Summit 1 Video Script
UNIT 6
TV Documentary: Pecking Order
PART 1
Diane Sawyer: Millions of people have parrots.
That’s a family name that includes all kinds of
birds from parakeets to macaws to amazons.
But many owners don’t understand bird
behavior. As we showed you once before, these
creatures can be entertaining and talkative, but
they can also be, well, flighty and
temperamental. What does their behavior
mean? Perri Peltz has some insights into the
mind of your bird.
Perri Peltz: They can’t dance . . .
Pet bird in the shower: Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream.
Perri Peltz: . . . but some of them can really
sing . . .
Pet bird in the shower: We wish you a Merry
Christmas and a happy New Year.
Perri Peltz: . . . and talk.
1st pet bird: Hi.
2nd pet bird: Are you OK?
1st pet bird: Such a good bird!
Perri Peltz: It is this amazing ability to
communicate with us in our own language
along with spectacular beauty that make parrots
so extraordinary.
2nd pet bird: Good girl. Good girl.
1st pet bird: God bless you.
Perri Peltz: Some say their keen intelligence and
ability to bond to humans are the reasons
Americans keep more than 15 million
parrots as pets. And, according to experts,
parrots can be just as smart as your two-
to three-year-old child.
3rd pet bird: I’m a smart bird!
Perri Peltz: But just as your toddler goes through
the terrible twos, so can parrots.
Lisa Mee: No bite.
2nd pet bird: No, no. Don’t!
Summit 1, Second Edition
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4th pet bird: I’m a bad bird!
Perri Peltz: In fact, parrot behavior can be a
constant source of frustration for many parrot
owners. Layne Dicker is a popular lecturer on
the bird seminar circuit. He is staff avian
behaviorist at Wilshire Animal Hospital in Santa
Monica.
Layne Dicker: You have to be willing to learn
what you need to know about parrots because
they’re not like goldfish. They’re not like dogs.
They’re not like cats. They’re wonderful. They
ain’t easy.
Perri Peltz: I don’t want to put your job down, but
what’s the big deal, Layne? They sound like
really easy animals to have. They don’t bark,
you don’t have to take them out for a walk. I
mean, what’s the big deal? You throw a little bit
of seed at them.
Layne Dicker: They don’t bark, but they scream.
They don’t really need to be taken out for a
walk, but they need full spectrum light for at
least four hours a day. You don’t throw them
a handful of seed. They need fresh
vegetables every day. Fresh water every time
it gets soiled.
Perri Peltz: Why is owning a parrot so different
than having a pet dog or cat? You see, dogs and
cats have been bred for thousands of years to be
companion animals. Most parrots have been
bred for less than 100 years, so that means
parrots bring their own natural instincts into
your home. Parrots in the wild live in flocks, so
your pet parrot considers you his flock member.
He expects to eat with you and interact with
you most of the day. When you don’t give him
the attention he expects, he may start
demanding it by acting out or screaming. Birds
can also be destructive. Parrots, especially
macaws, will chew anything in their path. What
about biting? Parrots don’t bite each other in the
wild, but as pets, parrots can bite when they feel
threatened, or when they don’t want your
fingers in their cage. Or even when they want
your undivided attention.
Lisa Mee: Ah, ah, ah. No, let go. Let go.
Perri Peltz: With all the behavior problems, why
not just punish a bird?
Summit 1 Video Script
Layne Dicker: If I can tell any parrot owner
something about their parrot, it would be make
them feel safe and secure. I hear about hitting,
squirting with water, screaming at. Anything
that makes a parrot feel insecure will break
down the level of trust he has with you. And
unless a parrot trusts you, all the negative
behaviors are just going to get worse. You have
to do everything with a parrot in a loving,
supportive way. Yes, you’re so good. Yes.
PART 2
Perri Peltz: For the past twenty years, Ruth
Hanessian has been a bird breeder and pet store
owner in Rockville, Maryland. She’s now
written a book called Birds on the Couch: The Bird
Shrink’s Guide to Keeping Polly from Going
Crackers and You Out of the Cuckoo’s Nest. If you
could put a little red warning label on each
parrot cage, what would it say?
Ruth Hanessian: I am a bird. I have my own
thoughts. I have my own way of expressing
myself. I’m verbal. I will make noise. I will see
what’s going on in your household and have an
opinion about it.
1st pet bird: Tarzan. Stop it. You behave yourself.
Ruth Hanessian: I will be in charge of your life if
you let me be.
Perri Peltz: You write, “Will you freak out if Polly
screams during dinner parties? What if she
learns to mimic your lovemaking cries and
repeats them when your mother-in-law comes
for a visit?” Can’t be.
Ruth Hanessian: Oh, can be. If you decide to get a
bird, you have to watch what you say around it,
because they will pick up the things that you
really don’t want them to say.
1st pet bird: Oh, stop!
Perri Peltz: Now, Ruth, you’re pushing it on the
next one. Birds can be co-dependents? What are
we talking about here?
Ruth Hanessian: They get very involved with you,
and they get very upset when you’re not there.
It’s like having a two-year-old child for the rest
of your life.
Summit 1, Second Edition
Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.
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Perri Peltz: And by the way, the rest of their lives
can be a very long time. If taken care of
properly, the bigger birds can live up to 100
years. And that’s just fine with Connie Pavlinac.
She and her husband, Gary, are the proud
parents of three birds. And Connie makes sure
all of her birds’ needs are taken care of. First,
their meals. Connie spends at least an hour and
a half each day chopping fruits and vegetables
for the older birds. Then mixing formula for the
baby, making sure it’s not too hot, and hand-
feeding him. Then another hour and a half
sweeping floors and scrubbing and cleaning
cages. And twice a week, there are the showers,
followed by a fluff dry. And they have
emotional needs.
5th pet bird: Hi.
Connie Pavlinac: Hi. They need to be talked to.
They need to be held. They need to be
stimulated, so if we talk to them, we entertain
them with toys.
Perri Peltz: Bonnie Kenk runs the Parrot Education
and Adoption Center in San Diego. In the last
two years, she has taken in more than 100
unwanted birds, including this conure, whose
owner couldn’t tolerate her constant screaming
and kept her in a covered cage in a dark room
for six years. You see, birds become quiet in the
dark. With nothing to do and nothing to see,
little Audrey turned on herself and started
plucking out her own feathers.
Bonnie Kenk: It’s really very, very sad that people
just don’t . . . they don’t understand what
they’re getting into when they get . . . when
they get a bird. Conures are relatively noisy
birds.
Perri Peltz: How often, Bonnie, do you see
a problem result because of an impulse
purchase?
Bonnie Kenk: Daily. That’s how we end up with
most of our birds.
Layne Dicker: Parrots are the worst impulse
purchase in the world, and they’re so frequently
purchased on impulse because they’re so
beautiful and they’re so endearing in pet stores.
You need to do your homework before buying a
parrot. They are very, very, very smart.
Summit 1 Video Script Page 3 of 3

6th pet bird: Hello. 7th pet bird: Good night.

Layne Dicker: They have very, very long Layne Dicker: Good night, birds.
memories. 7th pet bird: Good night.
1st pet bird: OK, thank you, bye-bye. Layne Dicker: Good night.
Layne Dicker: They’re amazing animals. Good
night.

Summit 1, Second Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.