Okay, so Mona posted about using communication to enhance our interactions with our parrots months ago, but I read this and thought of my own senegal:
Mona wrote:This could be a good forum topic. What do people do to reinforce (and set up) appropriate communication between their birds and themselves? Trick training is an easy answer but I think there are lots of other ways to do this. For example: When Phinney is uncertain about an object and moves away from it (she sees it as being aversive), I tell her "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay"
I will then move and touch or chew the object so she can see that "it is okay"....and then I will often give her a moment to also move to the object. If she does move towards the object, she is reinforced and if she touches the object, she is reinforced. The object is to teach her "It's okay" means that "all is safe". In time, the bird responds positively to that simple cue. Greys will often even say it if they are nervous. Phinney says it quite often. Another bird startles and Phinney will say, "It's okay. It's okay"
It is vitally important to maintain the integrity of this cue and NEVER use it in a situation that the bird might perceive is a real threat.
That's just one example of reinforcing nonverbal communication between the person and the bird. The bird is communicating to the person by moving away from an object. (nonverbal) They are saying, "This is something I want to avoid". You acknowledge their communication by letting them move away but then you approach the object yourself and say, "It's okay." A well socialized bird will often want to participate in whatever you are doing that looks like fun and they will also move to the object. You reinforce any voluntary movement towards the perceived "threat" and in time, you develop a very trusting back and forth between yourself and the bird. In time, the bird absolutely learns that "It's okay" means that every thing is safe.
My husband and I do something similar with our senegal. We stopped saying 'no' to him all together and now say 'be careful.' I think this helps both him and us as we tend to say 'be careful' in a more calm and collective manner.
Also, these birds are prone to 'light terrors,' meaning that they get scared and can react unexpectedly with sudden changes in light. So whenever I have Toby with me and I need to turn a light on or off, I look at him and say, 'Toby, be careful' a few times and then turn on the light. If I give him warning before I do sudden things like that, he is less prone to bite me unexpectedly or fly away scared.