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A BIT OF BIRD TRIVIA

BIRDS AS COMPANIONS & THERAPY PETS

Crazy Bird Lady
Permission from © Robt.Seymour

Brandy
Brandy in School

Brandy
Brandy at School Exhibit

Companion birds can certainly be a source of mental and emotional well-being for their owners and those who come in contact with them. Certified and/or registered therapy birds are available nationwide for nursing homes, the VA, schools and other organizations.

For their owners, birds provide love, laughter, amusement, wonderment, purpose, and companionship.

When birds are taken to schools and nursing homes, they are greeted with excitement. My Moluccan Cockatoo would sit in the middle of a class of children and bop up and down singing along with them while I prayed she wouldn't let out with any of her rare obscenities. My preacher did his sermon with my Blue and Gold Macaw on his shoulder. As he turned and left the pulpit, the bird expelled a large dump. The church crowd let out with a burst of laughter. It's so rewarding to see the look on the faces of the seniors in the nursing homes as they each (all 100 of them) got to pet my Moluccan Cockatoo, Brandy.

For those who are shy and introverted, a bird on the shoulder opens up a whole new realm of opportunities to interact with people who are curious about the bird. The veil of depression that some carry is lifted when a bird senses it and says or does something funny. I remember being down about something long ago and walking by my Amazon Pepper's cage and hearing her softly say "I love you." While a dog can say it with its eyes and body language, many birds can verbally express their empathy. Children who own birds or pets under the guidance of responsible parents learn reverence for life and responsibility for the care of their pets. No measure of expression or study of this mutual and unique bird-to-human connection is needed to verify its existence.

Debbie Goodrich is working on getting birds certified nationally as service pets.

Interesting articles about veterans benefitting from parrot therapy:

Veteran Finds Peace in Service Bird

Wonderful CBS News Video of Veterans Caring for Parrots

Parrots Used in PTSD Therapy for War Veterans

How Rescue Birds Help Veterans

Would you like to have your bird certified or registered as a therapy bird? This page gives you some good resource links:

Animal Assisted Certification

There are several organizations that offer registration and certification for birds and other animals. This one is free unless you choose to upgrade for one of their kits:

ESA Registration

Just a few of the other links for which there is a fee include:

Register My Service Animal
National Service Animal Registry
Pet Partners

How Therapy Chickens Are Helping Patients With Anxiety
Therapy Chickens

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PARROT TRIVIA: Bird Brained

From the Radio Program "Creation Moments"

BIRD OF PARADISE

Genesis 2:19

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

The bird of paradise is among the strangest and most beautiful birds in the world. They are so unusual that evolutionary scientists are having difficulty explaining how such creatures could have evolved.

It was not until 1824 that the first European saw a bird of paradise. Before that time, the bird was known in Europe only by the skins and feathers that natives had sold to European feather dealers. Since the skins did not include the feet, Europeans thought that the bird of paradise remained in flight its entire life. Its Latin name even means, "of paradise, without feet."

The male bird of paradise is probably one of the most beautiful birds in the world. Its body is a dark maroon, with bright green feathers. The 42 different species have an assortment of bright yellow plumes, tufts and other decorations. At mating time, about all one can make of the bird is a wildly screaming yellow tuft that bounces from branch to branch, zigzags in the air, and hangs upside down from branches. Science has always thought that this odd behavior, and the bright plumage, served to attract female attention. This was the justification for these traits to evolve, according to evolutionists. However, more recent research shows that females do not select males – the males select the females. Evolutionists are left with no way to explain the bird of paradise.

However, the beauty and odd behavior of the bird of paradise are not hard to explain for those of us who know that our Creator has unlimited creativity and inventiveness.

Father, I thank You for making the wonderful bird of paradise. I especially thank You for the way in which this creature glorifies You among men. Help me to glorify You as You have created me to do. Amen.

Laura Tangley. 1982. "Sexual Selection's Strangest Inventions." Science News, Vol. 122. September 4, pp. 152-170.

For more "Creation Moments" transcripts or audio files, go to the archives of "Creation Moments"


 
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