Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
For the last few weeks I have been traveling through Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan with my dad. The purpose of the trip was to visit and learn in greater depth about these countries.
We ventured to Iraq by way of Dubai. Dubai is a bustling megalopolis erected in the middle of a lifeless desert. Despite lavish extravagance and super modernness, Dubai is fake and uninteresting. Dubai is a hodgepodge of Las Vegas and Disney World, a Mecca of PG-13 entertainment in the center of the middle-east. Attractions in Dubai all seem artificially created to impress tourists while having nothing to do with the country itself.
Despite having a visa to enter Iraq, the immigration process was extremely chaotic. Passport control would reject everyone and make them go get a "visa check" for no reason and this took over an hour and a half. Iraq is not an easy country to come to nor leave.
Starting in Basara we worked our way north toward Baghdad. Nasiriya is home to Ur, the first known capital of a civilized state, the Shumers. A pyramid like structure with multiple levels called a Zikkurat was an ancient place of moon worship. Nearby, the ancient ruins of a once bustling city where it is believed that Abraham once lived.
Much of the violence in Iraq is between Shiites and Sunnis. The dividing difference is pretty much that Shiites believe Ali and his descendents have a direct bloodline to the prophet Mohammed while Sunnis dismiss this. An untold number of deaths have been instilled over this division. The city of Najaf is where Ali is thought to have been murdered and buried. A very holy shrine with Ali's tomb is the landmark Shiite pilgrims from all over Iraq and Iran come to visit. Caskets are carried through about every three minutes. This is not surprising because the worlds largest cemetery is located across the street. Shiite Muslims are honored to be buried near their favorite Saint.
Iraq is a very historic country with fascinating history both old and new. The very first agrarian human civilization formed in the golden crescent of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates. This is now Iraq! On top of ancient history, a lot of Islamic history took place in Iraq millenia later.
The world famous ruins of ancient Babylon are located in the center of Iraq. The original gates of Babylon were removed for exhibit in Germany but a replica arch towered marking the entrance. Unfortunately during the reign of Saddam Hussein, he envisioned to turn Babylon into a personal amusement park, the precious archaeological ruins were recklessly restored. The real ancient ruins were buried in concrete and modern construction above. However, not the entire site is restored in this way and it is possible to see what the actual well-preserved ruins look like.
A palace of the ousted fascist dictator sits on a hill overlooking Babylon. We were free to walk Babylon and Saddam's palace. There are no restrictions of where you can walk, what you can touch, or for that matter take. This is one of the most massive tourist attractions in the world that is entirely void of tourists.
The lack of tourists in Iraq does not come as a surprise. The country is havoced by security concerns and plagues by terrorist bombings. Security check points are very frequent. Hours are lost to prove innocence at these points while bombings seem to persist regardless. To enter the holy shrines in Karbala, you have to go through more security checks and gropings than you do to board an airplane in other parts of the world.
In the capital city of Baghdad, it is nearly impossible to see anything. Buildings of any importance are hidden away behind cement barricades and endless checkpoints. In an empty square in the middle of Baghdad stands a pillar where the famous toppling of Saddam's statue - and for that matter reign - was toppled by the people of Iraq with the help of the US military.
The Friday morning bird market in Baghdad may be the world's biggest bird mart. I have never encountered the sale of so many birds in the same location anywhere else in the world. After a frisk search by ak47 armed policemen, we entered the blocked off street with the bustle of the New York Stock Exchange and the shrill calls of feathered commodities. While pigeons, mynahs, finches, and fowl dominated the scene, it was impossible to deny the presence of countless psittacines.
An African Grey Parrot growled a death shriek as a seller yanked it out of the cage to show prospective customers. For about $400 an African Grey can be purchased along with a budgie cage that it will most likely be kept in till it succumbs. Ring-necked parakeets, cockatiels, and a handful of Amazons were also available. Most surprised I was to come across several pairs of Jardine's Parrots for sale. I asked the seller what kind they were to which he said "brown-headed Amazon parrot" although I could not mistake Poicephalus. The Jardine's parrots appeared most sickly of all birds sold at the market, laying on the bottoms of feces laiden cages.
Budgerigars were abundant in cages by the hundred. Seed is sold out in the open. The push and shove of the market marks an unbelievable demand for birds in a country that was until recently war torn. I am glad that people are turning to peaceful past times but the conditions are deplorable. I hope that better care of companion parrots can be learned by Iraqi people so that they may enjoy the thrill of parrot ownership without the animal needing to suffer.
We also visited the Baghdad zoo. This was a place suited as much for people watching as for animals. It turned out that the zoo and surrounding amusement park is the go-to place for Iraqis on a Friday afternoon. One aviary houses a hodge podge of small parrot species from Cockatiel to Senegal Parrots. Another aviary mixed Blue and Gold Macaws with Green-Winged Macaws. The red macaws got in a fight with the blue ones. When I was asked why they were fighting, I replied "for the same reasons that Sunnis and Shiites fight."
Around Iraq it was very difficult to take photos of virtually anything. Photography of security checkpoints or soldiers is very strictly prohibited and just about any direction you look there is some kind of security. To get onto the plane in Baghdad, a total of eleven security checks was required. Cars are not even allowed within miles of the airport. You are required to transfer and pay for an airport approved car which is then checked three times before entering the airport grounds. At each checkpoint everyone must disembark while bomb sniffing dogs patrol and hoods are opened. Security at Kennedy airport is a breeze by comparison.
Erbil is the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan. The Kurds are not Arabs and speak their own Kurdish language. They were persecuted by Saddam Hussein and remain skeptical of the new Iraqi government. Yet, Erbil is one of the richest and safest cities of Iraq because of Kurdish trade with Turkey.
In Kirkuk we encountered another small bird market consisting of small shops. I was surprised to see crammed cages full of Starlings. I have no idea what they could be used for and if anyone has a clue, let me know. Again some parakeets and budgerigars were being sold. This was a tiny bird market compared to the one in Baghdad but it still shows how popular birds are throughout the country.
We made an overland crossing from Iraq to Iran which took many hours. The complexity of crossing this border was only comparable to some of the most troublesome of African countries. The border agents had never encountered foreign travelers making their way through these parts and simply did not know what to do. They copied everything from passports and questioned us about everything just to be sure they were doing things correctly. The adventure continues in Iran.
This is a special edition of the Trained Parrot blog coming to you from Baghdad, Iraq. Kili & Truman are at my old place, Santina still in quarantine in my new place, and I'm in Iraq. Yet everyone is doing just fine. The reason is that all of my birds have been accustomed to my absence beforehand, including Santina who I got just 2 months ago. I am also fine, knowing that they are handling things with ease.
Obviously Kili & Truman have been used to me going away at times since I've had them as babies. But Santina is different. She's a 14 year old rescue macaw that has known a single home, a rescue, and my home just recently. I did not want to chance coming home to a plucked bald bird. Although I have had this Green-Winged macaw just briefly, she has already bonded to me. So without preparation, my absence could be traumatizing.
Since shortly after acquiring Santina, her preparation for my eventual absence had begun. For the first week or so, I was careful to build schedule, routine, and trust. But once she took to me, the importance of preparing for my absence was even more essential than further taming and bonding. Having a parrot melt down in your absence is even worse than having insufficient bonding. Over-bonding is something best avoided because the psychological ramifications on the parrot in your absence would be devastating.
I talk about absence rather than vacations because there can be many different reasons why your parrot doesn't see you when it may expect to. It could be coming home late, meeting a friend, having a situation to deal with, getting injured/hospitalized, or just having something else that needs to be taken care of. So as much as this article is about preparing a parrot for being absent on vacation, it is also about preparing your parrot for you being gone for any reason.
The first steps in preparing Santina for my eventual absence was to break routine schedule from time to time. Most days I would play with, train, and take care of her at around the same time. Well some days I would do this an hour earlier or later than usual so that she would not absolutely expect me at a certain time. As I removed my own constraints on the timing of her care, I would even go so far as to skip occasional sessions entirely or come at a completely unexpected hour.
When my friend Ginger was in town, that really turned things upside down. Some days we spent a lot more time with Santina and other days I did not do anything with her at all. Ginger and I were busy running around town so this was a healthy introduction to my absence for Santina at the same time.
Usually I don't intentionally skip sessions with my birds. Life happens and I just let it. I try to be routine and there for them 6 out of 7 days a week. Normally I avoid making plans that make me miss my normal parrot sessions but once in a while I allow this to happen full knowing that it is the best thing for my birds in the long run. If I didn't occasionally have reasons to miss my bird sessions, then I would intentionally do so from time to time because it is so important for their long term well-being. But since there are naturally occurrences for this from time to time, I just allow them to happen and don't have to go out of my way to skip bird time.
In this way, little by little, Santina became accustomed to the fact that I usually come to spend time with her at certain times but not always. In the week prior to my departure, I was very busy catching up on work and preparing to leave. This again caused me to miss or delay bird sessions and helped make the transition from being there with her for extensive periods twice a day, to being gone much smoother. Of course I have someone taking care of her while I'm gone but obviously it's not the same. So I began skipping single sessions and at times even both sessions in a day so that she would not be surprised when I was not there at all. On the other hand I also started transitioning in my brother who would be taking care of her while I would be away. Kili & Truman have been through the routine countless times so I did not bother doing anything at all to prepare them this time. I'm sure they had it all figured out from the moment they saw me crack out the suitcase and they were just eagerly awaiting party time the moment I'd be out the door. With Santina, I took stronger precautions as this would be the first time I left her since coming home from the rescue.
Here are some tips for preparing your parrot for your absence: -Practice throughout the year by occasionally not showing up at normal parrot times -Keep routines but sometimes mix them up -Take your parrot places because this prepares it for greater changes -Socialize your parrot to other people so they can be cared for by others -Put lots of favorite toys in the cage a week or two before you go -Ease the transition prior to your departure (if planned) by having the care taker fill a greater role
The most important thing is to start this process NOW! Don't wait until the day or even week before you need to be away to start preparing your parrot. Begin now. Whether or not you have trips or events planned down the line, it is imperative that you begin preparing your parrot for your absence now because it will eventually happen and quite likely unpredictably. To prevent agony to your bird and for your own peace of mind during that inevitable time when you cannot be with them, make these preparations now. And take a break from your birds from time to time. It will do everyone some good and provide for a healthy long lasting relationship.
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
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