Curl Crested Aracari
Hauppauge, NY

Hello Parrot University,

My name is Susan and this is my 5 month old male Curl Crested Aracari, Beaker, whom I’ve had since the age of 11 weeks.While it’s only been a few months, Beaker is one of the most delightful creatures I’ve ever had the pleasure of sharing life with.  He is definitely more of a life-changing type of pet than most in view of the commitment required for their proper care, but I find his behaviors, personality and vocalizations particularly interesting and charming.

As Aracaris go, I think Beaker is on the needy side, but as time has gone on he is becoming more independent. However, he still minds when I leave for work (testament to how social these guys are… just doesn’t understand why his flock would ever leave him!).  He is an interesting balance between super cuddly (particularly after dusk, when he wants to sleep) and wanting to do his own thing, which somehow works for me completely. He may seem like he is totally ignoring me, but when I leave the room he will call (a series of intermittent low ‘croaks’), and then after a bit he will fly and look for me, often landing on my shoulder or head.

When I’m home, he has free flight of the entire house, and he conducts non-stop exploration of almost every bit of it!  These are forest birds, with short rounded wings that excel at maneuverability (although not in endurance).  But while he is quite active and curious, I’ve never found him to be unmanageably hyper. From my observations when I am able to spend the day with him, he typically will fly to a location, hang out for a few seconds to a few minutes and then will fly off to his next destination. He also wants to be in your presence, and often follows me to different rooms as I move about.  To my amazement, despite not having really done any formal training of any kind, he goes to the bathroom 85-95% of time on his T-stand only, of his own volition.  It is difficult to tell yet whether it is really a conscious effort on his part, but in any event, I have now observed him numerous times playing in my living room, on my desk, couch, etc., and then suddenly fly off to his T-stand and do his business, only to return thereafter to exploring and playing.

The Curls are much more compact than the true toucans, and I have seen him do a 180 (even 360s) in mid-air on a dime, and change directions before you realize what is happening. I suspect he finds it all great fun.  He seems to purposely take it upon himself to do daredevil flying through the narrowest of spaces and doorways and especially likes to do a lap around my kitchen, dining and living rooms, and then rest, and repeat. Also, I have seen that when he tries to land onto a new surface or object and he feels it is not a secure landing, he will ‘abort the mission’ quickly and fly off to one of his T-stands or known “safe” areas.

He can’t chew or destroy objects, say like most parrots, but finds amusement in trying to tear things (any toys with paper/thin wood or bamboo strips for example).  Mostly he likes to simply mouth everything with his beak. He loves stretchy things (anything elastic) which he will hold in one foot and stretch with his beak. Also, he catches objects you throw in mid-air, and loves holding and mouthing little sticks. He will also grab objects and whip them against his perch with a vicious twist. Interestingly, many of his actions I find highly predatory in nature – he has lightning fast reactions and if you are holding something that catches his interest (like a colorful piece of plastic), he will lock eyes on it and follow it relentlessly, trying to grab it.  As fast as you swing it left and right, is how fast his head will follow.  And then once he gets it, he will often bash it on the perch. He also gets very excited about and tries to catch any insects he sees – in fact, anything that moves really grabs his attention.

I’ve found he has amazing temperature control of his beak – which is thought to be so large to help with thermoregulation. But I also see that its size & shape undoubtedly makes for a highly effective tool – he often hammers things with it and in fact, watching his behavior from early on, seeing him easily scrambling up vertical tree back surfaces with those zygodactyl feet and then witnessing one morning when he responded excitedly to a wild North American woodpecker calling outside (with a very similar call), I would jokingly say he is nothing more than a South American woodpecker.  Then to my surprise, I discovered that Aracaris and woodpeckers are in fact closely related (Toucans, Aracaris, and Woodpeckers all belong to the Order Piciformes).

As far noise levels, he is mostly quiet, and has about 4 main types of everyday calls – a soft coo when petted, intermittent low croaks when he is curious about something or you left the room, a rattle when he is greeting you, and a louder sharp caw when something alarms him.   There is a 5^th type of call which is a VERY loud siren-like call, but I have only heard him do it twice since I’ve brought him home.

He has been a dream to harness train – before I attempted to put the Aviator harness on, I watched the accompanying DVD and wanting to start on the right foot, prepared myself to gradually acclimate him properly to wear one, which I understand could take days or weeks.  To my shock, he let me put the harness on him in TEN minutes on the same day, thinking I suppose that it was just a cuddle session!  He even fell asleep when I put the harness on.  He has a tubular shaped body, but the XS fits him perfectly (he is currently 190 grams) and feels very secure.  While he does have an outdoor sunning cage, the ability to now take him out in a harness has added a whole new dimension and enrichment to his and our time together.

Thanks to your v shape design of the collar fits securely, and sits right in the crevice of his “shoulder”.  I know Aracaris seem very torpedo shaped but there is a definite groove in there where the strap can sit.  Mind you, when I put The Aviator on, the collar just barely fits over his head! If his skull grows anymore I’ll probably need to get the next size up.

I was a bit terrified at first to take him out but I can see it’s quite escape proof and to me, the benefits greatly outweigh any risks.  He loves being outside (not just in his sun cage) and this opened a whole new life and world for him (us). Thanks for making this product.  I plan to also buy your flight line soon.

BTW I am an avid edibles gardener and part of my interest in the harness was to enable my bird to at least be out in my garden occasionally.  And get some UV light etc.!

Curl Crested Aracaris, as a friend put it, are simply joyful animals.  I’ve trained dogs and horse in my life, but I am thoroughly enjoying Beaker thus far simply by experiencing him as he is (needy Woodpecker behaviors and all). Somehow it works perfectly!

Thanks to The Aviator Bird Harness and Leash I am now able to enjoy a summer afternoon with him and my horse.

Sincerely,

Susan