Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior
by Mattie Sue Athan

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Book Summary Information

• Category: BIRD
• Manufacturer: BARRON'S PUBLISHING
• Sub-Category: BIRD BOOKS BY SPECIES
• MFR-PART-NO: 688
• Made By: BARRON'S PUBLISHING

• Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot (Barron's)
• Guide to the Quaker Parrot
• The Second-Hand Parrot

Book Reviews of Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior

Book Review: An essential book for both beginners and seasoned owners.
Summary: 5 Stars

To the uninitiated, companion parrots may appear to be a low-maintenance, showy type of pet. Athan's book goes through the joys and rewards of owning a companion parrot, but she also gives an honest reckoning of the time and effort that must be invested to properly care for a pet that may well be a three year-old toddler in your home for the next 80 years.

The "Companion" book looks great: much larger (many more pages) than her earlier books - and a lot more information. Combined with Athan's first book, "Guide to a Well Behaved Parrot," these two volumes become a "must-read" for anyone considering the purchase (people like to call it adoption) of a companion parrot. Beyond the neophyte prospective owner, all seasoned (well-nipped) owners will continue to use the two books as ready and reliable resources in their day-to-day lives with parrots.

The "Companion" book probably should be read out of sequence. Look through the book at many colorful and helpful pictures and illustrations and read whatever passages catch your eye. Then go back and read the book from cover to cover. Athan gives a short, but to the point introduction, then a short but in-depth review of characteristics of the most popular parrot species. She then goes in to detailed and informative discussions about why and how parrots interact with their human companions. (One final "insiders" note: The usually camera-shy author - who normally only allows her hands to be pictured in her books - actually appears in one of the photographs - the secret is: Which one? It's nice to get a face to go with all the wisdom.)

Beyond these two comprehensive books (the new "Companion" and the previously issued "Well Behaved") Athan has also published two species-specific books - one on the Quaker parrot, the bird that Athan calls "the best and the worst parrot" and another book on Senegal parrots and their companion species. If I were to arrange all of Mattie Sue's books on a time-line (which book to read first, second, third, etc.) I would put the "Companion" book first - it gives the basics of the different species and then how they react as companion birds. I'd recommend "Well Behaved Parrot" as the close second book for an owner to read - how to train your specific bird, and then the species-specific books: Quakers/Senegals as the third or fourth books to read. Athan has another species-specific book in the works - one on the popular African Gray parrot.

Athan has done the world of companion parrot owners a major service by writing books that serve not only the beginner, but also the more seasoned parrot owner as the "bibles" for understanding, caring for, and enjoying these precious, intelligent animals.

Summary of Guide to Companion Parrot Behavior

Birds Books

• Books > Subjects > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets