Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger


The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger is a hardback nonfiction book I've had in my 'to be read' pile prior to May 2014. I've always been interested in parrots. I had a cockatiel as a youngster and other family members have had larger parrots like African greys or Amazon parrots. So with this in mind, I became interested in reading more about parrots.

I'm so happy that I finally read The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger!! This nonfiction book was really well written and very captivating from start to finish. The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship not only recounts Tiko's life, Joanna Burger's Red-Lored Amazon parrot, and their unique relationship/bond, but it also discusses Joanna's life as a distinguished professor at Rutgers University and her studies. More specifically, Joanna Burger is a behavior ecologist and she shares her insight about wildlife biology and birds. All in all, this is a fascinating read, not only for parrot lovers, but also wildlife lovers and ecologists.

Below is the summary for The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger from Amazon:
“Birds are my passion,” says Joanna Burger, “but parrots are my weakness.” Fifteen years ago, when se adopted a neglected, orphaned thirty-six year old parrot named Tiko, she entered on of the most complex relationships of her life.
Sullen and hostile when he entered Dr. Burger’s home, Tiko gradually warmed as she carefully persuaded him of her good intentions. Eventually he courted her, building nests inside household furniture during mating season and trying to coax her into them. He nursed her vigilantly through a bout with Lyme disease, regularly preening each strand of hair on the pillow as she slept. For a while he even fought her husband for her attentions, but eventually theirs became a relationship of deep mutual trust.
The Parrot Who Owns Me is also the story of the science of birds, and of parrots in particular (America’s third most commonly owned pet, after cats and dogs). Woven into the narrative are insights and fascinating revelations from Joanna Burger’s work — not only about parrots, but about what it means to be human.
By turns delightful, hilarious, touching, and enlightening, The Parrot Who Owns Me introduces us to an unforgettable bird and his human companion, whose friendships tells us much about ourselves.
I am giving The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

4 comments:

  1. Members of the parrot family are fascinating and quite intelligent critters. It is easy to see how one could form such a reciprocal and rewarding relationship with one.

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    1. Parrots are amazing! My in-laws had an African Grey parrot that sounded exactly like my father-in-law when it spoke... And what a vocabulary this parrot had! Not to mention countless other sounds (car alarms, the door bell, the telephone ringing, etc) this bird could make. Unfortunately, Maxine (African Grey parrot's name) passed away unexpectedly.

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  2. This sounds great! I have had cats who owned me.

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