JULIE RACH MANCINI got her first pet, a parakeet named Charlie, when she was six years old, and had Sindbad, an African grey, for ten years. She assisted in the preparation of the first issue of Birds USA and worked as the editor of Bird Talk. Mancini is the author of books on the African grey, parakeet, cockatiel, and conure in the Your Happy Healthy Pet series, also from Howell.