By: Marguerite Floyd

One of the zillion reasons we love parrots is because we learn new things all the time. For example, most folks use the terms “tame” and “domesticated” interchangeably, but there couldn’t be a greater difference between their meanings.

In the simplest terms, a tame bird is an individual who has been taught certain behaviors us humans find desirable in a pet while a domesticated bird is a species of bird we have bred to have certain characteristics. Taming a bird is a relatively short-term endeavor; domesticating an entire species can take thousands of reproduction cycles. Tame birds learn to be comfortable with humans without changing their innate characteristics while domestication enhances some characteristics and lessens others at a deeper level throughout the entire species or subspecies.

For example, cockatiels, parakeets, and lovebirds are considered domesticated because they’ve been bred for hundreds of years to have certain colors and be easily tamed. Individual African greys can usually be tamed, but they are all still considered wild because they have not undergone enough selective breeding to change their characteristics.

Of course we're speaking in generalities here; each individual parrot has its own quirks and personalities. You may have a lovebird that refuses to be tamed or a cockatiel male who can but won’t whistle.

While we’re on the subject of definitions, let’s look at the terms wild and feral. A wild animal is one that is not tame or domesticated and doesn’t have or need contact with humans. A feral animal is one that, generally speaking, has escaped human taming and reverted to its wild state.

So the yellow-nape Amazon illegally trapped and sold to an unscrupulous dealer is wild. If the bird is very lucky it ends up in a good home and is tamed. If our Amazon should escape its human home and find other Amazons living in the neighborhood it becomes feral. Should it end up with an unethical breeder who wants to produce Amazons with pink napes, the bird will be used in the domestication process. 

Now, wasn’t that simple? Next time we’ll tackle world hunger in 300 words or less!

Feral
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/feral#google_vignette

What is the Difference Between Taming Animals and Domesticating Them?
https://vetexplainspets.com/what-is-the-difference-between-taming-animals-and-domesticating-them

Wild, Feral, Tame, and Domestic: The Difference Between the Four Terms
https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/wild-feral-tame-and-domestic-the-difference-between-the-four-terms.html