I'm not saying that you need to be physically faster than your bird -- many birds are quite quick -- but that you need to think and react faster than your bird does, which is a much easier task.

This is true particularly in terms of discipline. Birds will bite, scream, destroy things, and more, and you need to dissuade them from doing so. The best way is to reinforce positive behavior. But how do you reinforce positive behavior when the bird is misbehaving?

You need to reinforce faster than the bird can misbehave. Is your buddy vocalizing inappropriately? Well, wait for a break -- even a short one -- between noise. Praise during the break! Did you put your parrot in time out, only to have them pull the cover off their cage theirself? Re-cover the bird, but don't give them a chance to uncover themselves again; uncover them just a few minutes later, even if it's not a full time-out.

Why move so fast? Well, the important thing is not the length of the time; it's that you are in charge, you are providing the positive feedback, and the bird is not determining what happens next. So, move faster to keep control. Establish your dominance, even when giving the bird what they want, by giving it in a pattern that you determine and control.