My foundation for parrot training involved a good introduction to basic training methods and behavior analysis, and a program of regular practice of flight skills and recall. It is a great way to interact with and exercise your parrot indoors or in an aviary. It is also the first step in outdoor freeflight training for those who want to make a long term training commitment. The steps below outline a sequence for getting started.

I. Learn and practice basic positive reinforcement training methods. Some great places to start:

• Bird-click Group, and Melinda Johnson's book Clicker Training for Birds.
• Barbara Heidenreich's Good Bird magazine, books, videos and workshops.

II. Get acquainted with some of the other parrot training literature:

• The ABC's of Behavior
  The basic building blocks of animal (and human) behavior and training,
  by Dr. Susan Friedman.
• Strong Foundations & Adjustments: Keys to Training Success
  The importance of consistency and practice, by Sid Price, president-elect of the International Assn. of Avian Trainers and Educators.
• What's In It For Me?
  Understanding training from the bird's point of view, by trainer Steve Martin.

III. Behavior problems?

These should be sorted out as soon as possible. Experienced students in Susan Friedman's Parrot Behavior Analysis group on Yahoo can help one on one. ParrotBAS

IV. Get hopping and flapping!

When you are getting a grasp of basic training methods and ideas, and have had success with training some simple behaviors, start working on flighted recall indoors.