1/8/2019 The Pied Piper of Parrots - The New York Times

PET CITY

The Pied Piper of Parrots
The colorful and intelligent birds can drive owners crazy with their loud and unpredictable
behavior. Glenn Sorino is here to help.

By Britta Lokting

Jan. 17, 2018

Ask people why they chose a parrot as a pet and they’ll usually say they wanted a companion of
exotic beauty, gaiety and intellect.

But parrots can also be noisy, needy, destructive and temperamental.

“For some reason, I thought a bird was going to be simple,” said Marty Sokoloff, who owns two
parrots, an eclectus and a cockatoo, with his wife, Suzie Marchlen. “Boy, was I mistaken.”

Many people interested in parrots don’t realize — until it’s too late and they’ve become owners —
that the birds cry for attention and throw tantrums like a toddler. Not to mention, they can live
upward of 50 years.

But people continue to want them as pets. In 2011, Best Friends Animal Society, an animal rescue
organization, estimated that the number of owned parrots in the United States had jumped from
11.6 million in 1990 to 60 million in 2010, and could increase to as many as 100 million by 2020.

“They keep pumping them out,” said Jacqueline Johnson, who manages the parrot garden at the
Best Friends animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, referring to the breeders. “There’s no decline.”

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Many people interested in parrots don’t realize — until it’s too late and they’ve become owners — that the birds
cry for attention and throw tantrums like a toddler. Not to mention, they can live upward of 50 years.
Andrew White for The New York Times

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Mr. Sorino gives Gally, a cockatoo, his weekly bath. Andrew White for The New York Times

Grooming scissors. Andrew White for The New York Times

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The sanctuary averages 60 bird adoptions a year, a 10‑fold increase over the past eight years, Ms.
Johnson said. Owners often surrender because of the emotional toll that parrot maintenance can
take.

“The sheer amount of responsibility for these guys can wear on you,” Ms. Johnson said.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Glenn Sorino is here to help.

“Living with a parrot is very challenging,” said Mr. Sorino, pictured with his own pet, Sara. “Every day is a
different antic.” Andrew White for The New York Times

A self‑described parrot “pied piper,” Mr. Sorino, 60, has been assuaging owner frustrations,
coaching, grooming and evaluating behavioral issues in birds for the past 20 years. He currently
serves about 40 clients, including the artist Hunt Slonem.

“I don’t know anyone else that does what he does,” Mr. Slonem said. “You have to have a lot of
knowledge to handle these creatures.”

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As a boy, Mr. Sorino began reading books about birds and attending bird club meetings. He later
worked at various bird stores, including the city’s once treasured and now closed 33rd & Bird.
Over the years, Mr. Sorino’s expertise spread through word of mouth.

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Sara, Mr. Sorino’s 24‑year‑old parrot, cuddles with him under his bed covers, swings from his belt and hangs out
in the shower. Andrew White for The New York Times

“Living with a parrot is very challenging,” Mr. Sorino said. “Every day is a different antic.” His
own pet seems, not surprisingly, very well adjusted. Sara, a 24‑year‑old Jardine’s parrot, cuddles
with him under his bed covers, swings from his belt and hangs out in the shower.

Clients seek Mr. Sorino’s knowledge on a range of issues. Once, he escorted a woman to the vet
after learning that she had fed penne alla vodka, waffles with maple syrup, and salad with blue
cheese dressing to her eclectus parrot. Twice he’s flown with parrots across the country to reunite
them with their owners. And every Wednesday, he visits with Charlie, a hyacinth macaw who
went through a tough time after her owner, the artist Po Kim, died in 2014. “I don’t know what to
do with a bird, so I was like, ‘We need the bird whisperer every week,’” said Ann Thurmond, the
assistant director at the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery.

Anne Pollack was recently at her wit’s end when Mahmah, her African grey, began shrieking for
unknown reasons, despite the fact that Mahmah has a vocabulary of 100 words, including several
expletives. Her bird sitter advised she try Mr. Sorino. He suggested retraining, and the screaming
soon subsided. “There was a code that needed to be unlocked and he gave me keys,” Ms. Pollack
said.

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Mr. Sorino and Charlie. Andrew White for The New York Times

On a clear Sunday in November, Mr. Sorino checked on Goose, Mr. Sokoloff and Ms. Marchlen’s
25‑year‑old eclectus. The bird was confined to a plexiglass box and looked like a Victorian king in
a five‑tiered felt collar meant to prevent self‑plucking. In March, Goose fell from his perch and
became so anxious that he severely picked his backside and developed an open wound.

Mr. Sorino took a seat at the kitchen table, where Goose, wrapped in a towel, had been tenderly
transported and placed under a lamp. Mr. Sorino kissed Goose and then tried to pry open his
candy corn beak. “Come here, Goosie,” he cooed. Goose squawked four times, beat his wings and
refused to cooperate. Mr. Sokoloff tried next, and Goose bit his finger. Finally, Mr. Sorino
succeeded in opening the beak. “Lower beak growing askew and splitting down the middle,” he
concluded.

Over the past few months, thanks to Mr. Sorino’s advice (a frantic phone call was made to him
after Goose’s fall) and 15 treatments in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, Goose’s plumage has
mostly filled in, save a few bald patches. The progress is a relief for Ms. Marchlen and Mr.

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Sokoloff, who worried Goose might not ever look like a bird again. “We consult Glenn with
everything,” Ms. Marchlen said. “He can take the most difficult situation with a parrot and make
it seem natural, like breathing.”

Andrew White for The New York Times

A version of this article appears in print on Jan. 21, 2018, on Page MB4 of the New York edition with the headline: Have a Troubled Cockatoo? Try
the Parrot Whisperer

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