A Parrot Whisperer: Lynchburg Area Woman Knows Parrots Like Nobody's Business
Boonsboro, VA - Hidden high up in the hills of Boonsboro lives a woman with an unusual expertise. She is all things parrot, quite well versed on the science and behavior of these regal creatures. Kashmir Csaky shields them from the public eye; she has a couple of special rooms just for her parrots but they are so vocal, she certainly can't keep them a secret.
Her Hyacinth Macaw Gucci is one of 25 Macaws in the Csaky (pronounced Chocky) household. All of them she considers her children. And that's why Csaky became a "Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant." A what?
"We work with people who have birds who have behavioral problems," explains Csaky.
Until recently when the guidelines for certification changed, Csaky was one of only 16 in the world. In January, about 120 more joined the ranks.
"'What do I do when my bird bites me?' and 'My bird hates my husband and keeps flying at him and biting him in the back of the neck,' 'My next door neighbor how been complaining about my bird screaming at 6 am." Csaky says these are just a few examples of what they help fix. The concept is similar to dog training-- but focused more on fixing problems with new behaviors rather than obedience.
"So what we do is say, 'ok what can the bird do instead that would be pleasant for the owners?' and that's usually something like talking. So we teach the bird to talk, to whistle, to sing or do something," says Csaky.
Csaky started working with parrots 30 years ago, initially self-taught. She eventually began taking classes, attending animal behavior conventions, training with experts-- and became certified. It all started when she was a very little girl. "My grandfather who did not believe in pets went out one day and came home with a pet parrot and I just loved the bird," says Csaky. She got her own parrot when she was 16-- and was hooked for life.
Csaky has also spent many years breeding Macaws-- which can be very difficult. And she has even been able to work with parrot parents to help raise a number of their babies. Csaky says, "I was the first person in the world to co-parent Hyacinth Macaws."
Over time, Csaky has made quite a name for herself. Filmmakers from the animated movie "Rio" even came here to film her birds.
"The camera men were forced to dance for 4 hours because Gucci wasn't going to dance without everybody dancing, so everyone had to dance."
The crew actually went to a number of locations to film a variety of birds, though Csaky says as far as she's aware, they never used the footage.
And though Csaky is now officially retired from consulting-- she can no longer get paid for expertise-- she's firmly committed to full-time job as mom.
"When you see them hatch out, clean up their little bodies, threat their umbilicus, give them their first feeding, you do grow very very close to them," she says.
If you feel like you need an animal behavior consultant of any kind, click here for the official association's website.
