� Step ups
o You need to train a parrot to step up, if they don�t know how. If you extend your index finger to form a perch, and move it under the bird�s breast and up to the place where legs meet body and say �Step up,� you�ll eventually be able to get the parrot to do this. They should be made to do this about 3 or 4 times in a row at least twice a day. Practice stepping from your hand to a hand-held perch and from your hand to a strange perching place. This is critical for control of the bird and could be very important in a tense situation. Never forget to praise the bird with each successful step up. In a high, sweet voice try a �Good bird!� or �Pretty bird!� Put some feeling into it! Birds love an expressive voice!
� Name recognition and answering your call
o Your parrot should learn its name if you simply use it when you talk to him. In fact, talking to your parrot just like you do a small child will aid him in learning not only his name, but other phrases as well.
� Towel play
o This can be fun as well as very important in lowering stress when the parrot must go to the vet for nail & wing trims and other care. Depending on the size of your parrot, you can use a hand towel or bath towel. Lay the towel across your knees and play with the bird on it. Gradually try lifting the ends of the towel suspending the parrot in the middle like a hammock. Very gradually and gently you can work your way up to wrapping the parrot in the towel. Playing peek-a-boo with the towel is also fun and amusing to most birds, but take it slowly.
� Accept petting on neck and face
o Most parrots love to be rubbed gently on the back of the neck, over their ears (just below eyes) and under their beak. Some take to it immediately and others take a while to realize it will feel good.
� To kiss or not to kiss???
o Everyone loves to see a parrot �kiss� its owner on the mouth. This seemingly harmless activity can have very dire effects on both bird and owner. A parrot can sweetly kiss you for years and then for some reason can bite. Lips are pretty sensitive, so kiss at your own risk. I would never let a bird larger than a Senegal kiss. Too risky. Also if you kiss your parrot, do not let the parrot get inside your lips and mouth. You have bacteria in your mouth that can make your parrot very sick, so kiss with care. Also for ladies, lipstick is not good for parrot consumption either, so wipe those lips before kissing.
� Shoulder sitting - Why pirates wear eye patches.
o Do you remember all those drawings of pirates with wooden legs and patches over one eye and a parrot perched on their shoulder? I am sure the leg was lost in battle, but the eye was lost to Polly. Height is dominance in the parrot world. Whenever a parrot is able to get on your shoulder at will, he probably considers himself �king of the world�. If you let your parrot get on your shoulder, it should never be at his whim, but only when you let him. If you allow your parrot to control shoulder time, you are risking the possibility of a severe facial bite someday when he may decide that he is king of the �shoulder-branch� he is sitting on and your head is an interloper OR if he becomes frightened at some event and bites you to urge you to fly from the imagined terror. Again, allowing a large parrot to sit on your shoulder is at your own risk.
To better understand the parrot mind and learn more about training please read Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot by Mattie Sue Athan. It is only about $10 to $12 in paperback and is an invaluable guide.