The Internet is filled with so many wondrous things that sometimes we take it for granted. But every once in a while, something comes along that makes you stop in awe and say ...

... WTF is that?

This isn't just death metal. No! Hatebeak is a death metal band fronted by... an African Grey parrot. The only band, of any kind (so far), that features a parrot on vocals. My sources have it that the parrot's name is Waldo.

For best effect, turn volume to "Eleven".

Hatebeak's last album was released in 2007. But given how long African Grey's live, I'm holding out for a reunion "tour" in the next couple of decades.

In the parrot world, respected avian trainers and parrot behaviorists have long challenged the notion that the concept of "dominance" or "alpha status" makes much sense with birds. Trying to dominate a prey animal is just a bad strategy. Parrots don't have the same social structures or psychologies as dogs, who are predators and pack animals -- that's been part of the argument about separating out bird training approaches from old-fashioned dog training strategies.

It turns out that dogs aren't like dogs either. At least what we think is true about dogs turns out to be pretty outdated thinking, as well. To be fair, even modern dog trainers use positive reinforcement training and don't try to train canines through intimidation and force anymore. And while many in the public are starting to warm to the idea of training based on positive reinforcement, most people still hold on to the idea that dogs do have a dominance-based mentality in their social interactions.

Watch this video from the PBS program "Through a Dog's Eyes" to learn where the dominance myth comes from:

Watch The Dominance Myth on PBS. See more from THROUGH A DOG'S EYES.

Finches have very different needs than parrots, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give careful thought to providing a great cage environment for these small birds. Though they might not be as large or playful as parrots, they do need a lot of room (none of those awful decorative cages that hang in the corner, please!) to fly back and forth inside their cages, and they should also have lots of foraging and enrichment items available.

Patricia Sund, of parrotnation.com, walks us through her finches' cage setup and demonstrates how she provides enrichment and exercise opportunities for her pet finches by decorating a large flight cage with a variety of perches, textures and even toys.

Watch this video to see what Patricia has to say about how to set up cages for finches:

See flight cages for sale, and check out more detailed cage setup examples for other bird species.

Cape Parrots are largest of the Poicephalus family of parrots, native to Africa. They are a short-tailed species with distinctive, large beaks. Size-wise, they could be considered similar to the African Grey parrot, although they don't resemble each other.

If you have a Cape parrot or are considering buying a cape, we encourage you to learn about their unique needs and check out some of the cage set-ups demonstrated below, which emphasize room to move and maximizing foraging opportunities.

Lola, Female Cape Parrot

Meet Lola, companion to Coco, author of the blog Coco's Flock. Lola has a wonderful 100% American-made, 304 medical grade, non-magnetic stainless steel cage from Expandable Habitats.

Coco says, "My main concerns are safety, using mostly natural wood perches with a variety of diameters and textures, including one roosting perch that must be double-bolted for security, and keeping those food and water bowls clean.  To suit Lola’s needs and play habits in particular, I also like to have a variety of toys including destructible, noisy, and foraging-type, and at least one swing.  The last requirement for Lola because she is a crazy and destructive bird, but really because I am also very paranoid, is that there cannot be any non-stainless steel metal.  All toys, food bowls, and even the bolt and wing nut on all perches have to be stainless steel."

Coco changes Lola's cage configuration out often, putting an emphasis on various foraging stations and a wide variety of toys.

One of the challenges with arranging Lola's cage is that her droppings are very large, so it's important to layer perches, toys, and food bowls so that they aren't stacked over each other in a way that causes them to get soiled easily.

Because Coco values foraging, she writes that most of Lola's toys double as foraging toys;  she stuffs treats in a variety of toys and makes Lola explore for her treats, and also offers lots of chewable woods and shredding toys.  "In this way, I hope to keep her entertained, adept, enriched, and busy!" says Coco.

For perches, this Cape Parrot's cage features a double-bolted ribbonwood perch, which Lola likes to roost on because it’s extra sturdy.  She has a ribbonwood perch underneath it, as well, which is easier to clean than other woods, as well as a stainless steel bell toy.  Towards the back there’s a water bowl and her stainless steel side-mounted bucket full of foot toys, and a cotton rope perch that goes up to the ceiling.  Other perches include a bamboo pedicure perch, an ocotillo perch, and a curvy sandblasted manzanita corner perch. In the door, there’s the skywalk platform perch as well. Lola also loves her super soft and snuggly ring swing.

As you can see, Coco pays close attention to Lola's comfort and safety and makes smart decisions about offering lots of perches and enrichment activities that ensure Lola loves her cage!

Photos and information used with permission. Check out Coco's Flock, a fantastic blog with a ton of great research on parrot cages, nutrition and more.

Also check out set-up examples and photos of African Grey cages, cockatoo cages, conure cages and pionus cages.

So this is now a thing... Angry Bird-themed pet toys

With the success of Rovio's Angry Birds game, the popularity of the merch was inevitable. Now your pets can join the fun of flinging Angry Bird toys across the living room with a variety of Rovio-licensed cat and dog toys, including plush chew toys, pull toys, and cat-nip toys shaped like your favorite pig-hating birds.

Click here for more items.

Photo by Katkamin used under Creative Commons.

An oldie but goodie: How to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner with your parrot.

You'll need:

• 1 Turkey
• Mashed potatoes/gravy
• Corn Pudding
• Cranberry Sauce
• Green Beans
• Hot Rolls
• Stuffing
• Relish tray
• Sweet Potatoes
• Pumpkin pie/whipped cream
• Hot Coffee

Grab a cup of coffee and follow the directions below the jump.

It is going to be a long day so place your parrot on a perch nearby to keep you company while you prepare the meal.

Remove parrot from kitchen counter back to perch. Prepare stuffing; remove parrot from edge of stuffing bowl. Stuff turkey & place it in the roasting pan, remove parrot from edge of pan. Have another cup of coffee to steady your nerves.

Remove parrot’s head from turkey cavity and re-stuff voided area. Prepare relish tray; remember to make twice as much so that you will have a regular size serving after the parrot has eaten his fill. Remove parrot from kitchen counter. Prepare cranberry sauce; discard berries accidentally flung to the floor. Peel potatoes, remove parrot from edge of potato bowl. Arrange sweet potatoes in a pan & cover with brown sugar & mini-marshmallows remove parrot from edge of pan & replace missing marshmallows.

Brew another pot of coffee. While it is brewing, clean up the torn filter and old coffee grounds from around the pot. Pry coffee bean from parrot’s beak. Have another cup of coffee & remove parrot from kitchen counter.

When time to serve the meal: Place roasted turkey on a large platter, cover beak marks with strategically placed sprigs of parsley. Put mashed potatoes into serving bowl; rewhip at last minute to conceal bite marks and footprints.

Place pan of sweet potatoes on sideboard; forget presentation cause there is no way to hide the areas of missing marshmallow.Put rolls in decorative basket, remove parrot from side of basket along with beaked rolls, and serve what is left. Set a stick of butter out on the counter to soften - think better of it and return it to the refrigerator.

Wipe down counter to remove mashed potato foot tracks. Remove parrot from kitchen counter & carve the pie into serving slices. Wipe whipped cream off parrot’s beak & place large dollops of remaining cream on pie slices. Whole slices are then served to guests, beaked-out portions should be reserved for host & hostess. Place parrot inside cage & lock the door.

Sit down to a nice relaxing dinner with your family - accompanied by plaintive cries of “WANT DINNER!” from the other room.

Photo of "munchkin" used under Creative Comments license by wockerjobby

Here's  fun commercial featuring a gorgeous macaw... who wants to go to doggy daycare.

Your bird doesn't have to think he's a dog to learn to fetch though. Teaching a parrot to retrieve is easy with clicker training. Learn more about parrot training and parrot training props.

If you think that animals evaluate potential mates solely on physical characteristics... you probably have a pretty clinical view of life. Most of us probably suspect that personality plays some factor, but now there's a scientific study that shows clear evidence that zebra finches, at least, do consider "personality" when choosing mates; more specifically, female finches prefer mates that exhibit compatible personality traits.

A controlled study at the University of Exeter  showed that "female [zebra finches] care about the apparent personality of their male independently of his appearance." The researchers further state that "it is important for partners to have compatible personalities" and "more exploratory females are more likely to favour the most apparently outgoing and confident males."

This is something most of us bird owners probably already knew intuitively. Clearly our parrots have their own individual personalities, and not all birds get along with each other. That has strong implications for how we interact with them and how we house them. (For example, you can't simply put two birds in the same cage as they could seriously injure each other in a squabble or fight.)

If you have multiple birds in your flock of pet birds, do you notice that some birds prefer their more outgoing flockmates, while others prefer different personality types? Do your pets have established "cliques" outside of species-specific preferences?

Cockatoos are are amazing birds with HUGE personalities... and a destructive streak. Moluccan and Umbrella Cockatoos (also known as M2s and U2s, respectively) are especially known for destroying furniture, going through toys like buzz saws, and shattering eardrums with their unbelievably loud screaming. They are also affectionate, playful and smart. Their intelligence leads them to get bored easily, and boredom is a frequent cause of feather destructive behavior (or in worse cases, self-mutilation).

It is critical that cockatoos are provided with large cages that provide lots of room to move and a lot of enrichment opportunities. Below are examples of cages appropriate for cockatoos, along with ideas for cage setups and layouts.

What kinds of toys do cockatoos like? Check out how some of these cockatoo owners try to ensure their 'toos are kept happy and entertained.

Female Moluccan Cockatoo in a Large Double Cage

Zoe is a 15-year old female Moluccan cockatoo. While she does get out 3-4 hours every day, she does spend a lot of time in her large double cage. Her owner Jenny keeps it stuffed with things to do, and she seems quite happy in there. The cage is 64 inches wide by 32 inches deep - a great cockatoo-appropriate cage.

To keep Zoe busy and mentally stimulated, Jenny rotates out multiple foraging toys, which Zoe figures out very easily. Enrichment ideas include buckets, cardboard boxes zip tied to the cage, hanging wooden toys, and anything with a reflective surface.

Zoe the moluccan 'too especially loves it when she can make ringing noises when she strikes her toys with her toes; so she enjoys sitting on her swing next to her chimes and ringing them for hours.

Jenny provides a variety of toys and activities for Zoe throughout the cage, from the the top all the way to the bottom to encourage lots of climbing and exploration.

Jenny is the author of Project Parrot , a parrot behavior book available on the Phoenix Landing website and on Amazon. Buy Project Parrot: A Behavior Guidebook for You and Your Bird.

Male Moluccan 'Too in a Large Double Cage

Tuki the M2 has a double cage similar to Zoe's above. While the double cage is designed to accommodate a divider, in both cases the divider has been removed to give a single large bird additional space.

Liz describes her cockatoo Tuki as a shredder who goes through toys very fast.

Because Tuki goes through toys so fast, Liz buys a lot of dog toys -- like rope pulls, Kongs and dog balls; they are generally less expensive and harder for a strong cockatoo beak to destroy. In addition to wooden toys (and his dog toys and a cow bell he loves), he also has a variety of plastic toys and plastic chains. He loves to play with and chew up big wiffle balls. Liz also provides her Molluccan with big chunks of packing cardboard that have holes punched through; she then ties them to wood chunks and beads and attaches them to his hanging toys. "... or I just hand him a piece of cardboard to shred," explains Liz. His cage also contains a stainless baffle box and a stainless steel bucket for treats and toys.

Inside his cage, Tuki has several natural wood perches, 2 rope perches stretched across (one on each side)., and a big wire walking shelf on one end between his water and pellet bowls. Note that there's still plenty of room for Tuki to stretch his wings.

Adds Liz, "If you look closely you will be able to see the plexi-glass panels we recently put around the bottom 12" or so of his cage. Protection against stray bites on curious dog noses."

Liz's husband built the climbing tree that sitting out beside the cage that you can see in the first picture in Tuki's set. To create the homemade parrot stand, they took a roll around plant stand, added a melamine circle and mounted the "tree" using bolts. "We started out trying to make our own perches too, but Tuki tore them up too quickly so we bought the really nice hard ones. "

Bird Room Setup: Triton and Goffins Cockatoos

Gemma has four cockatoos, three of whom share a special bird-proof room of their own. The cockatoos who live in the room are Tiny, a 9-year-old male Triton, Grace, a 10-year-old female Goffin's, and Mary Chapin, a 10-year-old male (yes, male!) Goffin's, who Gemma says chose not to participate in the photo session.

Gemma writes, "They all have access to the entire house but spend a large part of their time in the bird room. I provide them with as many choices as possible--in their perches, food stations, toys, and foraging opportunities. I make toys for them every day, mostly foraging toys made from other, used toys or cardboard boxes."

Take a look at the photos showing off these cockatoos' large stainless steel cages, parrot stands, natural branches from a magnolia tree, a grapevine floor tree, a variety of hanging toys for foraging, and a variety of perches.

"A clothing rack from The Container Store makes a great roosting perch. It's one of the highest perches in the room and is away from the windows, which makes the birds more comfortable roosting there at night. I can also hang foraging toys from the rack. I placed a large flat stone on the bottom of the rack for stability. I hung a Get a Grip rope ladder on the other rack--the birds enjoy foraging and climbing on it," explains Gemma.

Because the bird room has been bird proofed, none of the birds need to be locked up in their cages, and they are free to roost where they choose at night. (Stay tuned for an upcoming post dedicated to cage-free living and bird-room setups.)

Rocky and Rico in Dometop Cages

Lara Joseph is avian behavior, training and enrichment specialist. Lara's cockatoos Rocky and Rico enjoy a variety of perches, natural branches, rope, different thicknesses throughout their cockatoo-appropriate dometop cages. She is conscious of making sure each bird has room to flap its wings if it wants.

Rico and Rocky also enjoy the opportunity to look out the window, so they get perches specifically placed for that purposes. They have a toy within reach on each of these perches to give them something to do while they are looking out the window.

Lara also reminds us that using cage placement is another option for providing "enrichment" opportunity as it allows birds to socialize even when in separate cages. Here Rico and Rocky are interacting with each other, even sharing toys, with their cages pushed up close to each other.

Lara's parrots also enjoy lots of out of cage play and training periods, and a large outdoor aviary. Learn more about Lara and her birds on her excellent bird enrichment blog.

Cockatoos Need Space and Enrichment

A common theme you'll see in all the examples of cockatoo cage setups above is the emphasis on lots space, lots of toys designed to be destroyed, as well as ample enrichment opportunities (such as foraging toys). Birds with such a high level of curiosity and destructive capabilities need to be kept occupied or their attentions will turn to less desirable behaviors (like screaming, biting and self-mutilation).

Of course, pet cockatoos need lots of appropriate human interaction also, but 'toos can easily become overbonded, so it's important to teach them how to play independently. Your cockatoo's cage is like a parrot activity center, so make sure its big enough to house all the toys they love and need without overcrowding them.

Hopefully the photos and descriptions above will help you pick out and decorate your cockatoo's cage and provide you and your bird lots of enjoyment.

For more information about parrot cages and setup ideas, check out other posts in our blog, including the article on African Grey Cage Set-ups, Conure Cage Options, and our basic guide to cage sizes and bar spacing.

Image credits: All photos used with permission. Big thanks to the contributors -- Jenny Drummey, for pictures of Zoe; Liz  for pictures of Tuki; Gemma for photos of her amazing bird room; and Lara Joseph for photos of her cockatoos Rico and Rocky.

It's time for another weekly parrot news round-up!

• Good Bird Inc: Parrots and Stress Bars
• Marnie (who rose to fame on Cute Overload) has his own website
• Tarantino sues neighbour over 'blood-curdling' noise of pet parrots
• Bird lovers lobby for (Quaker) parrots
• Rebecca O'Connor gets ready to write a parrot training book
• A reminder about being prepared to evacuate birds quickly
• Bonus video: Sun Conure Dances to Total Eclipse of the Heart