Television personality Marc Morrone is here doing what he does best, educating the public about pet keeping. This is a great, concise primer on the pros and cons of keeping exotic birds as companion animals:
Marc had some very kind words for my third novel, Little Birdies!:
"One of my favorite books of all time was Watership Down, by Richard
Adams. The author's descriptions of the pastoral English countryside
were vivid and organic, and transported the reader into an imaginary
world in ways that only a great novel can do.
It's that ability
to carry readers away and immerse them in a fictional world that I most
like about Little Birdies! by Anthony F. Lewis. The fact that the
setting for much of the book was New York's densely forested Hudson
Valley and the spectacular Mohonk Mountain House only upped the measure
of personal satisfaction for me. Lewis captures the region's look and
feel in a manner that effortlessly sweeps the reader away to the
woodland steams and primordial highlands that inhabit the story.
Another mark of a world-class novelist--the late Michael Crichton comes
to mind here--is attention to detail; especially scientific detail.
There are few things more upsetting for me than when an author ruins a
perfectly good story by getting the facts wrong. Such is not the case
here. Like Crichton, Lewis has exhaustively researched his subject
matter, providing the reader with a convincing and realistic platform
from which to launch the story.
There are many good stories
around. What sets books like Little Birdies! apart from the rest is the
author's attention to detail and the ease with which he draws the reader
into the story. Do yourself a favor ... curl up with a copy of Little
Birdies! and be prepared to be transported."
Read the opening chapters of Little Birdies! here, the reviews here. And, of course, the book is available at Amazon, in both softcover and Kindle editions,
Pet expert Marc Morrone has earned a reputation as the Dr. Dolittle of the television world, calmly dispensing advice from behind a table of lion-laying-down-with-the-lambs domestic wildlife. Well, the advice may be accurate, but in truth the bucolic menagerie takes a little "management:"
Marc was kind enough to blurb my book, Little Birdies!. Here's a quote:
"Another mark of a world-class novelist--the late Michael Crichton comes to mind here--is attention to detail; especially scientific detail. There are few things more upsetting for me than when an author ruins a perfectly good story by getting the facts wrong. Such is not the case here. Like Crichton, Lewis has exhaustively researched his subject matter, providing the reader with a convincing and realistic platform from which to launch the story."
Much obliged. And for what it's worth, I find it easier to catch escaped birds with the lights off. It evens up the odds a bit...
Pet and avian husbandry expert Marc Morrone takes us on an informative tour of his Long Island pet store, Parrots of the World. He speaks at some length about the various parrot and pigeon species that he breeds and sells...
Marc was kind enough to review my third novel, Little Birdies!. Here's what he had to say:
"One of my favorite books of all time was Watership Down, by Richard Adams. The author's descriptions of the pastoral English countryside were vivid and organic, and transported the reader into an imaginary world in ways that only a great novel can do.
It's that ability to carry readers away and immerse them in a fictional world that I most like about Little Birdies! by Anthony F. Lewis. The fact that the setting for much of the book was New York's densely forested Hudson Valley and the spectacular Mohonk Mountain House only upped the measure of personal satisfaction for me. Lewis captures the region's look and feel in a manner that effortlessly sweeps the reader away to the woodland steams and primordial highlands that inhabit the story.
Another mark of a world-class novelist--the late Michael Crichton comes to mind here--is attention to detail; especially scientific detail. There are few things more upsetting for me than when an author ruins a perfectly good story by getting the facts wrong. Such is not the case here. Like Crichton, Lewis has exhaustively researched his subject matter, providing the reader with a convincing and realistic platform from which to launch the story.
There are many good stories around. What sets books like Little Birdies! apart from the rest is the author's attention to detail and the ease with which he draws the reader into the story. Do yourself a favor ... curl up with a copy of Little Birdies! and be prepared to be transported."
You can pick up your copy of Little Birdies! (available in both softcover and Kindle editions) here. And the next time you're in Rockville Centre, be sure to stop in and see Marc, and please tell him I said hello.
Pet expert, TV personality and owner of the internationally renowned pet store, Parrots of the World, Marc Morrone made an appearance on Fox & Friends to say a few words about the effect that the Gulf oil spill will have on wildlife breeding habitats.
This second, "After The Show" segment is actually more interesting:
Here a quick look around Marc Morrone's store, Parrots of the World, out in Rockville Centre, NY (that's on Long Island). This is one serious bird shop...
Marc, as you might know, was kind enough to review my latest book, Little Birdies!. You can read his review here.
If you've ever wondered how he gets that omnipresent, diverse menagerie of animals to sit cooperatively on the table while he calmly discusses his subject matter the answer is ... he doesn't. Here's an amusing collection of outtakes from Marc Morrone's various pet broadcasts over the years:
You'll notice that he briefly starts discussing how the novel Watership Down was so influential in his eventual choice of lifework. In his recent review of my book Little Birdies!, he favorably compares Birdies! with Richard Adams' classic tale. It's humbling, of course, to even be mentioned in the same paragraph with such a seminal work, and I'm forever grateful to Marc for analogizing the two. And I hope he finds the cat...
Here's the theatrical trailer to the 1978 movie, Watership Down. In a recent review, TV personality and pet expert Marc Morrone said that in some ways, Little Birdies! reminded him of the novel (Watership Down, Richard Adams, 1972). He meant so in terms of "look & feel" and as a reading experience, not in terms of plot. Little Birdies! is more sci-fi than fantasy, has talking parrots and no talking bunnies, and, so far at least, doesn't have a movie or a cool soundtrack to go with it...
TV personality and pet expert Marc Morrone has reviewed my book, Little Birdies! Here's a taste:
"Like Crichton, Lewis has exhaustively researched his subject matter, providing the reader with a convincing and realistic platform from which to launch the story. ... What sets books like Little Birdies! apart from the rest is the author’s attention to detail and the ease with which he draws the reader into the story. Do yourself a favor … curl up with a copy of Little Birdies! and be prepared to be transported." You know Marc Morrone from Parrots of the World, the Martha Stewart Show, and as the host of The Pet Shop on the LifeSkool Cable Channel.Check out the entire review over at my web site: LittleBirdiesReviews.html
Here's another concise clip of Marc Morrone discussing the ins and outs of budgie husbandry. I love the way he drinks out of the bird dish. My birds always have fresh water, but you couldn't pay me enough to take a sip out of the dish after it's been in the cage for an hour...
Marc Morrone gives an interesting and comprehensive rundown of the types of cockatoos generally available, the sort of care and attention they need, as well as the downfalls of living with one. The only thing I would have added would be about twenty seconds of one of the larger 'toos screaming their lungs out ... an hysterical cockatoo is loud enough to etch glass, and would probably cause most people to think twice before letting one into their home.
Marc Morrone, of Parrots of the World and Martha Stewart fame, gives us a quick rundown on Amazon parrots. It would be nice if I could get him to review my book... ;-)
Alex - Dr. Irene Pepperberg's talking African Grey parrot, Alex has garnered more media coverage than any other parrot in modern history. Alex flew off to birdie heaven on September 6, 2007, at the age of 31. His story is immortalized in Dr. Pepperberg's book, Alex and Me.
As recounted in her book, Alex's last words to Dr. Pepperberg were:
"You be good. I love you," Alex said.
"I love you too."
"You'll be in tomorrow?"
"Yes, I'll be in tomorrow."
Snowball - of YouTube dancing fame. Snowball is a head-bopping, foot-stomping Medium Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, and subsequent studies have shown that he can move in time to differing rhythms and to different songs. More on Snowball's post YouTube life here: Snowballing Fame.
Einstein - yet another chattering African Grey parrot of YouTube fame. Einstein has been a regular on prime time TV and late night talk shows. It's a great act; I especially like his spaceship and laser sound effects.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill - stars of both a film and a book, they are feral cherry-headed and blue-crowned conures in San Fransisco. The birds are free to jet across the open sky and generally act like parrots, while the humans spend their days cooped up in restrictive, enclosed spaces. While you're thinking about that, do the right thing and run out and buy your parrot a larger cage.
Paulie - star of the 1998 movie by the same name, Paulie is a wise-cracking blue crown conure, who sounds remarkably like Jay Mohr.
Fred - Tony Baretta's Triton Cockatoo. Baretta was a detective series that ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. If the bird is still alive and collecting residuals from the show, I imagine it must be the wealthiest parrot in the world by now.
Gerald - a character in the late, great Michael Crichton's novel, NEXT. Gerald is a transgenic African Grey parrot who helps a transgenic chimp with his math homework and sings country music. Gerald's vivid memory, detailed powers of recall and intelligent banter land him in hot water with his humans.
Parrot Heads - Jimmy Buffet fans. Party with a purpose... and generally with a funny parrot hat.
Monty Python's Dead Parrot - a Norwegian Blue - they prefer lying on their backs.
Fawkes - Albus Dumbledore's phoenix. Okay, Fawkes may not be a parrot, but its beak has enough of a hook to qualify as such for the purposes of this list. It might pass for a ratty Scarlet Macaw if you were drunk enough and didn't know anything about birds. Finding ten famous parrots is more difficult than you might think.
Bonus Parrots!
Poll - President Andrew Jackson's African Grey parrot. He purchased the parrot for his wife before he was inaugurated (in 1829), to keep her company. His wife died, but Poll lived on in Tennessee, eventually outliving Jackson himself. According to lore, the parrot, who spoke both English and Spanish, had to be removed from our seventh president's funeral service (in 1845) as it was cursing up a storm in both languages. Present day guests of Jackson's home, the Hermitage, can be taken on a tour by Poll the Parrot, though I'm not clear on how this is done as they don't allow filming on the tour.
Charlie - Winston Churchill's Blue & Gold Macaw. The bird was said to have been exceptionally foul-mouthed, constantly cursing Hitler and the Nazis. But this story has been denied by Churchill's daughter, who claims that her father kept only some budgies and an African Grey parrot for a time in the mid-to-late 1930s. Here's an NPR radio broadcast on the subject.
Here's a recent video clip of the 107-year-old Charlie:
Hank - Paris Hilton's African Grey parrot. I'm not sure I have much to add to that, except to guess that this isn't likely to be one of those Grey's with a very large vocabulary. I wish the bird well...
Dr. Clark Dunlop's pet parrot. Dr. Dunlop (who died in 1908) somehow managed to have his pet parrot (of unknown name or species) interred with him in his mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery. The good doctor was subsequently declared insane by his relatives, who later went to war over his estate. The parrot, who predeceased Dr. Dunlop by a good many years, was not mentioned in the will and does not appear to have been a party to the contentious legal proceedings. More on this here (scroll down).
Also, here's a video from CBS News (Cemetery Tours: Monuments to Die For) featuring Dr. Dunlap's tomb and his beloved interred parrot. The bird appears at 4:30 into the video.
Harry the Scarlett Macaw - Harry has been living with pet expert Marc Morrone for over thirty years. He's a regular fixture on Marc's right shoulder, and never tires of playing with Marc's glasses at particularly inopportune times during his broadcasts.
Peter the Parrot: "Help! Help! I'm drowning!" From The Adventures of Superman, The Haunted Lighthouse (Season 1, Episode 2). Peter provides a bit of comic relief at the end of an otherwise tense Man of Steel episode.
Skylar the Parrot: From The Adventures of Superman, The Whistling Bird (Season 2, Episode 25). Unlike his cousin Peter (above), Skylar has a central, starring role in this episode and was featured from start to finish. The story is about Uncle Oscar and his exploding postage stamp glue that tastes like home-cooked meals. Skylar, of course, has the formula; secret agents and parrot kidnappings ensue. They don't write 'em like they used to...
Ping Pong Hurley: Ping Pong is a Blue-Fronted Amazon who lives with actress/model Liz Hurley. The bird is further distinguished by having her own Twitter account, and can be followed at: http://twitter.com/#!/PingPongHurley Be forewarned, it doesn't appear that Ping Pong follows back.
Given their advertising budget and worldwide marketing campaign, there's really not that much I need to say about the story, is there? Blu is voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, Jewel by Anne Hathaway. More here. The birds are supposed to be modeled after the critically endangered Spix's Macaw, already likely extinct in the wild. Here's what the real deal looks like:
Cocky Bennet, the world's longest lived parrot (that I know of).
"...a sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), he stood out not
by the age he would reach, but for its unusual physical features. Born
in 1796 (according to Brisbane’s weekly summary, The Queenslander), near
Sydney, he was removed from his nest on a eucalypt by a local farmer.
As the years passed, he started to lose the feathers, looking like a
plucked chicken with a wrinkled skin. Moreover, his upper mandible had
an extraordinary long tip, so that he could only eat mashed food.
The bird spent his first 78 years travelling the world with Captain
Ellis, his owner. Following the death of the captain, he was bequeathed
to a Mr. and Mrs. Bowden. With the death of Mr. Bownden in 1889, his
wife soon married Charles Bennet, with the couple then moving to Tom
Ugly’s Point, Blakehurst, in 1891, where Mr. Bennet became the licensee
of the Sea Breeze Hotel.
Popular, Cocky lived in the hotel for most of his last 25 years.
Talkative, his repertory included phrases like “one feather more and
I’ll fly” and “one at a time, gentlemen, please”, when harassed by other
birds. Cocky was more talkative and with more lurid language after
being given a ”sip of strong brew”. He received the visitors while
moving and jumbling at the top of his cage in the hotel’s front
verandah."
After his death, The Sydney Morning Herald published (in 1916) the following note: A Venerable Cockatoo “Cocky Bennet,” a sulphur-crested Australian cockatoo, died on Friday in his 120th year
at Canterbury. This age is a record in longevity for an Australian
parrot so far as the officials records are concerned. For many years
this bird was in the possession of Mrs. Sarah Bennet, the licensee of
the Sea Breeze Hotel, at Tom Ugly’s Point. When she left there, about 12
months ago, she transferred the parrot to her nephew, Mr. Murdoch
Alexander Wagschall, at Woolpack Hotel, Canterbury. The old bird was
absolutely featherless for the last 20 years, but it maintained its
“patter” till the day before its death. “Cocky Bennet” was a great
traveller, and is said to have journeyed seven times round the world.
Mr. Wagschall has arranged to have remains of this historic parrot
preserved by a taxidermist.”
If you're really into parrots (especially transgenic African Greys), please be sure to check out my novel Little Birdies! It's available both as a softcover book and as a Kindle ebook. Excerpts from LittleBirdies! can be found here, and reviews here.
