Using newly coined terms which avoid the use of expressions connected with human emotions, there is a discussion of the role of the parent-" kumpan" in a large group of non-domesticated, but tame, birds of many species. Domesticated birds were not used because they have lost some of their instincts. Animals react to one stimulus from an object; instinctive behavior, directed towards an object, is released through a very small choice of the stimuli coming from that object. The characters that bring forth definite instinctive responses are called" releasers"(Auslöser). The" imprinting" of the parent-kumpan takes place at a very definite period of life; the more undeveloped the baby bird is at hatching the simpler is the inborn pattern of the parent-kumpan. The species and age of the baby bird determine whether or not man may be adopted as a parent. A forthcoming article will treat of the child-kumpan, sex-kumpan, social-kumpan, and the brother-and sister-kumpan.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)