Grey Fisher
Making friends with aggressive Amazon
 I got my blue-front Amazon a year and a half ago from a family with teenagers who tormented the bird. Apparently this bird had been living in a very small cage for its entire 27 years, most of the time in a closet, and was fed nothing but sunflower seeds. When allowed out, it would bite badly. I purchased a cage large enough for Fran to spread her wings for the first time and she seems very content in her new home. She will accept any kind of food, especially apples, which she will request and eat right out of your hand. But that cocky attitude is scary. Sometimes she will lunge at you and if you are not quick enough, man, she will rip your finger off. We talk to her and on several occasions, we have let her out of her cage. She will get out, walk around the kitchen for a few minutes, then climb back into the cage and hide in the corner. We have grown very attached to this bird and really want to win her trust, but she wants no part of any new training.
-- Cindy Helsel
 YOU ARE ALREADY on your way to a positive relationship with Fran! The thing for you to remember is that parrots never bite for "no reason". If she is lunging at you, it is because she is feeling uncomfortable and the only way she knows of telling you to "back off" is to bite. One of the most important things for any parrot owner to do is to learn to read their bird's body language. Rapidly dilating eyes, a fanned tail, wings slightly dropped, the nape feathers ruffed, strutting back and forth on a perch are all signs of excitement. Now excitement isn't necessarily good or bad in itself, but when she is in this emotional state, you're more likely to be bitten because it's easy to miss the subtle clues that tell you if a bite is coming or if she just really, really likes you!
Approach Fran just as I suggested for Henri in the last letter. Find a reinforcement that really works well for your bird and give it to her when she is being gentle and accepting you. If she begins to become aggressive at any point, take away the treat and ignore her. Another piece of advice: since Fran is willing to come out of her cage, try working with her away from it. This will get you onto neutral territory and she will be much more focused on working with you instead of how to get back to her home. It sounds to me like Fran is already a pretty friendly bird; you just need to spend a little time getting to know each other and before you know it you'll have a happy, trusting relationship!
Grey Fisher is a trainer at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. Previously he was a trainer with Natural Encounters, Inc., a world-renowned organization that helps zoos all over the world train birds and many other types of animals using positive reinforcement.
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