Product Description

There are an estimated 50 million parrots kept as pets the U.S. alone, their numbers surpassed only by dogs and cats, yet these complex creatures are not your typical domesticated animal, and they remain a mystery to many. Most people don’t know that parrots score at the level of 3-to-5 year olds on human intelligence tests. Nor that they can live to 100 years or more. Nor that pound for pound parrots are worth more on the black market than cocaine. Their startling beauty, social sophistication, and uncanny ability to bond with humans have made parrots sought-after pets, but few people realize how fragile and endangered many parrot species have become.

In Of Parrots and People, award-winning journalist and parrot expert, Mira Tweti, reveals the world of a family of birds that is far more complex and advanced than we’ve acknowledged. Tweti relates stunning scientific findings on the intelligence, personality, and rich lives of parrots that challenge our most widespread and flawed assumptions about non-primates. And she explores the intense and often humorous emotional connections these birds form not just with their flockmates, but with the “parronts” (as some “parrot parents” call themselves) who keep them as pets, often pampering them as they do children.

Of Parrots and People also takes on the much larger, serious issues of animal welfare that are the unfortunate consequences of the “bird boom” of the last few decades. Despite the high demand for them, many parrot species are endangered in the wild from rampant trapping and habitat destruction, while those in captivity are quickly becoming the fastest growing category of unwanted pets, living lives of neglect or abuse. Avian rescuers can’t handle the number of birds that need help, and the Humane Society of the U.S. is advocating euthanasia rather than warehousing birds that will outlive their caretakers. Yet unregulated bird breeders continue to put over a million young birds on the market each year from parrot mills across the country. It’s an untenable situation of cruelty, especially for such an evolved and intelligent species, and it’s just one of the many newsworthy topics that make Of Parrots and People just as hard-hitting as it is soft-hearted. Tweti tirelessly follows the parrot trail around the globe, from the living rooms and pet stores of America, to hotbeds of illegal trade in Mexico. She examines threats of avian flu, and takes a first hand look at encouraging progress in eco-tourism that may be our only way to protect these stunning species from being hunted to extinction.

Comprehensive in scope and passionately written, Of Parrots and People is a unique and vivid addition to popular works on animals and their behavior, and an important new voice in the burgeoning environmental and conservation movement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #966167 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-14
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Trenchant analysis woven together with colorful personal narratives from expert scientists, conservationists, eccentric pet owners and amateur animal rescuers reveals the deleterious consequences of mankind's penchant for keeping exotic birds. Tweti (Here, There and Everywhere) begins by debunking the myth of the "bird brain," citing the story of Alex, an African grey research parrot who was proven to have the cognitive skills of a toddler, not uncommon for his breed. The author's research illuminates the staggering variety of the thousands of species of parrots and indicts the individuals who breed, sell and smuggle birds to feed consumer demand. ("Parrots are a luxury item, deprived of liberty purely for human amusement. No one needs to keep a parrot.") She discusses the unacknowledged crisis of a species being hunted to extinction despite the frequency with which they are abandoned by pet owners. Tweti's account is factual and passionate-she likens even the prettiest bird cage to "a slave's shackles"-but she makes it clear where the science ends and her opinions begin. Tweti's work is a valuable resource of astonishing thoroughness, richness and accessibility-despite the occasional ideological inconsistency.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Amy Sutherland Parrots are wild animals, but their smarts and chattiness makes that fact an easy one to forget. Throw in their otherworldly beauty, and we humans can't keep our mitts off of them. Two new books detail why we should leave them alone. In Of Parrots and People, journalist Mira Tweti spells out the many evils of the parrot pet trade, while Nancy Ellis-Bell's lively, easy-to-read memoir, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog, recounts how her beloved pet macaw took over her household. But, as is true of so many books on animals, both books are ultimately far more about humans. When we look at the animal kingdom, we too often see a mirror image of ourselves. Despite her book's subtitle, Tweti finds very little that is funny about the collision of humans and parrots. Yes, the birds have wondrous talents, and some of their human "parronts" dote on them madly (for instance, hiring a Santa Claus to pose with them). But the book's true aim is to describe how humans have made them the most at-risk group of birds on the planet (almost one third of the 340 species of parrots are endangered). Tweti lays most of the blame on the pet bird trade, which exploded in this country from the 1970s through the 1990s. Demand for birds gave rise to grim breeding facilities in the United States where birds languish in dark isolation and chicks are snatched from nests too soon. Beyond our borders, trappers pilfer parrots from the jungle and smuggle them to this country, where enforcement of anti-smuggling laws is understaffed. When birds are confiscated, they may linger endlessly in quarantine. Add to that, Tweti finds that relatively few parrots land in homes that are prepared to handle them. Between the screeching, the mess and the biting, parrots are difficult companions. Tweti estimates that the average parrot has seven homes in its first 10 years. A sanctuary director in Wisconsin tells Tweti she gets 50 emails a week from people wanting to surrender their birds. Using a mix of reporting and first-person accounts, Tweti proves an able tour guide on this trail of tears, taking the reader to a private home turned sanctuary, to a federal quarantine station in Otay Mesa, Calif., and to Mexican bird markets where the author see for herself how easy it is to buy an illegal parrot. She also follows star parrot champion and conservationist Charles Munn around Brazil as he scouts for a potential reserve for ultra-rare Lear's macaws. Despite her extensive research, Tweti's book would be far stronger if her journalism were more hard-nosed. Too many anecdotes and statistics go unattributed for an author who is billed as an investigative journalist. And though she does a yeoman's job of describing the breadth of the problem, she offers more finger-wagging than solutions. In the end, her book reads like a fatalistic treatise on what knuckleheads we humans are. Still, Tweti loudly sounds the alarm about the parrot pet trade which, illegal or not, needs immediate attention. While Tweti's book gives us the big picture of the problem with pet parrots, Nancy Ellis-Bell provides the small, up-close view. By describing life with a macaw in detail, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog demonstrates why so many parrot owners give up their birds. Life with Sarah, a one-footed blue and gold macaw, can be charming and fascinating: She learns to bark and becomes extremely attached to Ellis-Bell. But not long after Ellis-Bell adopts Sarah from a sanctuary, she lets the bird out of her cage. Freed, Sarah attacks the dogs and eats their food, pulls the handles off a Hepplewhite credenza and poops all over the place. She screeches, "It's a bummer," so loudly that Ellis-Bell, a book agent, can't hear editors on the phone. Yet Ellis-Bell is smitten, and her love knows few, if any, bounds. She accustoms her wheezy lungs to the bird's voluminous dander and shares her meals -- and even, irresponsibly, a gin and tonic -- with Sarah. But the macaw prevents Ellis-Bell and her husband from having friends over and, eventually, interferes with their sex life. When Ellis-Bell lets Sarah loose in her yard, the reader might wonder who will fly off first, the parrot or the husband. Much of the book is entertaining, though the detailed descriptions of Ellis-Bell's domestic routines become tedious, as does her increasing anthropomorphism. In the end, The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog is less about Sarah than about Ellis-Bell, who sees in the parrot a test of how good a mother she is, even of how good a person she is. But until we see animals as they are, cut from the same cloth as us yet entirely different, we'll keep making those mistakes.
Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

From Booklist
Parrots, along with parakeets, are described here as “compact, short-necked birds with stout hooked bills, noisy and gaudily colored.” Mango, a rainbow lorry, was the author’s decade-long muse and the inspiration for this book. He also was the reason she began writing about birds for newspapers and magazines, why she joined a bird club, and why she spent two years making a documentary film about pet birds. Chapters include such subjects as birds' brains (they are intelligent), their species (there are 350 of them), the crisis of unwanted birds (they make excellent companions, but terrible pets), where they can be seen in North America, the parrot industry in the U.S., the problems facing them in captivity and in the wild, the illegal trapping and wild harvesting of parrots around the world, and smuggling. The author also discusses protecting endangered birds through conservation. A captivating and ingenious examination. --George Cohen

Customer Reviews

Of Parrots and People

Of parrots and people by Mira Tweti, is a vast collaboration of intense research and knowledge regarding parrots. I will have to say it has been quite some time since a book has held my interest so deeply that I spent two days reading it from cover to cover. I didn't want to put it down because I was so appalled at some of Tweti's findings. Tweti is an excellent researcher and has put together a single book that covers more than enough topics from avian history to avian future. Every current bird owner, prospective bird owner, and avian enthusiast should read this book. The stories are both heart wrenching and heartwarming. It really opened my eyes to the nature of bird economics, trapping, smuggling, and species survival/demise. Humans have really impacted the bird world by willingly torturing parrots and violently destroying their ecosystem. The end result is likely extinction of many innocent species. This book will make you truly think about the choices you make for your pets. My own feathered companions live harmoniously with humans, receive excellent care, and are regarded as part of my family. Tweti found that is not the case in most situations. Unlike many birds in unkempt breeding environments and unwanted birds I strive to meet the needs of my avian family members. I am a true animal lover and many of the stories were difficult to fathom. It is truly sickening to see and hear of such tragic situations. I too, have seen firsthand the disgust of neglected breeding environments on more than one occasion. It hurts me deeply. I truly cannot understand why people neglect and abuse such beautiful and intelligent creatures.

Of Parrots and People
Having been involved with parrots for over 30 years and having now having my own Parrot rescue Sanctuary, I can say with conviction that this is one of the most amazing, well researched, delightful books I have ever read! The author covers alot of territory re: all aspects of captivity, abuse, behavior etc. it is a fascinating read and should be a keeper for all involved with parrots in any way or those contemplating acquiring a parrot. I congratulate Mira Tweti on a job well done!I am purchasing several copies for parrot friends. I could not put it down.A truly important and fantastic book! Sabra Brea, Sabra's Parrot Rescue

A must read for all
This book is a must read for all who are involved in any way with the "pet" bird industry, from the parokeet owner to the scarce macaw collector.
As a person who shares her home with four Macaws and an African Grey, I was certainly aware of the more uncomfortable moral aspects of captive birds, both from the individual bird's viewpoint and from a collection viewpoint. This book presents all the implications of the exotic bird trade in one package. It is well written and well presented. The facts seem to be accurate and impartial.
The topics included are not comfortable for we exotic bird owners, but this book will make you think about, not just the everyday living conditions of individual exotic birds in captivity, but our nation's and the world's public policies on unrenewable living resources like exotic animals.
Everyone who owns a bird should read this book and everyone who is thinking of acquiring a bird should be required to read this book.