Becky Margison Sumber has lived with birds since 1987. The flock started with a Budgie, which was a gift from Becky to her younger sister, Mary. Over the years, Becky's family acquired more Budgies, some Cockatiels, and a few Conures.
Becky currently lives just north of New York City with an African Grey parrot named Isabel. Becky also remembers fondly three Cocaktiels who have since passed on.
Also inhabiting Becky's home are her husband Jon, their daughter, and their cat, Stanley, who is kept away from the birds at all times
Becky has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and works for a non-profit agency that serves people with developmental disabilities. She is the Vice President of the Avian Welfare Coalition and has worked with the group since 2001. She has written articles that have appeared on the Petfinder.com website, other pet care and bird care websites, bird club newsletters, etc. Becky also was a technical editor to three bird books published by Wiley Publishing (Finches for Dummies, Parakeets for Dummies, and Parrots for Dummies, all authored by Nikki Moustaki).
Pages within this site:
The Social Needs page will give you information about what an exotic bird's social needs are, and how you might go meeting those needs.
The Dietary Needs page will tell you the typical dietary and nutritional needs of most parrots.
The Housing/Environmental Needs page will tell you what a parrot might need in captivity to be safe, secure, and stimulated regarding caging and environmental stimuli.
The Species Specific page will give you an overview of the personality traits of some parrots that are commonly kept in captivity.
The Unwanted Birds page gives some information about why parrots tend to end up homeless, abandoned, and abused.
