[chapala]

Lots of patience is the way to go about taming this bird - months are needed, not days or weeks so that the bird learns he can trust you. Since he was grabbed in a towel by his last owner, he naturally has a bad association with hands coming into his cage. It's your job now to change his thinking to be more positive about you and your hands. One of the best ways to do that is bribing with a favorite treat that you remove from the food bowl, and he only gets from your hands. Make no attempt to touch the bird! His body language will tell you how comfortable he is. Much later when the bird is secure with taking food from your hand, encourage him to come to a perch by the door, or sitting on the door opening. You can put one hand on the perch or door, still and not moving, and the other hand gives the treat so that the bird has to reach across the still hand. Pretty soon, you can move the treat a bit further so the bird has to step on the still hand to reach it.

Your bird can and will get comfortable with hands and stepping up if you take the time and go at the bird's pace!