.com/fear-and-aggressive-behavior-challenge/

► Learn the Fundamentals Of Animal Training https://avian-behavior.org/39-2/

►Shop our Amazon Store for bird supplies https://bit.ly/3QWjjJR

► Join a community of passionate bird owners and learn from hundreds of hours of science and behavior based on demand courses and live trainings - FREE for 2 weeks! 

Subscribe to Avian Behavior here: https://www.youtube.com/avianbehavior

 Our mission at Avian Behavior is to strengthen the connection between animals and the humans that care for them with the most progressive and positive reinforcement techniques.

Sources

Scientific Method 

Monsanto study with Stanford University

https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/0518p38.shtml

P hacking:

Maintenance Phase School Lunches, P Hacking, and the Original "Pizzagate"

Buzzfeed News article 

In this session of our Behavior Makeover Series, we work with a rehabilitated non-releasable raven that is showing a lot of avoidance behavior around his trainer. We create a behavior shaping plan using non-coercive negative reinforcement instead of counter conditioning or systematic desensitization to build the raven's trust. This works on all species, from parrots to eagles and mammals too. As always, follow your local and federal laws when working with native and exotic species and we do not condone rescuing wild birds without proper permits.

For more bird training and behavior tips:

► Having issues with your bird not stepping up on your glove or approaching you? Take the free 7 day fearful and aggressive Challenge https://avianbehaviorlab.com/fear-and-aggressive-behavior-challenge/

► Learn the Fundamentals Of Animal Training https://avian-behavior.org/39-2/

►Shop our Amazon Store for bird supplies https://bit.ly/3QWjjJR

 ► Join a community of passionate bird owners and learn from hundreds of hours of science and behavior based on demand courses and live trainings - FREE for 2 weeks! https://avianbehaviorlab.com

Connect with Hillary on Social Media 
Instagram: https://instagram.com/avianbehavior 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avianbehavior 
Podcast: https://avian-behavior.org/podcast
Subscribe to Avian Behavior here: https://www.youtube.com/avianbehavior
Our mission at Avian Behavior is to strengthen the connection between animals and the humans that care for them with the most progressive and positive reinforcement techniques.

In this final part of our series with Dr. Scott Echols, board certified avian veterinarian, we cover A LOT of ground in terms of avian health and welfare. If you want the straight science about how to get your bird exercising, even in terms of rehabilitated wildlife, diet management, and osteoporosis, we talk about it all. Dr. Echols is as always, so generous with his time and information, and we are forever grateful.

To sign up for AvOCET 2023, the Avian Online Conference in Education and Training and learn more from Dr. Echols and other incredible minds in avian science, check out our conference page.

Join the Avian Behavior Lab with a Premium Membership with all of our features, including a bottomless library of courses, a private forum for expert feedback, and live classes with a free trial using the coupon code AVIAN.

If you want to discover more of our courses and challenges, you can find them here

Working with rehabilitated birds of prey as education ambassadors is rewarding work, but it can be fraught with challenges as well. From working with unruly (and opinionated!) audiences to dealing with heartbreaking avian losses and health issues, it can feel thankless at times. In this episode, we focus on two big issues: working with a volunteer staff and sensitive birds coming from a place of trauma. Volunteers are the backbone of many wildlife rehabilitation centers, and their work is crucial to the survival of so many birds. But managing a volunteer staff can have unique obstacles when it comes to working with sensitive education birds as well.

We still have spots in our Bird of Prey workshop at the beginning of March 2023

Our virtual conference AvOCET is at the end of March '23 and is filled with incredible speakers!

Join the Avian Behavior Lab with a free 14 day trial with the coupon code AVIAN

"If you are looking for guarantees with free flight training in birds, you are in the wrong place." In this episode, Avian Behavior International founder Hillary Hankey and ABI Animal Training Lead Katie Pnewski talk about how developing skills for birds and training staff around fly offs has been instrumental in their practice as team leaders. A practice of safety and growth doesn't come from expecting mistakes not to happen, it comes from preparing for them to happen and getting the most out of the experience when you are working through a solution. In free flight, you learn that true growth comes from being in uncomfortable situations. 

Our Handling a Fly Off course is dropping in the Avian Behavior Lab. Sign up for a free 14 day trial with the code AVIAN. 

Check out our registration for  fall 2024 Bird of Prey workshop in September and Advanced Workshop in November 

Board certified avian veterinarian Dr. Scott Echols discusses some pretty intense concepts in veterinary and wellness technology. He covers how new technology is discovering diseases we never even knew existed and how we are able to diagnose and treat them. We also talk about how CT scans are able to help us identify issues that blood screening and biopsies aren't catching, which for me is has come up when I take a bird to the vet because I know something is off but we can't find anything wrong.

We discuss feather destructive issues and avian bornavirus y'all, in ways that really help us understand what is an underlying issue and what is not.

If you are just not getting enough avian information in your ears, fear not! We have a virtual conference coming up! TheAvian Online Conference for Education and Training  (AvOCET) is coming up in March 2023. You can submit a paper, discuss amongst peers and professionals, and network like a boss!

Don't forget, Lab Member, you get a discount! It's inside the Lab and in your weekly emails.

Bonus release from our earlier interview with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast. We talk free flight training and how it relates to our leadership philosophies, being a woman in leadership, bird nerdin' and so much more. You can check out our swapped episode on mentorship on Jon's Rossifari podcast page and so much more on zoos, conservation, and animals.

If you are loving our ethos on animal training, teaching and working with humans and non-humans, check out the Avian Behavior Lab and you can take advantage of our free trial for 14 days with the code AVIAN.

Using food as a contrived reinforcer to train our parrots is often fraught with emotions and tension. And not without good reason. But we can discuss the differences in contrived reinforcement and natural reinforcement and how both are important components in building strong relationships and decode our interactions with our birds. These concepts can uncover why our birds might stop doing what they used to do, what skills they need to build to be successful in our homes and lives and how we can become better buddies together. Show notes cite our references here.

As always, let us know what you think on our social media and in the Avian Behavior Lab community forum as a Premium Member.

Join the Avian Behavior Lab for a free 14 day trial with the code AVIAN

Check out our Patreon

Training free lofted birds of prey can be an incredibly enriching program for trainer and bird, but it can also lead to an unnecessarily protracted program that brings all parties a lot of stress. Bird of prey trainers that are interested in this type of training need to assess a number of environmental conditions, including their own skills and support system in their assessment prior to commencing a project such as this. This is because a lot of stress can be transmitted, either in over management of weight or in rehearsal of fear patterns while we plod on, footloose and fancy free of deadlines. We highlight two case studies of two very different birds we recently worked with free lofted, as well as discuss the costs and benefits of free loft training

It's MemberFest at the Avian Behavior Lab this week! We have our special for premium annual memberships, a limited release of our sold-out  mentorship program, behavior makeovers, and much more!

Our 2022 workshops are also completely full and we will be announcing our 2023 workshops this month.

Why does science in animal care matter? My bestie Barbara Heidenreich and I sit down - this time in person - for a conversation about what it actually means to be scientific in animal care and behavior. And why that's important. We talk about natural behavior, species differences, the constructional approach, and so much more.

Resources for the Avian Behavior Lab (it's growing, people! We have big things on the horizon!) can be found on the link.

You can check out Barbara's Animal Training Fundamentals Program, of which I am a proud member and affiliate, also here.

ICYMI, petkeeper is a derogatory term in a niche community like falconry. This episode explores the roots of some falconry disagreements and why it's so important to find a supportive community that fosters curiosity and an ethical training paradigm that fits you and your bird's needs.

https://avianbehaviorlab.com

Our Patreon 

The weekend effect in wildife

Decline in hunting is a crisis in wildlife conservation funding 

Whoa baby, y'all, this is another incredible interview that gives you a whole 'nother paradigm to the think about in animal training. Let's blow the lid off of the way we think of operant conditioning and dive deep with Maasa Nishimuta and Sean Will of CAAWT, or the Constructional Approach to Animal Welfare and Training. This conversation will have you rethinking the four quadrants, what the consequence(s) of your animal's behavior might be, and how you think about problem behavior. 

CAAWT website and membership

Donate to help more shelters learn the humane and effective constructional approach

The CAAWT Podcast

Register for the CAAWT Conference

Interested in some of the non-linear and constructional discussions we are having in the Lab? Try out a Premium Membership with the coupon code AVIAN for 14 days at the Avian Behavior Lab

The webinar we mentioned sponsored by Lafeber is right here

Join the Lab for a 14 day free trial with the coupon code AVIAN here!

Our September 2022 Bird of Prey workshop is open for registration.

The Advanced Animal Training and Behavior Workshop has a waitlist with registration opening in May of 2022

Support the podcast through Patreon for just a few dollars a month.

Owl ambassadors can be tough to train, but in our opinion, so worth it. They are powerful conservation ambassadors for myriad of topics. We topic about two key things that we look at when we set ourselves up to train an owl ambassador. Our Owl Ambassador Masterclass gets really deep on this subject, and you can purchase it on demand at the Avian Behavior Lab.

If you are looking to brush up your skills with your bird of prey educators, try out a Premium Membership at the Avian Behavior Lab for free for 14 days with the code AVIAN

Our Workshops for the fall of 2022:

 The waitlist for the Advanced Animal Training and Behavior Workshop: 

Registration for the Bird of Prey Workshop is open!

Owls make remarkable ambassadors to highlight conservation work, but they can also make for challenging training subjects and divisive ideas in the training community. We have remade our entire Owl Ambassador Masterclass to reflect the nuances among species differences and address some of the challenging conversations around parent raised owls, rehab vs captive bred ambassadors and even falconry equipment. 

To access the Raising an Owl Masterclass, check it out here: https://avianbehaviorlab.com/masterclass-owl-sales/

For a 14 day free trial of the Avian Behavior Lab, use the code AVIAN 
https://avianbehaviorlab.com

Screaming is a big deal when you live with parrots, and boy do we know it. We just dropped the final lessons of our Screaming Masterclass in the Avian Behavior Lab. Eleven meaty lessons and worksheets filled with in depth how-to's and comprehensive approaches to this issue. We get you started in the right direction with this episode.

Check out https://avianbehaviorlab.com with the coupon code AVIAN for a free trial. More free resources at https://avian-behavior.org/podcast

https://avianbehaviorlab.com
14 days free with code AVIAN

Fall 2022 Avian Behavior Advanced Training Workshop Curriculum and Waitlist

Decoder Ring Episode Murphy's law 

Our Patreon is https://www.patreon.com/avianbehavior

Join the https://avianbehaviorlab.com  for animal behavior and training expertise

Animal training mentors, role models, and teachers can be incredibly impactful for our growth. This was a concept I actively sought when I knew I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could about animal behavior.We talk about:

Is a mentor a necessity or a luxury?
What to look for in a mentor/role model
What bad relationships teach us
Why it's ok to eclipse your mentor's learning journey
What does your mentor want out of the relationship?

14 day free trial of our training and behavior membership with code AVIAN https://avianbehaviorlab.com

Go to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/avianbehavior

For show notes https://avian-behavior.org/41

How do you train your dragon? If you have been on the earth for a hot minute, you know that everyone has an opinion for how you need to train the bird of prey in your care. Let's go over the methods, well most of them. Or some of them. We analyze the environmental conditions that inform our decisions, jess free or no, free lofting, tethering, strobes and all kinds of tools we can choose (or opt out of). With minimal tangents this time (whew!) and only a few rants. Lucky you! Buzzwords include pride, stress, weight management and pluralism.

https://avianbehaviorlab.com
https://avian-behavior.org/event/animal-training-workshop/

In this episode, we talk about how our training ethos shapes every interaction we forge with the birds in our care. There are some great ways that we can build our foundation through a firm understanding of the animal training fundamentals, so let's get into it! How do you start training before you even start **training**??

On the show notes page, we have our Black Friday coupon codes for those that are listening upon release and the links for Patreon and our free workbook for the fundamentals course. Check out your free guide to where you are with your fundamentals

https://avianbehaviorlab.ck.page/fundamental

https://www.patreon.com/avianbehavior 

In Part 2 of our live recording of our podcast from MemberFest 2021, we cover some serious ground! We talk about aspergillosis and the importance of force free veterinary training, field a few questions about training with negative reinforcement and the constructional approach, and end up with a bit of a sciency chat about spiders!

You can check out our newest courses up on the Avian Behavior Lab using the coupon code AVIAN for 14 days free with any membership!

It's our Avian Behavior Lab MemberFest 2021, celebrating the second anniversary of our online animal behavior and training membership platform. We did a live podcast with our members, telling training challenges and success stories, plus things we have learned, putting everything into question-answer format for our members to ask questions of their own.

Stories in this one include working with an intense and potentially dangerous Double Yellow Headed Amazon, a bald eagle that had a strong fear response.

You can’t tell anyone to be curious, you can show them, you can inspire them, and you can lead with humility and grace

That’s what Dani Poirier Larson of the Southwick Zoo shows, the spirit she embodies and shows her team. Dani’s words are so powerful and ring so true for a behavior enthusiast who wants to engage with the human and animal world around us as well as feel the fire of the enthusiasm of the team an audience around us.

We talk about some incredibly powerful concepts and the way that Dani has taken on some incredibly challenging animal behavior.

We talk macaw training, kookaburras, corvid challenges, and mental health. Tangents include nervous habits and the Nashville Zoo behavior team.

Animal behavior sure does love routine. But what happens when that routine changes and is beyond our control? What about those changes that affect our mental well-being and then transfer on the way we work with our animals and fellow animal lovers? We talk about the three different ways this impacted our work. We also discuss pandemic pets and what we can do when the goal posts change, routines change, and how to get through tough situations with animal care in mind.

Having a parrot with extremely complicated screaming, attacking, pair-bonded behavior that won’t let you out of their sight without an intrusive cascade of undesirable behaviors can be a problem for the entire household. It also means layers of stress when you are torn between appeasing your parrot and your family. This excerpt from our deep dive masterclass series for members of the Avian Behavior Lab helps us look at the angles of this complex issue and how we tease apart which challenge we take on first from a science-based perspective. This series was extremely enriching, and we know you will glean some actionable details from the science here.

Sign up for our newsletter for your latest bird nerd information!

For more information on how we avoid using restrictiveness and intrusiveness as metrics, check out Episode 58

For AvOCET 2024 information, check out our registration page.

Stay up to date on our workshop schedule here.

Everyone has preferences, and our birds and other animals are no different. From African Greys to Turkey Vultures, the birds that we work with make no bones about it when they have chosen a favorite. Sometimes it is harmless and other times it can be downright dangerous. We talk about strategies and environmental management scenarios to help your bird work better with others, as well as how to prevent the problem with other future feathered friends! 

Support us on Patreon http://patreon.com/avianbehavior
Join the Avian Behavior Lab https://avianbehaviorlab.com

We sit down with the Griz Kid! Wildlife biologist Wes Larson, bear expert, co host of the Tooth and Claw Podcast, and all around awesome person talked with us about his work with HawkWatch banding Golden Eagles. Wes and Hillary discuss what it means to get a job as a wildlife biologist and of course, all about the challenges facing golden eagles in the United States.  A fascinating conversation about why longterm research is so necessary.

As a professional free flight bird trainer with high visibility, Hillary has heard from many different companion parrot free flyers of various experience levels. Here she examines several questions, including 1) What is parrot free flight and how does it work? 2) What are some ideal qualities in a parrot free flight trainer? 3) Can you learn to free fly your parrot from the internet? 4) What are some best practices in free flying and several more. 

Hillary talks about her evolution on the principle of applying negative reinforcement with the help of other trainers in using space as a reinforcer to reinforce calm behavior in challenging birds to help the listener understand why this is such an incredible tool for our behavior change processes. She also  uses her experience as a guest speaker at the ABMA 2021 conference to discuss the challenges of women in STEM and how we can disagree and still use science in our discussions rather than fear-based emotions.

Avian Behavior Lab members Harry and Hailey sit down with Hillary and talk about adopting Paulie the Quaker parakeet during the pandemic. Everything from the first meeting to socialization is different during quarantine in place orders. When everything is different and the only thing that stays the same is change, Harry and Hailey do an amazing job working with their new friend and building skills.

How does understanding the brain is wired for thought help the animals in our care as well as conservation? From concepts of how we handle behavior questions we don’t know the answer to all the way to consuming information on documentaries, we look at how asking questions and filling in the picture can help us understand how science works and how the natural world is still very much a part of who we still are, technology and all. 

There are behavior challenges, and then there is what comes with adopting a male umbrella cockatoo. Avian Behavior Lab member Liv Morton talks to Hillary about the work that she has done adopting her Umbrella Cockatoo Scout and all of the ways that utilizing the science of behavior has led her to success.

Does falconry still have a place in the modern world? It’s an old heritage sport, and there are a lot of misconceptions about what it entails. In this episode, Hillary uses her experience and insights as a licensed American falconer to discuss what the commitments and responsibilities of a falconer are. This episode includes a very frank and candid discussion of hunting, so if that is not your thing, it’s recommended that you skip it!

What kind of jobs are there if you love birds and want to spend your life sharing your enthusiasm? It turns out, there are many types of jobs, and in this day and age, you can also make your own way.

In this episode, we talk about some of the useful strategies we have seen in the entry level animal trainers and other care givers we have worked with to get a toehold in the competitive field of the science of bird care. We even share some of our insights in to resumes and interviews, some of which may not be the most conventional, but we are here to help you stand apart and find your path!

Being intentional about your choices in animal training and behavior, the shortcuts you take or don’t take in your relationships with people and animals all make up a mosaic that is our behavioral repertoire and learning evolution. How much that we recognize how our actions impact future decisions for the individuals around us makes us better animal trainers and more cognizant, inspirational leaders. Trust comes with honesty, and honesty comes with introspection and self reflection. This podcast ties in thoughts on being a business owner during the pandemic as well as putting together actionable steps for a building trust in a relationship with your bird for a huge toolkit and incredible behaviors.

This interview with Gail Buhl from the Minnesota Raptor Center and Partners for Wildlife is a thoughtful journey filled with raptor behavior tidbits, the evolution of operant conditioning in bird behavior management, raptor rehabilitation, imprinting and so much more.

We talk about how working with rehabilitated birds of prey provides such a unique tapestry that has informed our progression as trainers to humane methods of choice based training, and Gail's owl mentors in her work with small owls. We go into depth about how providing these crucial contingencies gives our birds a language that they learn to rely on.

For information about AvOCET, of which Gail is a speaker, check out our events page.

The University of Minnesota Raptor Center Raptor Academy Care and Management Workshop registration is here.

The How to Raise and Owl Ambassador Masterclass is here.

Join the Avian Behavior Lab for a free 14 day trial with the code AVIAN to try out all of the features essential for your growth as an avian care provider.

We are going all in on the behavior analysis term of extinction (not the existential crisis) and why ignoring problem behavior is problem behavior in and of itself. See what we did there?

We use loads of examples, from parrots to cranes, hornbills to vultures, to cover this topic. We talk about other fallout scenarios and drawbacks from using extinction procedures, like riding the extinction burst, fallout frustration and aggression and other scenarios.

What is a husbandry behavior and why train it? I think of it as the difference between fighting with your cohabitants over little behaviors and coming to an agreement over mutually beneficial behaviors. These behaviors are important whether we are talking to companion parrot lovers or professional animal caregivers. What's on your list of top five?

The concept of leaving your parrot flighted or clipping its wings is a huge topic with much debate. There are many opinions going both ways based on health, safety, welfare, and psychological benefits.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that here at Avian Behavior International, we are very much pro-flight when it comes to all birds. But our ethos is that of using science based methodologies to inform our decisions and suggestions. This means that rarely is there a one-size-fits-all solution or recommendation and that many variables impact the quality of choices that we make. So it may or may not be surprise that when it comes to being pro-flight or pro-clip, the answer from us is, “it depends.”

In this far ranging conversation with Paige Davis, curator of bird training from World Bird Sanctuary, we talk about many aspects of training birds of prey, as well as training in general. We touch back upon weight management, as well as going into our mutual love of falconry. We also go into social media, why the Avian Behavior Lab began, and what made each of us change our tactics when it comes to negativity in the comments section.