find that a fledged bird, even after being clipped, will remain more confident and active than an unfledged bird. Learning to fly also helps a bird learn how to land safely, an important skill even in clipped birds. Controversy While clipping is endorsed by some avian veterinarians, others oppose it. By restricting flight, wing clipping may help prevent indoor birds from risking injury from ceiling fans or flying into large windows, but no evidence shows that clipped birds are safer than full-winged ones, only that clipped birds are subject to different kinds of accidents from full-winged birds. Social pet birds (such as parrots) may also be clipped both to restrict independence and in attempts to make them tamer and easier to manage to encourage them to socialize with their owners; some parrots that show aggression to certain people or other birds may be clipped to prevent attack. However, birds can be trained to accept flight requests or commands, and this removes the need for wing-clipping. Some people feel wing clipping is a cruel or unhealthy practice, as it denies a bird its most natural way of getting around, obtaining exercise, and avoiding fearful situations. Although clipped birds can and should be encouraged to do wing-flapping exercises, this does not provide the same exercise as flight. Others feel that for birds that can climb well, wing clipping is a necessary safety practice for birds in many situations. The practice seems more prevalent in American bird care books than in similar British publications. References External links Wing Clipping - Clipping the wings of a chicken Wing Clipping in Pet Birds - a study and comparison of techniques Aviculture Cruelty to animals