By Gayle Soucek for WebVet
Bringing home a new pet bird is not at all the same as adding a puppy or kitten to your household. While dogs and cats bond naturally to humans, and pretty much befriend everyone, birds (especially parrots) are quite a bit more discriminating. You'll need to proceed carefully to earn your bird's trust and affection, and develop a life-long loving relationship.
In the wild, most pet bird species are pair-bonders, which means they choose a mate and usually remain together for life. In captivity, a tame parrot might choose one favored human as a surrogate "mate,'' and consider other family members as friendly flock-mates. A parrot that is poorly socialized or mistreated, however, might view all humans as threats and enemies, and such a bird can show extreme fear or aggression. Canaries and finches don't typically enjoy human companionship to the same degree as parrots, but they should still be socialized to be unafraid of humans and to enjoy some interaction.
Understanding the birdie brain
It's important to remember that pet birds are wild animals, even when they've been born in captivity. And, since legislation passed in 1994 prohibited the importation of most exotic birds, it's likely your new pet was indeed born in someone's aviary. However, they still don't have thousands of years of domestic history with humans as dogs, cats and poultry do.
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