3 comments about A Rage for Falcons.

1. When I first became interested in falconry, I, like most people, wanted to learn everything I could on the subject. This book covers several aspects of falconry, such as the history and the raptors used in it, and moves on to many personal stories. This is NOT a "how-to" book. Bodio has delivered a wonderfully entertaining and quite creatively written book that I highly recommend to any aspiring or long-time falconer. You won't be disappointed!
   --Lauren



2. Stephen Bodio is one of my favorite writers--definitely my favorite nature writer--and this books captures the essence of the ancient sport of falconry. This is not a manual; it's an essay that helps to explain why anyone would go through so much effort just to share in the privilege of hunting in partnership with a wild animal. (No other modern sport allows one to do this.)This is a book that can be read and enjoyed by anyone, falconer or not, but the falconer will appreciate some of the insights Bodio has--for instance, when he describes the infamous goshawk. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn what falconry is, or who is seriously considering taking up hawks. It is fun, it is informative, and it will stay with you for a long time.



3. Mr. Bodio has written an outstanding overview of modern falconry. He manages to convey what it is about falconry that makes falconers put up with the heartache of hunting with raptors. As a bonus, Mr. Bodio's writing is a joy to read. It is both funny and informative. This is definitely *not* a how-to book, but instead gives a good overview of what falconry is like, and what a prospective falconer can expect.

5 comments about Lovebirds: Everything About Housing, Care, Nutrition, Breeding, and Diseases : With a Special Chapter, Understanding Lovebirds (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual).

1. This book appears to have all info necessary for keeping lovebirds. It was an enjoyable read, an easy read and not boring, the author knew what he was talking about.



2. This book is TERRIBLE for the first time lovebird owner. I bought this book a couple years back and ended up not following much of the advice because I found an experienced bird person at an awesome bird store. Thank goodness!
   Among the blatant lies in this man's book are:
   1. Handle your lovebird with gloves.
   NEVER handle a parrot with gloves on. It scares them. If you are afraid of being bitten, don't buy a bird.
   2. Saying handfed lovebirds are only friendly to the person who handfed them.
   LIE. Handfed birds are very friendly and will easily bond with their human flock.
   3. (my favorite) "Children must be told that lovebirds ordinarily can't be carried around the room on a shoulder or finger."
   Care to explain why my SINGLE lovebird loves to sit on my shoulder and easily steps up for me?
   4. They will never learn to imitate.
   5. They must be kept singly.
   I can't even begin to argue this one. It's ludicrous.
   My recommendation? Don't buy this book!
   It will only lead to many unhappy, unhealthy lovebirds. This man should have his right to write taken away.



3. As the owner of six new love birds, I found Matthew Vriends LOVEBIRDS A Complete Owner's Manual relatively helpful. I knew little about love birds when I read the book and know a only a little more now. The book did not answer many of my questions, though it raised a few points about love birds I would never have asked. For example, the caption of one photograph says the coloration of the peach-faced lutino lovew bird is sex linked, however, I could not discover which sex was linked. This book is not nearly as comprehensive (or thick) as the title leads one to believe nor is it filled with as much information as other books in the `Barrons' series on parrots including the Senegal and African Grey, however the book is filled with lovely photographs and a number of illustrative drawings.

   LOVEBIRDS includes text and maps describing the origins of various types of birds in the family. Vriends apparently owns love birds which he maintains in an outdoor aviary. He includes a good deal of information about keeping love birds in outdoor aviaries, so some of his information such as dealing with frozen toes and vermin that attack birds living aviaries (ticks, rats, mice, etc.) as well as raising love bird babies, may be less than useful for folks like me who keep birds indoors and want to understand "beak fighting" know in advance that clipping their little wings may make it difficult for them to move around an aviary. Although these cute little guys are accused by some of being less than loving, my short experience has shown me that plenty of seed cups and members of the opposite sex alleviates some of the rivalry.




4. Cute pictures and thats all. Bad info...says you shouldn't have a single lovebird! Thats ubsurd. I have one sitting on my shoulder right now and shes definately happy. It is true you have to spend a lot of time with a single lovie but I know its possible!!



5. Faith, our Peach-faced Lovebird thanx the author, Matthew Vriends
   many times over for writing this book. Small in size, easy on the pocketbook, yet filled with a wealth of wisdom about raising & caring for these precious creatures of God.
   From hand feeding to housing, playing to protecting, care and concerns, how to, don't do, in simple language, "Lovebirds" is a winner!
   The information on illness, disease,& what to do, was invaluable. In fact, we were able to proceed in Faith's best health interest before the Vet's visit.
   Buy it, highlight, read, & reread this wonderful owner's companion.

3 comments about The Guide to Owning a Finch.

1. This book is not a guide to ¨owning¨ any kind of bird.
   
   In fact, they have a very pretty picture of a shiny, bright red cardinal. It looks like a waxy, perfect apple, as it stands with its breast poofed out. He says: Nope, can't touch that if you live in the united states.
   
   Did I miss something?
   
   Even less, is it about owning ¨a finch.¨ - on the very first page, he says that they are cute on their own, but they need to be in a group. Next few pages cover compatibilty between species, in an aviary setting, and then discusses mixed aviaries.
   
   The pictures are beautiful, of both common and uncommon varieties. He generally shifts from care, pulls a 180, and presents a ¨laundry list¨of the various species, their native habitat, and their behavior. Great for the bird enthusiast!
   
   I was put off by the title, because well, we don't own any living species. I saw the book on sale and I picked it up on a whim. I'm glad I saw beyond the title. This is a really great book if you already know something about birds.
   
   Personally, I would recommend the ¨all about your (pet) series¨ or barron's pet manuals, if you want a basic guide to caring for your birds.



2. The information is quite a general introduction to finches. But it is well worth the small price for the nice glossy embossed photographs of several species. Worthwhile to have as a handy photo reference on the shelf.



3. It was a good all around book(if you own various types of finches)and it was somewhat informative but vary vauge in the information that it did include. It is not a very good investment if you are looking for more of an educated outlook on the care and breeding of a certain group or type of finch.

   I would only recomend this book to the beginer because the more experienced bird keepers/breeders should already know all of this information.

5 comments about The Essential Parakeet (The Essential Guides).

1. While I appreciate the psychological advice on just how to break the news of a dead parakeet to a family member, I really required more practical information - like what temperature is best for a healthy bird... or say... should I get a cuddle bone? The book does mention to keep your bird's cage out of direct sunlight (wouldn't the bird enjoy a little sun in the winter?) and to keep him out of drafts (in the summer wouldn't a nice breeze be appreciated?) I felt the book needed to concentrate more on actual facts instead of generalities & add more photos diagramming wing clipping & nail trimming.



2. 
   Very nice book. It is pretty thorough and has excellent advice for choosing a healthy happy pet and the correct cage and accessories you will need.



3. Although I had done a lot of research on the internet before purchasing my parakeet...I prefer to say adopt, actually...this book gave me so much more information! It told me what kind of parakeets you shouldn't get--the ones that hang back in the cage, make watery poops, and dash away from your hand. I got one that came up to me and cheeped. You should get this book for it is chock-full of information, but also try tons of other books and do research on the web. After all, you DO want to be the greatest pet owner for your parakeet, right? I suggest you take the little "quiz" in the front of the book to see if you're ready for a parakeet before taking further actions.



4. THE ESSENTIAL PARAKEET looks very much like an earlier book about Budgies by Julia Rach. Many of the photos are identical (Renee Stockdale). The publisher is the same publisher. The difference seems to be the book jacket and the word Parakeet instead of Budgie.
   
   This Parakeet book includes much of the same material on cage specifications, diet, and other considerations concerning the health and maintenance of Budgies, found in the earlier book by Rach. So what is the difference between a Parakeet and a Budgie? According to the editor, Americans call Budgies "Parakeets." "Not all Parakeets are Budgies", says the editor, Budgies are a specific species with a Latin name `Melopsittacus undulatus' or the "song-parrot with wavy lines." Sometimes these little birds are called "grass parakeets" in their native Australia. I don't think the book is a very helpful source of information about why Parakeets are different from Budgies. Maybe their is no difference. Maybe a Budgie by any other name is still a swell bird. Get Rach's book and you won't need this book.



5. a good book for people who are just starting out with parakeets full of wonderfull Info & has great pictures
   good price too

2 comments about Parrot Culture: Our 2500-Year-Long Fascination with the World's Most Talkative Bird.

1. Bruce Thomas Boehrer is both a literature professor and a parrot lover. This makes him eminently qualified to write a book about the cultural impact of parrots on Western art, literature and imagination. Frankly, I assumed Boehrer was British, and was surprised to learn that he's a professor in Florida who spent part of his childhood in El Paso, Texas! Somehow, his knowledge of world literature and his writing skills sound more...well, European. Or am I just being prejudiced? His revulsion to animal cruelty in general and psittacophagy in particular also sound very British.
   
   Boehrer's book "Parrot culture" isn't the easiest read around. Often, it does sound like a college lecture in literature, and the author even ventures into the risky world of art criticism. Yet, somehow it never becomes *really* boring, perhaps because of the subject-matter. Parrots, after all, are intrinsically interesting: exotic, common, intelligent and stupid, all at the same time, in a bewildering combination. As a kid, one of my best friends had an assortment of budgies ("parakeets"), and I remember thinking that they were really silly, since they couldn't talk. The quiet hyacinth macaw in the local pet store I considered even sillier, since it didn't even scream! And what is a parrot that can't talk, or scream, if not redundant? So much for my scientific objectivity...
   
   But on to the book. The first European to describe parrots was a certain Ktesias of Cnidus around 398 BC. Ktesias had seen Indian parrots in Persia, and correctly described their ability to mimic human speech: "It talks like a man in Indian, but if taught Greek can talk in Greek also". Few people, if any, believed him. It wasn't until the conquests of Alexander the Great that parrots became more widely known in the Greek world. We even know what species Alexander sent back to Greece: the Alexandrine parakeet. Aristotle described the bird, and the rest is history.
   
   Boehrer then describes how European cultures viewed the parrot, and how these notions changed. The Greco-Roman world saw parrots in many different ways: as a symbol of inferior humans, as comic relief, as near-divine. During the Middle Ages, few parrots reached Europe, and yet the parrot became an important religious symbol, associated with the Virgin Mary, the Garden of Eden, or God himself. During the Renaissance, the parrot was secularized and turned into an object of ridicule and spite. In Baroque art, the parrot becomes a symbol for native lands to be colonized, or simply a luxurious accessorie, and in Early Modern plays, parrots once again symbolize social and racial inferiority. Being compared to a parrot becomes an insult.
   
   During the 19th century, the parrot was often a symbol of the sentimental, and pet parrots became increasingly popular. Boehrer also believes that a morbid fascination with dead animals characterized the period, and his verbal execution of the great naturalist and bird-painter Audubon is particularly entertaining (and very British).
   
   The last chapter of the book takes us into the modern world. The author interviews environmental activists, writes about his own fascination with parrots, and even talks to a parrot smuggler! The smuggler was apparently imprisoned for trying to smuggle a couple of Australian parrots to the US, all the while the Australian government is busy exterminating thousands of parrots themselves. Who is most absurd, the human or the parrot, one wonders?
   
   Amazon has coupled this book with Richard Verdi's "The Parrot in Art", a good choice in my opinion. Verdi's book is really an exhibition catalogue, and while the text is much shorter than Boehrer's book, the paintings are reproduced in full color (Boehrer's book shows some of the same paintings, but in black-and-white, and smaller size). Thus, the two books nicely complement each other.



2. I was very excited when I bought this book. After reading it once, I still found it quite wonderful, but since I`m writing a book of my own (on african greys), I had to check up on some of the "facts" I wanted to use myself. I`m sorry to say that some of the historical facts don`t add up to other, reliable sources. For instance, one painting is dated to 1889, but the painter died in 1883, and according to the book it was the French who invaded The Canary islands in 1402. It was the Spanish... A few other dates are wrong as well. I haven`t found (or searched for) many errors, but this makes me question the rest of the book as well. But if you`re not really "hung up" on historical accuracy, this is a very good book indeed. The facts themselves still hold water, although some dates and such may be wrong.

1 comments about The Ultimate Parrot.

1. This book is published in the UK and has the typical UK focus on aviaries and breeding in aviary settings. These chapters will probably not interest the typical US parrot owner who has a pet parrot or two and is uninterested in breeding. The book has a large chapter on various "breeds" of parrots. I suppose that in the UK one refers to parrot breeds. In the US, however, you would be severely criticized for this. Parrots consist of different species, not breeds. The different parrots available are unrelated species with different scientific names. Cats and dogs, on the other hand, are the same exact species but are considered to have breeds to designate different varieties and traits humans have selectively bred. I just want to clarify this point so that a person new to the world of parrots is not labeled an ignoramus! The species descriptions are very brief and often limited to breeding habits or distribution in the wild. Most species descriptions are not accompanied by a photo, either. If one is looking for a parrot identifier with photos and lots of descriptive narrative, you'd be best to look elsewhere. However, the book has lots of gorgeous photos throughout and the chapter on parrot anatomy is quite good. Considering the steep discount, this book is overall not a bad purchase for parrot lovers.

5 comments about Gourmet Bird Food Recipes: For Your Cockatiel, Parrot, and Other Avian Companions (Pet Care Books) (Pet Care Books).

1. I bought this book when I got my African Grey parrot. Eight years later and I've had to replace it because I got "goop" all over it! I have not only used it all the time, I've bought it as a gift for all my bird loving friends! My grey girl loves all the recipes! I highly recommend this cookbook for all of our avian friends!!!



2. For anyone who loves to cook for their parrots, this one is a must have.
   My birdies have enjoyed every morsel out of here !



3. Beware! Alot of the recipes have milk and cheese in them. Birds are lactose intolerant so those recipes can make them very ill.



4. This recipe book was written by three vegetarians, who like many vegetarians need to supplement their diet with large amounts of cheese to get their proteins. These are not bird recipes - but people recipes, that use lots of oil, butter, cream and cheese. One recipe that started off well: "Pasta Salad" p.44, ends up with 16 oz of Italian dressing.

   Things like "Tortellini in cream sauce" or "Rotelle and cheezy vegetables" or "Garlic-buttered vermicelli" should not be part of your bird`s diet or even yours if you are health concious.




5. What first caught my eye was a statement on the back of the book, "If your bird is a member of the parrot family, did you know that your bird has a palate nearly as sophisticated as that of a human?" Those of us who own birds and already know this now have a place to come to.

   There are a couple of sections at the beginning of the book that are just overall information, "A Well-Balanced Diet for Your Bird," "Preparing Your Home (Nest) for Life With a Bird," "Baby Bird's Travel Checklist," and one that will tear your heart out, "The Beginning of the Joshua Foundation."

   The "Entrees and Side Dishes for You and Your Bird" section looked fun. A lot of the recipes call for cheese, fat, and sugars. Although, I don't think our birds, especially the smaller ones, should have much of this, the recipes could be modified so you are comfortable with them and otherwise might be great as a sometimes treat. Other recipe sections include "Breads and Pastries," "Vegetable and Fruit Dishes," "Potatoes and Eggs," the entrees section, and "Treats."

   Sprinkled (pun intended) throughout are a few birdie stories, each of which you will need to have a box of tissues close by to read. An index in the back allows you to look up recipes by main ingredients or recipe title.

   The authors have no veterinary background. In fact, all of them are partners in a CPA firm. But they have a love for parrots, especially those in need, and I think have done a good job of putting together a variety of recipes for our birdies with discriminating palates.

3 comments about The Essential Cockatiel (Essential (Howell)).

1. Hi! I liked the book. I have another I prefer but...I think you need to have a few books regarding cockatiels, just to filter out some things. And this is a good one. And Yes! is the answer to the one reviewer who mentioned, Do birds really get caught in the frig and stove?
   Cockatiels are so quiet and quick People need to know this. A friend told me a friend of hers killed her Cockatiel by not knowing it was by the frig when she opened it and she close it on the poor thing. So its good to re remind and make people aware of all the hazards that can and will happen if you don't watch them closely.



2. While I've had plenty of pets, I've never had sole responsibility of a cockatiel before and I thought this book would be useful in helping me get started, but I found it to be a little cheesy. It's all pretty much common sense, I mean who would put a cage full of food with a bird in it, in the shower with hot water? Or let a bird get stuck in the oven or fridge? Does that stuff really happen? Anyways I was hoping I would learn something new, and didn't really learn anything at all. You can go to Pet-co and a get a free info sheet that is a lot more useful.



3. This is my favourite book about cockatiels, including with regard to illnesses and how to proceed in case of emergencies as not seen in other books that I owned about this subject.

3 comments about Enjoying Birds and Other Wildlife in Hawaii: A Site-by-site guide to the Islands for the birder and naturalist.

1. This was my first trip to Hawaii, and went to several islands, the birds are just beautiful and I took several pictures of the birds, and nowhere could I find what the birds were. This book had every single bird that we had seen there, as well as information on the birds. I recommend this book to everyone that goes to Hawaii, as a matter of fact, purchase it before they go. You'll enjoy it very much!
   
   Charmayne



2. I found this book to be indespensible in identifying where to go and how to get there. A section on each of the major islands, and then regions on a per island basis makes it easy to use. Pratt identifies which birds you can expect to see in each of the birding spots identified. Although color plates of many of the species are included, this is not a species classification guide per-se. You'll need a separate guide for that. But you can't see them if you don't know where to go or how to get there, and that's where this book shines. I shutter to think of the time we would have wasted without it.



3. Pratt takes the reader island by island, site by site, through all the best spots to find birds in the islands. Illustrated with excellent color photographs, the guide tells you what to expect in terms of species to see, directions on getting there, and possible hazards (mud, rough roads, irritable hunters, etc.). Following the site descriptions, Pratt adds a section on each species to be found in the islands, listing the places it is most likely to be found. The emphasis is on clear information, but Pratt's lucid interesting writing style makes the book a pleasure to read as well. I have used it on Kaua'i and Hawai'i and would not think of birding the other islands without it. Indispensible!

1 comments about Conure: Your Happy Healthy Pet.

1. Although this book does not have the answer to a lot of questions conure owners may have it is by far the most comprehensive book on these birds.