World renown animal behavior consultant, falconer, and educator Hillary Hankey dives deep with conversations and case studies on parrots, birds of prey as well as horses, dogs and all kinds of animals on topics of behavior as well as nutrition, ethology and problem solving.
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Conversations include:
Special bonus episode with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast that was released earlier this year when we sat down for a fun conversation. We talked flying birds, leadership, bird nerdin' and so much more....
Traveling long distances with your parrot doesn’t have to be stressful. We have moved cross country with our bird family many times. What happens if your bird hates the dark, like one of our palm cockatoos did? What about hotel stays or what supplies to......
Our Fall 2024 Bird of Prey Workshop focused on key topics such as managing fear and aggression in raptors using the constructional approach and non-coercive negative reinforcement and using progressive weight management techniques....
Training your bird for transportation isn't just an important part of education programming, it's a good life skill to have. For wildlife rehabilitation organizations, nature centers, and other small bird of prey centers, this is an essential skill that trainers rely on. For companion parrot people, this is an important behavior to trainer before it is needed in case it of emergencies....
In episode 73, we sit down with fellow science communicator Dr. Stephanie Rosenbloom who not only has a PhD in chemistry, but a keen interest in parrot nutrition. We tease apart the idea of the appeal to nature fallacy, that occurs when a person assumes that what is natural is good and true, without considering the effects of their actions on the environment. We discuss a recent post that went viral on social media about parrots eating meat and other topics about diet and further into philosophy....
“If you are looking for guarantees with free flight training in birds, you are in the wrong place.” In this episode, Avian Behavior International founder Hillary Hankey and ABI Animal Training Lead Katie Pnewski talk about how developing skills for birds and training staff......
Owls make remarkable ambassadors to highlight conservation work, but they can also make for challenging training subjects and divisive ideas in the training community....
Having a parrot with extremely complicated screaming, attacking, pair-bonded behavior that won't let you out of their sight without an intrusive cascade of undesirable behaviors can be a problem for the entire household. It also means layers of stress when you are torn between appeasing your parrot and your family....
This interview with Gail Buhl from the Minnesota Raptor Center and Partners for Wildlife is a thoughtful journey filled with raptor behavior tidbits, the evolution of operant conditioning in bird behavior management, raptor rehabilitation, imprinting and so much more. ...
We are going to talk about an old school term in weight management of free flying and ambassador birds, and that is ad lib weight. Another term might be trap weight or base weight. Reason why this is old school is that for some people implies your bird has this same reference weight throughout their lives, regardless of muscle tone, seasonality, and age and it can be downright dangerous....
What did we learn about birds in 2023? What was the big bird news of the year? Hillary sits down with fellow falconer, bird lover, and owl enthusiast Simone Lupson-Cook to talk about our favorite facts that we learned about birds this year....
Lead poisoning is a really big deal for wildlife, and Southern Ground Hornbills appear to be particularly sensitive to lead levels in the blood. In August, Avian Behavior International visited the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project in South Africa to identify some key behavior objectives to enhance the reintroduction strategy for the Southern ground hornbill....
We sat down with Paige Sutherland, Director of Wildlife Programs at Shavers Creek Environmental Center in Pennsylvania for a powerful discussion on wildlife training programs....
News flash, if your bird is attacking you, it probably doesn't mean that they hate you. What it does mean is that we have a lot in our relationship to unpack, from environmental conditions to expectations....
Karla Bloem, Executive Director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota, and Hillary have a fascinating conversation about owl vocalizations and Karla's journey with Great Horned Owl behavior....