African Greys Books

very informative. a grey is a very emotional bird, I did not know this. There is alot of things you really need to know before purchasing a grey and this book is a source of the best information of many of books i have read. Mattie sue has been in the business for years and knows the ins and outs of an african grey. a good read.

The book is good. It has detailed information as well as stories that encourage the reader and Grey owner to 'do whats right' with their grey. I did not like how you had to jump back and forth through the book to cover one topic. If you can deal with jumping pages and chapters (at times) then no worries. This book is very thorough and will help both the novice and give great reminders for the breeder.

Although this book has the potential to be useful, it is let down by a number of faults. Firstly, the authors do not explain a number of key terms that they use frequently throughout the books - for example, "Step Ups". The book never describes how exactly to perform this exercise with your bird, despite referencing it frequently as important in its own right, and as a solution to behavioral problems.

Linked to this problem, the glossary is nigh on appalling, with such definitions given as (using step-ups as an example again): "Step-up: practice of giving the step-up command with the expectation that the bird will perform the behavior." This tells you nothing of what step-ups actually are!

Other problems include references in the text to other sections which don't exist, or references to items, on the same page, which don't appear at all on the page, or on any adjourning pages.

I also found the authors' style of writing annoying at best, jumping frequently from overly colloquial to overly "scientistic". I use scientistic in the context that it seems the author is attempting to sound scientific, without actually pulling it off - instead, it comes off as cumbersome and pretentious.

I don't have another book to recommend as an alternative, but if you are considering buying this book, please consider these faults before you buy and are possibly disappointed!

Together with the other parrot-thematic books from the same author it is the hardware of information I have used. I have an african grey for three years now and at the beginning I made a search for every available information about the topic.

So it happens that this books I liked most as they are easy to understand, easy to read and enjoyable illustrated.

African Grey is a parrot which needs time and you have to keep in mind that he may outlive you by years. So what you teach him now will be remembered in 60years when your children will keep him a company.
It is a responsibility but a nice one:)

Yes, I can recommend to you.

Has general good informations, but not sure about some of the writes point of view...

I have followed Irene Pepperburg's articles on her African Grey Parrot, Alex, for years, both learning and teaching my own African Greys with her methods. I was so happy to see her write this book as her own personal tribute to Alex who was not just a lab specimen but a friend as well. Thank you, Irene. Alex will be missed by many.

I read Alex & Me first and I'm glad I did. This 'studies' book is NOT for the lay person as it is very scientific and technical. I read one page and put it back on Amazon. Unless you want to duplicate these studies you probably will not enjoy this book.

Animals have magnificent powers of communication. I'm convinced of it. We humans just have not taken the time to ask them questions. All too often we treat all animals as livestock, here on earth as decorations or food. Again and again I've seen people make amazing communications with their pets, ones you wouldn't think pets were capable of -- because we have to change our thoughts about animals. We are the weak ones because we have cognition and communication skills but have not chosen to bring out the same skills in animals. For more on these kinds of ideas I would recommend Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, which shows how amazing dogs can predict heart attacks and diagnose cancer. The book shows that probably all dogs can do these things -- we just haven't asked them. Animals are amazing.

This is a great book about how Alex came to be and how he became so smart. Dr Irene Pepperberg chose Alex as a young parrot and began teaching him language and to associate words with objects. Alex became very smart and could hold a pretty decent conversation. This book shows just how intelligent parrots are and they are more than just pets, they are our lifelong companions. The Alex Studies is an excellent read, I reccomend this book highly.

What can a bird learn? Irene Pepperberg set out to find out. As with children, the best way to assess what has been learnt is to ask. Primarily for that reason, she chose birds capable of forming human words. An African Grey parrot, who she dubbed Alex [Avian Learning EXperiment], became the subject of her investigations. Earlier efforts in laboratories were unsatisfactory. Why should Mynahs, reputedly excellent mimics, fail to learn speech in laboratory conditions? When in homes with several people providing input, they chatter endlessly, almost to distraction. The solution, Pepperberg decided, was the intense social environment. To that end, she developed a training method that produced astonishing results.

This book thoroughly documents the author's methods and results, providing a fascinating account of the cognitive abilities of at least one psittacine species, the Grey Parrot. Incorporating a technique she calls M/R - for Model/Rival, Pepperberg would "teach" an assistant what she wished Alex to learn. The bird observed this, then was encouraged to emulate the learning experience. This meant the bird had to understand what was to be learned and use its innate abilities to achieve it. Speech was the first lessons, but things moved well beyond simple words quickly. Shapes, colours and materials were the next level, with Alex discriminating among them both singly and in groupings. The object was to understand what Alex could comprehend and act on. Alex also learned to differentiate - "larger", or "different" or, most significantly for a bird - "abscence". He could note when something was missing, naming the missing object. The method resulted in Alex's expressing his own needs and wants, even ending a training session by declaring he wished to quit.

Pepperberg's research findings are in direct contradiction to past scientific efforts. The book is therefore richly detailed with the methods used and was information was obtained. There are photographs of test object layouts, even stills from X-ray videos of how Alex forms his speech. She is clearly challenging the received wisdom of established opinion. She's careful to avoid terms like "consciousness" or even "intelligence", although the latter comes in for some discussion late in the book. She finds only one example of Alex's communication she thinks can be deemed "creative". Much more important, in her view, is that we need to understand previously under-evaluated cognitive capabilities in parrots. They are a long-lived and social species, conditions which lead to interaction among individuals and reinforced learning. Social interaction, combined with carefully devised teaching methods are essential to proper learning, whether with children, other primates or psittacines. The capacity is there, and we need to recognise it. The Alex studies clearly demonstrate that at least these psittacines are capable of far more than the simply mimicry we've long attributed to them. Human primacy in learning, once considered fundamental to our place in Nature, is clearly at an end.

Pepperberg's narrative is thoroughly detailed and supported by an equally thorough bibliography. The reading may be a bit of a slog for the novice reader. The citation method breaks up sentences, a common technique with ethography studies, but cumbersome to cope with. The method is in line with her concern for academic acceptance. She excuses the approach as not desiring "to overwhelm readers with facts and figures" [although there are still plenty of those] but to encourage an enlarged sensitivity to the abilities of non-human species. She has certainly accomplished that task, and admirably. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Zoe Lucky isn't very lucky. "Zoe Lucky: And the Green Gables Mystery" follows young teenager Zoe as she copes with being home alone after her father passes on and her mother enters the working world. Even more scary is that a burglar is on the loose! The last thing Zoe needs as she enters young adulthood is for romance to strike her for the first time. "Zoe Lucky" is a charming book for younger teenage readers, giving them much to relate to.

Nicely written and enjoyable reading. Love the references to Swahili language. Good story line. Love the ending!

Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery is a well-written, well thought out mystery that young adults will enjoy and connect with. After Zoe's dad is killed, her family moves for a new start to a green apartment building -- hence the name Green Gables. But this new start might not be what they had in mind. Shortly after moving, Zoe's mom begins working night turn, a man escapes from jail and Zoe has to tackle her home alone fears. Unusual things begin to happen: someone tries to break into their apartment building - not once -- but twice, there's a missing ring, a bank robbery and a kidnapping.

Zoe with the help of Toby (her blue-eyed first love) and Miss Jahari (professor of African Studies at PITT) put together clues to solve the mystery. Paki (Zoe's plucky pet parrot) is Zoe's sidekick and he helps corner the criminals.

Although the book is a mystery there are elements of the story that the average teenager will relate to: friendships, crushes, and family hardships. Zoe is an amazing character; she's brave, strong, yet uncertain, like many girls her age. Many young teens will love the story, as I know my daughter did. This could certainly become the next big series, so watch out for Zoe Lucky, what will she uncover next? This is an exceptional first book, from new author M. Carol Coffey. We'll be waiting for the next installment.

Reviews from a few local middle school students:

"The great thing about this book is that it's a mystery, which I love, and also has some romance in it!"

"Zoe is a girl I can relate to and look up to. She's pretty, smart, and brave. I enjoyed that she was able to stay strong even when she was scared and that she was the hero. We need more brave girls like her in the books we read."

Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery
M. Carol Coffey
Outskirts Press, 2008
ISBN: 9781432731908
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 02/09
5 Stars
Entertaining mystery...
Zoe Lucky is a thirteen-year-old girl with a pet parrot. After the death of her police officer father, she and her mother move to a building painted a funky green, hence Zoe calls the building Green Gables. Several unusual events take place: a missing ring, a bank robbery, and a kidnapping.
Zoe Lucky and the Green Gables' Mystery by M. Carol Coffey is a well-written and entertaining mystery. I would suggest reading coaches use this book as a high interest/low level reading book.

I'm a 9 year old girl and I received this book as a birthday present from my Aunt Kathy. At first when I started reading it, I didn't know how good it would be. After I got through a few chapters I couldn't put it down! It is the best book I've ever read! Better than any other book I've read. When I got to the end I was sad that it was over. I was excited to see that there were more Zoe Lucky books coming soon. I would recommend this book to any other 9 year old girls.

Patches of Grey is the story of Tony Johnson an African American growing up in the projects. Life around him involves violence, drugs, and poverty. He knows there is a better life out there and he is determined to reach for it. A scholarship is his rope to freedom. Then he meets a white girl and racial tensions begin to rise. This is not your typical story. Roy I. Pickering, Jr. takes a complicated and over done story and makes it original.
The older I get the more grey I see. When I was younger I saw things as black and white. Pickering successfully shows the shades of grey in our culture. Grey areas are compromises. While Tony is the focus of this drama, Pickering show the dynamics of each family member. There is a lot of bitterness and hatred in some of the characters. I believe we will be seeing more from this author.

This is a great story. Poor kid from wrong side of the tracks wants a better life. With so many distractions and opposing forces around him, what will he become? The interracial concept is done well. I enjoyed this story. It was entertaining and the writing was vivid. I'll add that I was distracted by errors in the book. There were quite a few more than I would have liked to see. If you don't let that get in the way, you'll enjoy Patches of Grey.

I have to agree with the rest of the reviewers. This is a must have for the beginner with Greys!! My baby looks just like the one on the cover and she is now 5 years old. I got this book amoung others when I was doing my research. This is one of my favorites for information!!

Being a proud owner of a grey this book is a good source of reference.

This is a very complete little book on the basic's of owning an African Grey. Very descriptive with good photos showing the differences between the varieties.

This book provides a good general overview of caring for an african grey. You'll need other books that go into more depth for behavior management, etc., but this book is a good starting point. While the book is current and up to date for the most part, the author does recommend giving your parrot a nut and bolt as a toy. Surprisingly, she does not warn that you must be careful that it does not contain zinc. The nut and bolt would have to be made of stainless steel to be safe, otherwise your bird could get heavy metal poisoning.

I must say that the reviews that I read here on Amazon.com prior to me purchasing this book were right on. "The Essential African Grey" is wonderfully done and extremely informative. It is very easy to read with its subheads. This book not only covers the basics which are important, but also touches on possible diseases of African Greys, and details "what to look for" in a number of scenarios to help ensure your grey's health. This book is something you must own and perused again as situations may occur with your bird. And remember, greys (parrots) have only been domesticated two generations which still leaves the tag of wild for quite some time (way beyond our lifetimes), so we will always be learning and adapting new techniques, finding diseases (and hopefully proper vaccinations in the future, etc., etc.). This means that you need to check future books for more up-to-date methods and treatments in the future (as this author clearly spells out).

This book is about the time the author just sits in his lonely shack and listens to the sounds around.I guess if you just sit and listen intendly right now to all the sounds coming into your universe you will get the message jack was trying to put across. The best way to read this book is to read a section at a time out loud to someone. The result is quite magical. The words somehow all become clear and the visions and situations become real. This is not an easy book to comprehend in the normal manner of a read but hey delve in deep and it becomes a cosmic comet in the universe of your mind.

Man, this is a hard slog. This is truly a work of spontaneous prose and you quickly realize this as you try to follow any path of sensible thought until you get to the point where you realize `It's not there'. This is not the written sounds of anything that flowed through Kerouac's midnight window, as he has you believe in a letter to a friend. I have never heard anything like that anywhere through any window of my life. This is purely Kerouac's mind at play with words as they pop into his thoughts. There are some beautiful subtle fragments to be found in this work, mixed in with, phew, with umm, all sorts of stuff. It's a potpourri of poetry written upon the meditation of his own mind & quite often very funny. I believe he succeeded in what he set out to do, but that outcome by its nature is not something appealing to most people. Only a hard core Kerouac fan could truly love this book. I read it in one hit. Perhaps the secret is to pick it up & read stanzas at a time, over time. It's very interesting, means nothing, demands concentration & leaves you scratching your head. I liked it but could love it with time. I'd give it five stars for its brilliance & inventiveness but its inaccessibility can only grant it four.

This is a good book about Greys. It has lots of pictures and good info about Greys. I got every book about Greys that I could afford before I got my Timneh. I wanted to make sure I was an informed owner.

This is the bestest book I ever readed in my whole life! Yeah, that's the ticket! I have one to sell, please buy it! PLEASE! Once I sell it, I will post my actual thoughts on this wonderful wack job... I mean expert of african greys.

The greatest advice in the entire world. Like, this book opened my eyes and made me think just like the bird does. Yeah, that's it! That's the ticket! I can speak African Grey now, because I read this wonderful book. Did I mention I am selling this book? Oy, chock full of information and history and will make you suicidal ... er I mean an expert!

The book is well written I can't deny that.. but the author seems too obsessed with her female Grey called Sinbad.. she doesn't even know that Sinbad is an Arabic name for males and not females. The photos indicate that the author is fond of cheap as most of the cages portrayed are offensively so. She even recommends that Birds be allowed to play with Screws and Bolts for toys.

Ms Rach seems to have tried a bit too hard to write a book for youth but seems to think you talk down to them.

A fine try and the book does have a good deal of specific information but the detail is in all the wrong places to be of much interest to me.

Better to buy THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT HANDBOOK, or KEEPING AFRICAN GREY PARROTS.

This woman is a wack job at best. This book should be titled "The Adventures of my African Grey Sinbad!" The book is based on her bird and what little knowledge she has. You can learn more by spending 30 minutes with the guy at Petco or Petsmart. Want a good book on Parrots? Look up Mattie S. Athan!

She gives tips in her book, then on the next page the tip goes against what she just said on the last page! For instance: Don't buy a galvanized cage for fear of poisoning. Next page tells you to let it play with a nut and bolt. HELLO! Galvanized! One page says they are creatures of routine and let it get one. The next page says don't let it get into routine. Now days anybody can get published. THe book is more about her bird who she loves so much but is nutz. Her bird is crazy, bottom line. If you buy this book, keep it in the bathroom :) Just ... incase.

I have been breeding parrots since 1981. In my opinion this is the best book available for Greys. I have given a copy of it with every African Grey I've sold.

While this may have been a very good book in 1984, the avian information gained over the last 15 years makes these older book obsolete, if not down right dangerous. This is a field in which leaps and bounds are made daily. I would recommend a more recent publications, with up to the minute articles from today's (1999) experts. I've kept African Grey's for almost 10 years now.

Never in my life have I anticipated the delivery of a book to my home. I was eager to dive into a good book about my new Grey. When my wife finally showed me my new book at first I was a little surprised on how small and unimpressive it was. When you call it the "Complete guide" and charge over 20 bucks I generally expect a large book with a bunch of Pictures and diagrams. Then I opened it and began reading, Its packed full of interesting tidbits and good information. I even started to read some of it to my new Grey. I am very happy with the information, however I would have liked it in a bigger format with more Pictures...

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