>>>>> >Anyone know of a good clicker training book aimed at the training of >>>>> >parrots?
I have to ask: why would you need to clicker train a parrot? Parrots have the intelligence of 3-5 year old kids. Most learn (at least understand) dozens of human words, and some may learn hundreds of words. (Even those who don't speak so clearly do UNDERSTAND many words.) When Smokey gets annoyed at Hoover, she tells him something like, "Quit!" or "Stupid Bird!" English is essentially her native language. She can even recombine words that she knows to make her thoughts/wishes known. They are SO adept at picking up our language - why add an extra step? Just tell them what you want or like - they can fill in the blanks! I've joked that parrots are the pets for those of us who are too lazy to train. They are literally like having small children around - you talk to them and they learn! They learn from imitating us, speech and actions - although some species are more prone to imitate speech than actions and vice versa. I wouldn't clicker train a three-year-old human - there are better ways to communicate with those who share our affection for verbal languages! Karen Thomas, NC
