Your goals and resolutions aren’t just your own; your choices can also shape your bird’s world! Here are some small changes with big benefits for you and your flock.

Well-Rested Humans, Happier Birds

Stop the bedtime doom-strolling. When you prioritize good sleep — going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking earlier — you’re better aligned with your parrot’s natural sleep schedule. You wake up feeling refreshed and more at ease, and your bird picks up on that. A well-rested you is more likely to be patient and more relaxed, which helps your parrot feel safe and comfortable in their day.

Did you know that your natural sleep cycle is based on your chronotype? Your chronotype is your body’s natural preference for when you feel most awake as well as when you’re ready to sleep; essentially, your “internal clock.” Here’s a closer look at chronotypes from the science-based website LiveScience and how they affect our sleep patterns. If you trend late owl, check out this blogger’s 30-day experiment to transform into an early bird.

Stage Your Fridge for Better Eating

Your refrigerator can play a big role in what you and your bird eat each day. Birds love fresh fruits and vegetables, and, honestly, we could all use a little more produce in our diet! Keeping your fridge stocked with colorful produce makes healthy choices easier for both of you, whether it’s leafy greens for your smoothies or crunchy veggies and apple slices you and your feathered friend can share.

When’s the last time you gave your fridge a makeover? Start with a clean slate by getting into every nook and cranny. Here are some tips on tackling the important yet often overlooked chore of cleaning the fridge. Where you store your food can be a game-changer in terms of helping you focus on healthier choices. Similarly, how you store your food not only keeps it fresher longer and makes it safer to eat. Follow these tips for a healthy fridge!

Clean Smarter, Breathe Easier

Open your storage closet or under-sink shelf, and take a closer look at the cleaning products you’ve got tucked away. If you have industrial-strength cleaners with safety warnings slapped on the labels, consider swapping them out with more natural cleaning options, such as those made with vinegar, baking soda, or other gentle, non-toxic ingredients, to make your home more bird-friendly. If you prefer ready-made cleaners, look for bird-safe brands that skip the harsh chemicals. Birds’ respiratory systems are super sensitive, so many of the products you pass by when strolling down the grocery aisles can irritate or be downright risky in your bird’s space. Here are 15 homemade cleaning recipes to try.

Your Energy Shapes Their Day

Our birds are like tiny little energy detectives, always watching and feeling our moods. When we’re tired or frazzled, they pick up on it. (That “surprise” nip didn’t come out of nowhere!)  Taking a little time each day for self-care, like stretching, meditation, yoga, or a walk or run, helps us shake off tension and lift our mood. The better we feel, the more our bird feels it too. Need motivation? Give these tips a workout, or try a stress-reducing breathing exercise. A happier you often makes for a happier bird!

Winter can make even the most resilient birdwatchers stop and wonder: how do birds perch on snow or ice without their feet freezing? Birds have incredible natural adaptations that allow them to survive in cold weather, from heat-conserving circulatory systems to specialized foot structures. Understanding these features not only explains some of their quirky behaviors but can also help pet bird stewards keep their companions cozy indoors.

Nature’s Heat Recycling System

Birds have a remarkable circulatory adaptation called counter-current heat exchange. Warm blood traveling down the leg runs adjacent to cooler blood returning from the foot. As the two bloodstreams pass each other, heat is exchanged, thus warming the returning blood and cooling the blood moving toward the toes. This helps birds conserve energy, while keeping their core warm and their feet from freezing.

This fascinating study shows how birds regulate heat by adjusting leg temperatures, making them cooler than their feathers in winter to conserve warmth, and warmer than their feathers in summer to expel excess heat.

Bird’s Feet Have Better Cold Tolerance

A bird’s foot, parrots included, is made mostly of bone, tendons, keratin scales, and very little soft tissue. Compared to human feet, there’s less fluid to freeze. Birds’ feet also have tough skin, which helps make their feet more cold-resistant. Cold-tolerant parrot species like the kea of New Zealand famously thrive in alpine conditions thanks to this same foot structure.

Smart Foot-Warming Behaviors

Birds also rely on instinctive behaviors to conserve heat. You’ve probably noticed your feathered companion standing on one foot, tucking their feet into their feathers, especially when they’re relaxed or sleepy—a parrot’s way of being snuggly. These behaviors are natural ways birds preserve warmth, and they demonstrate just how well-designed avian bodies are for seasonal changes, even if your parrot lives in a cozy home year-round.

Climate Adaptations

Birds’ feet are remarkably adapted to their environments, with toe length, thickness, and vascular structure playing a key role in thermoregulation. Birds living in cold climates typically have shorter, thicker toes to minimize heat loss. The lesser the surface area exposed to frigid air or snow, the more body heat conserved. Species like penguins also combine short toes with insulating scales or feathers, which help maintain warmth in extreme cold. Conversely, birds in hot climates tend to have longer, thinner toes, which increases the surface area relative to volume, allowing excess heat to dissipate more efficiently.

Cozy Corners For Feathered Feet

When it’s cold inside, we might reach for a cozy pair of slippers. But our feathered friends need their own version of comfort. Providing cozy roosting spots, like natural wood perches, helps birds retain body heat far better than plastic or stainless steel perches. Textured or branch-like perches give birds a secure grip, while rope perches offer gentle insulation and are soft on their feet. Offering a variety of perching options helps keep your bird’s feet warm and comfortable, giving them true “happy feet.”

Nothing says “bird” more than their marvelous feathers! Here are some fascinating finds about feathers that might give you an extra dose of “Awe!” next time you see your bird preening their feathers, flying, or basking in natural sunlight.

A feather is anything but simple, which makes sense when you consider that feathers enable flight. Fur is a bit more straightforward; it is a uniform filament that grows from a follicle and is made of alpha-keratin, which is the same as our hair and nails. Feathers are made of super-strong beta-keratin, which makes feathers stiffer, an essential component for flying. Here are a few ways feathers showcase nature’s remarkable engineering.

Different Feathers For Different Jobs

Birds don’t just have one feather type; they have multiple types, and each serves a purpose. There are wing feathers, tail feathers, contour feathers, semiplume feathers, and down feathers. (“Flight feathers” refers to the wing feathers and tail feathers that give a bird both thrust and lift to enable flight.) Feathers, compared to hair, can do more specialized jobs. Check out this fun and immensely informative interactive webpage, “All About Feathers,” from TheCornellLab, which allows you to zoom in to see how each feather type is put together and the function it serves.

Some feathers even produce specialized sounds, such as the whistling sound of a mourning dove’s wings when it takes off, or the hum of a hummingbird. One study using 2,176 microphones and high-speed cameras proved that flapping wings, not vocal cords, produce the hummingbird’s hum!

The Feather’s Complex Engineering

Take a close look at one of your bird’s molted flight feathers, and you’ll notice the central shaft, rows of barbs, and tiny interlocking barbules that act like Velcro® to keep the feather smooth and aerodynamic. When you run your finger up against the feather’s natural direction, you’ll undo the barbs. Run your finger down the length of the feather, and the barbs zip together again. This intricate design helps feathers “keep it together” during flight. It also aids in waterproofing; run the feather under the faucet, and watch the water bead off like it does down an umbrella.

Built-In Feather Care

We use conditioner to keep our hair from becoming brittle; many parrot species use oil from their uropygial gland, also called the preen gland, to serve a similar function. They coat their beaks with this oil, and then preen with it to condition their feathers. (Check out this article about how bird use their uropygial gland for healthy feathers and waterproofing.) Parrots’ feathers also produce “powder down,” with some species (namely, Old World parrot species) producing more powder down than others.  These “dustier” parrots include cockatoos, cockatiels, and African grey parrots. Powder down also helps keep feathers healthy. Birds without a uropygial gland, such as Amazon parrots and some macaw species (hyacinth, Spix, and Lear’s macaws) use the powder down from their feathers, paired with bathing and grooming/preening to keep their feathers healthy and water-resistant.

[*Please note that an earlier version of this article erroneously stated that cockatoos, cockatiels, and African grey parrots lack a uropygial gland. They all do have this preen gland.]

Feathers Shimmer

Most fur owes its color to pigments like melanin. It can be beautiful, but it doesn’t shimmer. Feathers, however, play with light in ways fur cannot. Some birds display iridescent blues and greens not from pigment but from microscopic structures that scatter light. That’s why hummingbirds and some parrots, like Pionus parrots, show metallic blue and bronze under natural sunlight. While your dog’s fur is lovely and fluffy, it won’t flash neon green in the sun. (As with most things, there are exceptions, though. Check out these iridescent mammals!)

An interesting sidenote regarding parrot colors: according to this article, birds with bright yellow or red coloring, such as finches and cardinals, get their vivid reds and yellows from dietary carotenoids found in the egg yolk during development. But this isn’t the case with parrots that have yellow or red coloring. They produce their own pigments, called psittacofulvins. Studying dusky lories and rosy-faced lovebirds, scientists discovered that a single enzyme, ALDH3A2, converts red pigments to yellow, revealing how parrots fine-tune their dazzling colors.

So go ahead and tell your bird that you appreciate their feathers as the engineering masterpieces that they are! From the smallest down feather to the longest flight feather, they reveal unparalleled natural design.

If you love birds, there’s a whole lot of avian-related words waiting to be discovered. Learning bird-specific terms can transform the way we care for and think about our feathered friends. Each new term opens a window into the bird world to give us a deeper appreciation and a little bit of bird-nerd word superpower along the way. Here are some bird words to get us started.

Rhamphotheca

We all know “beak,” but a deeper dive reveals that the hard outer sheath of a bird’s beak is called the rhamphotheca. It’s made of keratin, the same stuff as our fingernails. According to Merriam-Webster, the term rhamphotheca originates from New Latin, combining the Greek word ῥάμφος (rhamphos), meaning “beak,” with the Latin suffix -theca, meaning “case” or “cover.” This term specifically refers to the horny sheath of keratin that covers a bird’s beak.

Gular Flutter

Gular flutter is a cooling mechanism some birds employ to regulate body temperature during extreme heat. Birds like crows, pigeons, herons, and some raptors gular flutter by rapidly vibrating the thin floor of their throat (fluttering their neck muscles) to increase evaporation and regulate body temperature. So next time you spot a wild bird with their bill open on a hot day, you might be witnessing gular flutter. Check out this video of a great blue heron gular fluttering. Be aware, however, that our parrots should not be open-mouth breathing/panting. This can be a sign of respiratory illness, a reaction to extreme stress, or a sign of overheating. If it’s heat-related, immediately move your bird to a shaded/ventilated area or mist them with cool (not frigid) water. A panting parrot warrants a call to your veterinarian.

Zygodactyl Vs. Anisodactyl Feet

Parrots have zygodactyl feet, with two toes facing forward and two toes facing back. This configuration is perfect for climbing and grasping objects with dexterity. Anisodactyl feet, on the other hand, have three toes facing forward, and one facing back, which is typical of most song birds.

Pterylae And Apterium

Feathers don’t cover every inch of a bird’s body. Instead, they grow in tidy rows called pterylae, with little bare gaps of skin in between called apteria. This well-designed pattern keeps birds insulated while allowing them to move freely, and it makes preening easier. (It also gives your veterinarian easier access to your bird’s skin if needed.)

Eclipse Plumage

Most of us are familiar with the term molting, when birds shed and regrow feathers, but did you know that some bird species also undergo eclipse plumage? Eclipse plumage is a temporary duller feathering phase. Ducks are known for this, where the male duck takes on female-like plumage for a month or so during summer, shortly after breeding. But why? This is also the time when male ducks molt their colorful feathers, including their flight feathers — making them, as the saying goes, “sitting ducks.” Thus, taking on the female’s drabber feathering affords male mallards camouflage from predators until they’re ready to fly again. (When you stop to think about it, female birds’ less colorful plumage helps them blend into the environment better than the males’ flashy colors.) Parrots don’t have eclipse plumage, but just imagine if their colors changed from vibrant to muted to blend in with your décor during a molt!

Duetting

Parrots are celebrated vocal learners, but not all bird calls are solo acts. Duetting is when two birds (often mated pairs) sing precisely timed, alternating phrases that sound like one continuous song. According to CornellLab, duetting is one of the most complex vocal performances among all animals, and it can be so seamless you’d have a hard time telling the two birds’ vocals apart. Check out this in-sync dark-backed weaver pair duetting.

Sources:

www.britannica.com/science/apterium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird

https://www.britannica.com/science/eclipse-plumage

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/it-takes-two-bird-duets/

https://www.audubon.org/news/how-birds-keep-their-cool

https://www.aav.org/blogpost/1778905/489478/Summer-Fun-for-Parrots

Remembering Our Feathered Friends on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

August 28^th is a Rainbow Bridge Day, a day dedicated to honoring our beloved animal companions who are no longer with us. Rainbow Bridge is a comforting image, often described as a lush meadow where pets run and play until they are reunited with their humans. While the idea is most often associated with cats and dogs, it resonates just as deeply with those who have shared their lives with birds. Our winged companions leave just as profound an imprint on our lives.

Unlike dog and cat companions, birds are prey animals by nature, which makes the trust they extend to us all the more special. And given parrots’ potentially long lifespans, unexpected loss or their passing after decades spent together can be especially difficult. Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day offers us a time to reflect and keep our bird’s memory alive.

Donate in their name. Honor your feathered companion by supporting a local or national bird rescue or sanctuary. Your gift can help birds in need with healthy food, housing, and enrichment; just like you do for your flock.

Display a keepsake. A molted feather, a favorite toy, or a photo placed in a memory box or in a frame can serve as a reminder of the joy your bird brought into your life. Molted feathers, especially, can help you keep your bird’s presence close in a unique way, such as a feather in your hat.

Write a note to your bird. Let your bird know how much they touched your life and thank them for their trust in you. It can be a simple note of gratitude or a list of what made your bird special.

Channel calmness at sunset. Birds naturally settle at the end of the day, so take a quiet moment as the sun sets to meditate or otherwise be in the moment, free of distractions like phone scrolling or screen time. Visualize how your bird looked when relaxed, and use that calmness to shake off the stress of your day.

Try a new healthy food in your bird’s honor. Remember all those times you tried and failed or tried and won when introducing a new food to your bird? Add a healthy selection to your menu and make your bird proud.

Tell their story. Share a photo or memory on social media with friends and family, or add your bird’s story to a wider audience by using the hashtag #RainbowBridgeRemembranceDay in your post.

However you choose to remember, your connection with your bird remains part of your story. Their absence changes daily life, but the experiences you shared continue to shape the way you remember and honor them.

How do you honor your pet who passed over Rainbow Bridge? Please share in the comments.

The Republic of Panama is the southernmost country of Central America, bordering South America to the south and Costa Rica to the north. The Panama Canal connects the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea. This strategic canal is a major source of revenue for the country. Approximately 62% of the country is covered with natural forest, including extensive areas of primary (intact) rainforest with a wide diversity of tropical animals and plants, some not found elsewhere in the world.

While much of Panama remains wooded, deforestation for agriculture and cattle ranching is a growing threat. Panama is the only country in Central America that is home to five macaw species, all of which are endangered in the country, and some, such as the great green macaws, are critically endangered worldwide. Of particular concern is the Azuero Peninsula, which includes the Cerro Hoya National Park and the unprotected rainforest of the Azuero massif (a compact group of mountains), both vital for the conservation of the country’s biodiversity.

Panama’s Great Greens

Great green macaws (Ara ambiguus) are long-lived, but they produce very slowly. At best, they fledge one chick a year. They require native tree species for their food sources and breeding nests, such as the mountain almond. In the Azuero Peninsula, they also nest in Cuipo trees (Cavanillesia platanifolia), one of the largest and fastest‑growing native tree species in Latin America, known for its towering height and massive trunk diameter. However, the alarming rate of deforestation has caused the jungle areas to be fragmented, creating patches of pastureland for farming and cattle ranching. Breaking up a tropical landscape causes major disruptions in wildlife’s ability to survive and repopulate successfully.

In 2020, great green macaws were up-listed by IUCN to Critically Endangered, which means they are at a very high risk of extinction in the wild, especially in Panama. In the Azuero region of Panama, which includes the Cerro Hoya National Park, less than 50 great greens have been counted. So, the need for a viable conservation plan is urgent!

Cerro Hoya, despite its remote location, has experienced significant deforestation, along with illegal poaching of birds for the pet trade. Under the leadership of Dr. Luis Ureña, Director of the Panama Wildlife Conservation Charity (PWC), a new collaborative project is being implemented to create a Reserve Corridor for Cerro Hoya. It is supported by many other charities, including the American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, BirdLife International, and the World Parrot Trust. PWC’s goal is to purchase 3,700 acres of pristine rainforest adjacent to the Cerro Hoya National Park. It will be known as the Ara Panama Sanctuary and provide a corridor of protection not only for the great green macaws, but several other endangered birds and mammals. The cost is about $600 per acre.

Ara Panama aims to reforest the area with the plant life needed by animals such as the macaws; to foster more community involvement, including an annual Macaw Festival starting this October; enhance nesting capabilities and chick support; and build a science-driven breeding and reintroduction facility to act as a hub for ornithologists and veterinary students. In addition, those who simply love birds will be able to visit, which will provide ecotourism income for a rural community essential to the success of conservation.

To learn more about the Ara Panama project and the NGO Panama Wildlife Conservation Charity, visit www.panamawildlife.org or follow their Instagram account. This month’s Lafeber donation goes to support the Ara Panama Sanctuary project and the future of the great green macaws in Panama!

The world continues to develop new technologies designed to make our rapidly changing lives easier and more productive. But with each advancement, concern grows about their impact on wildlife. In particular, the rapid expansion of wind farms has raised serious questions about their effect on bird populations. How can we reduce avian deaths caused by collisions with these massive structures, both on land and at sea? As technology progresses, so must our fight to protect our birds from these structures.

For offshore wind structures, consistent bird surveys are essential to better understand how birds interact with these installations. Traditionally, this monitoring has relied on cameras mounted on ships and planes—methods that require long-term effort and can become costly or unsustainable over time. Recently, Norwegian energy company Equinor has taken further steps to study the impact of offshore wind on birds and bats. By bringing in biologists, geologists, and other experts, they aim to improve efforts to protect not only the birds above but also the marine life below.

In the North Seas, where weather can be a horrifying complication, the company started to monitor birds by using cameras on horizon-stabilized buoys to collect important and usable data. After data accumulation, they run the information through AI programs to extrapolate precise knowledge that can be useful in creating proper solutions. The initial program began in 2023.

Smart Buoys, Safe Birds

Equinor partnered with a software company to analyze the collected data and help them build more bird- and marine-friendly wind structures. With the addition of buoy-mounted cameras, they’ve gathered vast amounts of valuable data, terabytes collected over 12-month periods. This has allowed the company to better understand how various bird species interact with the structures, how close they fly, and the heights that they maintain.

As an example, since it can be difficult to grasp how we can protect birds from the sweeping blades of wind turbines, one such measure is the ability to shut down turbine blades during peak bird migration periods. Additionally, the blades’ rotation speeds can be modified to reduce risks to bats, which are known to fly near these structures at certain times.

Another result of the accumulated data may be the realization that a particular location is unsuitable for turbine placement.

The buoys are outfitted with marine-grade cameras that can assess image quality, adjust their field of view to reduce poor captures, and use powerful zoom capabilities to better identify birds. There are two cameras on the buoy that operate properly depending on where the sun is (to avoid blackouts). Every photo is time-stamped, and each buoy is self-powered to keep the cameras functioning. In addition to capturing bird and marine data, the buoys also feature wind speed monitors, radar, and other technologies to make these high-tech buoys effective research tools.

Tools like these buoys aren’t perfect and do not always provide what is being sought. But it is the advancement that we need to help protect our legions of flyers in the airways and marine life beneath the sea from our growing need for energy and the means used to produce that energy.

The Fourth of July means sunshine, BBQs, fireworks, and fun with friends. But your bird? They’d probably rather skip the explosions. While we celebrate, fireworks, grills, and guest chaos can spell confusion and stress for our feathered companions. That’s why the safest place for your bird during the festivities is indoors, comfortably away from the noise, smoke, and unpredictable people.

Early Birds Get The Quiet Time

If your bird enjoys being outside, treat them to some fresh air before the neighborhood fireworks kick off. Early morning or midday is best. Just remember: a wing feather trim doesn’t guarantee that your bird won’t fly off if they are spooked. Use an outdoor cage, travel carrier, or harness if trained, so your feathered friend can enjoy the sunlight and your company without risk of lift-off. When the party starts, bring them inside to chill in peace.

Set The Mood: Low Drama, High Comfort

Create a relaxing indoor space for your bird—familiar surroundings, low lighting, and some calming sounds (think: fan, white noise, or a soft playlist). If they like cozy spaces, covering part of the cage can help them feel even safer. A calm setup helps keep them settled if and when fireworks start bursting in air.

Let Guests Know The Bird Boundaries

Guests might be curious, especially if they see a flash of feathers in the next room. A little pre-emptive guidance helps: post a friendly sign or gently share the rules.

Unless you’re there to give the okay:

• No feeding the bird
• No opening the cage
• No petting the bird

Even the nicest guests may not know what’s safe for parrots, so a quick heads-up helps everyone, especially your bird.

Party Animal Or Wallflower? Let Your Bird Decide

Some birds love the spotlight; others prefer to sit this one out. If your bird’s a social type, keep visits short, upbeat, and optional. If they seem unsure or withdraw, that’s their way of saying, “No thanks.” Respect their vibe. Not every parrot wants to party like it’s 1776. Again, play it safe and keep meet-and-greets indoors.

Fireworks? Hard Pass.

People may jump with delight at the sound of fireworks—your bird might launch. They don’t know it’s a celebration; they just hear panic in the sky. Get them settled inside well before the booms begin. A calm, secure space makes a big difference. Shut the windows, close the drapes if that lessens the noise. Remember, you are your bird’s safe place. Your bird will be much happier not knowing what all the raucous is about.