Of Parrots and People explores our complicated relationship with psittacines.

Of Parrots and People
By Mira Tweti
Viking Penguin, 2008, $25.95

I'M NOT SURE what I expected from Of Parrots and People. Tales of wonderful interactions between people and parrots and silly stories, I guess.

Like many of us, Mira Tweti brought a parrot into her home, believing it would be the same or "much less" as the cat it was to replace. And like so many of us, the parrot soon changed her life in ways she couldn't have imagined.

The book starts out describing Dr. Irene Pepperberg's amazing work with Alex, the African grey that proved the intellectual abilities of parrot, then gives more examples of parrots with astonishing intelligence and comprehension.

When it comes to pet ownership, however, Tweti makes such statements as, "Isolating a parrot in a cage is the antithesis of its natural state. It is, plain and simple, avian abuse." While being in a cage may be the antithesis of a parrot's natural state (in the wild), none of the people I know "abuse" their birds by keeping them in a cage. Like me, people I know have their parrots out of their cages longer than they are in cages, often giving the birds supervised run of the house. The cages for these parrots are not prisons but rather safe places to get away to, full of toys and treats and a nice place for a nap.

But then I realized that I and the people I know who take good care of our birds are only a small dot on the landscape of parrots.

Tweti goes on to say, "The best way to observe parrots' natural social interactions and understand the complexities of their interrelationships and emotional needs is at a large zoo exhibit." While an exhibit in a zoo may be cage-free it is hardly a place to observe the "natural" behaviors found in the wild.

However, it's easy to forgive Tweti for such misstatements considering what she gets right. It's clear she did extensive research. Much of it will disillusion those not completely familiar with the inner workings of the pet industry and conservation.

For example, Tweti reminds us that the American Federation of Aviculture works for the benefit of the professional breeder, not birds. The AFA president is quoted as saying, "If there are any unwanted birds, they wouldn't be homeless, because breeders would happily take them for breeding situations." A trip to any parrot rescue organization anywhere in the world proves the ridiculousness of that statement. And after the description of parrot breeding mills in this country (as bad if not worse than any puppy mill) what decent human would give a parrot to a breeder?

I was always so impressed with CITIES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Finally, I believed, the world was coming together to recognize and save endangered species. There was hope. But Tweti quickly changed my mind about that: turns out that CITIES simply provides a matrix for how many of which species can be taken out of their natural habitat for international trade. It isn't about conservation of parrots and other wildlife at all.

Tweti doesn't spare us the details of the sickening methods of smuggling parrots into the U.S., nor the estimated numbers of parrots that suffer and die in horrible conditions due to smuggling.

During her investigations into smuggling she met one of the few remaining undercover agents of the U.S. Wildlife Service Special Enforcement. His job is to stop the traffic in smuggled wildlife, but like so many other worthwhile governmental agencies, funding has been cut to the bone. At one time, the agency had animal-sniffing dogs capable of finding hidden parrots.

Tweti continues her investigations by visiting some sanctuaries both in the U.S. and Brazil that operate to rescue and save parrots. But like nearly all rescues and other efforts to save wild parrots, they need more money and publicity.

I didn't really want to know how so many parrots are treated and exploited, but once I began reading I couldn't stop. When I finished I was glad I had been told the dark side of human interactions with parrots.

This book strengthened my resolve to never buy another parrot from a pet store or breeder, and it clarified something I've been considering for years - parrots belong free in their native wild lands, not in our homes.