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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Foreword | |
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| Keeping a Talking Bird | |
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| If You Have a Bird | |
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| If You Don't Have a Bird | |
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| Bird Care | |
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| Providing Toys | |
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| Home Alone | |
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| Veterinary Care | |
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| Safety Issues | |
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| Other Pets | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| A Survey of Talking Bird Owners | |
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| Birds Take the Initiative | |
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| A Little Birdie Told Me (In Her Own Voice!) | |
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| Clarity of Speech | |
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| Talking Parrots Express Themselves | |
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| Parrots Are Performers | |
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| There's No Guarantee | |
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| Fids Say the Darnedest Things! | |
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| Part of the Flock | |
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| Who's Training Whom? | |
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| Your Turn | |
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| Thank You! | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| People and Parrots | |
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| Birds Have Been Talking for Centuries | |
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| All the Rage | |
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| Parrots in the United States | |
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| Interspecies Communication | |
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| The Most Talking Bird in the World | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Where Sound Comes From | |
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| The Avian Lung | |
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| The Syrinx | |
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| Hearing | |
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| The Brain | |
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| Why Birds Make Sounds | |
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| Mimicry | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| The Call of the Wild | |
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| Vocalizations of Wild Parrots | |
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| Bird Calls | |
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| Fitting Into the Flock | |
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| Practice Makes Perfect | |
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| Regional Differences | |
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| Wild Bird Mimics | |
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| Making Beautiful Music Together | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Who Talks and Who Doesn't? | |
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| The Best Talking Birds | |
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| Species That Don't Talk | |
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| Talking Birds Who Are Not Parrots | |
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| Footedness | |
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| Age | |
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| To Mimic or Not to Mimic | |
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| She Won't Talk | |
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| She Won't Stop Talking | |
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| Assess Your Goals | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Pretty Polly Parrots Perfectly | |
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| It's Only Natural | |
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| Imitation | |
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| The Good and the Bad | |
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| Simon Says | |
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| Associating Words With Actions or Objects | |
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| Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk | |
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| Food | |
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| Things | |
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| People | |
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| Pets | |
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| Home Schooling Is in Vogue for Parrots | |
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| Good Bird! | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Before You Start Talking Lessons | |
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| Trick Training | |
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| Location, Location, Location | |
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| The Stand | |
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| Rewards | |
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| The Bridge | |
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| The Cue for Talking on Cue | |
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| Training Sessions | |
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| The Pet Bird | |
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| The Pet Human | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Parrots Jump Into the Conversation | |
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| Never a Dull Moment! Living With Talking Parrots | |
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| Greys Keep the Conversation Moving | |
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| Coming and Going | |
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| The Dynamics in Multi-Bird Households | |
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| Minding Their P's and Q's | |
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| It's a Bird's Life | |
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| It's Only Natural | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| The Model/Rival Training Technique | |
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| First, You'll Need a Bird | |
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| You've Got to Have Friends | |
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| A Place to Work | |
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| Toys! | |
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| Dr. Pepperberg's Model/Rival Method | |
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| Correcting Poor Behaviors | |
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| Role Reversal | |
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| Practice | |
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| How Are You Doing? | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Advanced Concepts | |
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| The Benefit of "No" | |
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| Parrot Priorities | |
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| Toys and Their Properties | |
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| Stuff He Gets on His Own | |
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| Sounds That Don't Seem to Mean Anything | |
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| Easy Increases in Vocabulary | |
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| Testing | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Communicating and Playing With Your Bird | |
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| Communication Makes Life Easier | |
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| The Importance of Parrot Play | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Problem Solving for Vocal Birds | |
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| Talking Parrot Problems | |
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| Praise the Parrot | |
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| Presto Chango | |
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| The Big Cover-Up | |
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| Driven to Distraction | |
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| The Decibel Level Is a Factor | |
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| Answer Your Parrot | |
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| Attitude Is Everything | |
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| Why Can't We All Just Get Along? | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Parrots Who Don't Talk | |
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| Covering the Basics | |
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| Making a Parrot Feel at Home | |
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| Rain, Rain, Come Again | |
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| Let the Sun Shine In | |
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| R&R | |
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| Parrots Are Social Butterflies | |
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| Where Is Your Parrot in the Pecking Order? | |
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| I Wanna | |
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| It Might Take Sherlock Holmes | |
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| The Competition | |
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| Sing Along | |
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| Consult With a Professional | |
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| Compare Notes | |
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| Continuing Education | |
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| A True Story | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Starlings, Mynahs and Other Birds | |
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| Historic Starlings | |
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| Starling Care | |
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| Mynah the Mimic | |
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| Crows Do More Than Caw | |
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| Cravin' a Raven? | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| Going to the Birds | |
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| It's Showtime! | |
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| Bird Business | |
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| Learn From the Experts | |
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| Making a Contribution | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| The Future | |
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| Ecological and Evolutionary Implications | |
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| The Human-Animal Bond | |
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| Breeding for Talking | |
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| The Bird Support System | |
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| The Human Support System | |
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| Human Responsibility | |
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| Points to Remember | |
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| A Glossary of Bird Words | |
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| These Resources Are for the Birds | |
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| Words and Phrases Birds Say | |
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| Flocks of Bird Lovers: National and International Societies | |
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| About the Authors | |
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| Index | |