Blue and gold macaw

In my opinion, one of the things that most strongly speaks to the intellect of a parrot is the use and reworking of the words in its vocabulary. Taking two unrelated words and placing them together to form another word or phrase with an entirely different meaning is the “recombining” of words.
Many birds have the ability to put labels to the things around them  Some words are the names of objects, such as a bell. Other words are adjectives such as colors, big or small, hard or soft. Birds have repeatedly shown a remarkable ability to correctly apply an appropriate descriptive label to a given noun.
In her work with the famous african grey, Alex, Dr Irene Pepperberg taught Alex to identify the substance of which an item composed. To simplify this question, she would ask “What matter?”  Alex would respond with: “paper” or “wood”, for example. In one test, one such substance was cork, a bottle stopper.
Alex was smart, and he was also a bird and so was familiar with a variety of nuts. He, by his own choosing, renamed the unshelled almond “cork-nut” and would call it only that. He also referred to an apple as a ban-erry. Dr. Pepperberg makes the assumption that this combination comes from “ban”ana, perhaps because of the similar color inside the fruit, and ch”erry” as both fruits share a similar shape and color on the outside.

This is the ultimate example of the recombination of words. Think, for a moment, about the brain power and creativity that goes into making that connection.

I have a friend whose african grey strung together this sentence on his own: “Wanna go big, red chair”. This was a request for a ride in the car, which is red, big, and actually does contain “chairs”. Someone else told me that their blue and gold macaw referred to meowing as “kitty song”. Pretty adorable, and smart.

Has your bird ever made the connection to put the name of an object together with an adjective, such as “ball” and “blue”, or “water” and “cold”?

Congo african grey

I have a friend who rescues parrots in her city, sort of as a hobby and just out of the goodness of her heart.  She takes in several parrots a year, rehabs them and eventually places them into carefully screened new homes.
A couple of years ago, a twenty-something year old man contacted her and asked her to take in his young timneh african grey that he could no longer afford to care for.
This sweetly dispositioned parrot was in good health and appeared well maintained when he arrived. When asked what the parrot’s name was, the young man looked down at the floor and seemed reluctant to answer. Finally, he admitted that the bird’s unfortunate given name was…well, let’s just say it begins with “F” and rhymes with “truckhead” As you can imagine, “Little Trucker“, as he was affectionately called, had a very colorful vocabulary overall. No big surprise, my friend needed to change this bird’s name right away.

Blue throated macaw

Our parrots have a very limited use of our language. They make connections to the things and people around them by using labels like: “blue”, “ball”, or “play”. Some go on to verbalize an understanding of descriptive words like: “hot” and “cold”, “hard” and “soft”, “big” and “small”. It’s all about having a name for everything. This includes themselves.
Their name and how it is used tells your parrot a lot. First, it is your verbal connection to the bird. When you call to Kiwi in the morning as you are getting up for the day, it tells her that she is valued. There is no question in her mind that you are addressing her specifically and haven’t forgotten about her or her needs during the course of the night. It is an important  connection. Secondly the tone in which you use her name belies your mood and intentions.
Consider the impact on a bird to suddenly lose that connection.  New home, new owners…new name?  Really??

Cockatiel

While shopping for supplies one day I saw a new cockatiel in the bird store that I often frequented in Chicago. When I asked about him, I was told that he was brought in  by a customer who had learned that her son had developed an allergy to the bird. He was sweet and pretty and I couldn’t resist taking him home with me that day. He came with his cage, but not his name. That was the one thing they had forgotten to ask the formers owners. It was a few months before they could get a return call from them for this vital piece of information.
He was settling in nicely with my growing flock of cockatiels, but wasn’t very interactive with the family.

The call finally came that the former owners had been reached and we now had the bird’s name. I ran upstairs and greeted him with a big “HI COCOA!”, and something happened. His body language suddenly changed, and he came to the side of the cage wanting to be taken out. He was overjoyed at hearing his name and from that day on he was a different bird.  My daughter and I still talk about the event to this day. He felt recognized by us, finally, and it changed him and our relationship.

Budgie

It is completely understandable that one might want to rename a rehomed bird, and it can be done successfully over a period of time. It’s a simple, but slow, procedure that involves phasing in the new name in a way that makes it clear to the bird that this new label applies to him. During this transition, you will want not to exclude the former name entirely so as not to break the connection with your bird while you are establishing the new one. Your bird needs to be called by name, whatever it is you call him.
The easiest and quickest way to change a bird’s name is by giving a new one that sounds similar to the old one. Examples of this are an owner who changed her bird’s name from Panda to Brandi and anothers change from Lizbon to Bonnie. Both were accomplished in a short time.

African grey

Back to Truckhead: When the time came to rehome him, my friend made no secret of his background. She had already experienced some unfortunate timing in the delivery of his expletives, once during a business meeting at her house and another time when her daughter’s wedding planner was present. She explained to the new owners that the best way to make these words lose their power was to never use them and never respond to them.

He is doing well in his new home.  He is now called Lucky, and indeed he is.

Umbrella cockatoos

My birds don’t talk a lot, with the exception of Libby, my quaker, who won’t shut up. The problem is, she only has one thing to say, and says it over and over until I finally have to leave the room having run out of ways to respond to “How ya doin’?”.  Still, every once in a while, one of them will come with a doozie.

I used to come home from work everyday to a familiar: “Hi. How doin’?” from Linus, my umbrella cockatoo. Now it has become: “Hi birrrrd!”, sometimes stretching the “R’s” out for several seconds. I don’t have any idea where this came from.  I have never called him “bird”. I imagine I should be flattered and feel like a real, card carrying member of the flock. The good news is that this phrase doesn’t get Libby off and running with hers.

Linus is a good bird, but we have experienced a couple of rough patches. He is a bit edgy at times, and I am careful to approach him appropriately in certain situations. He has always been a little nesty, so when he found his way into the corner or his paper bag I would reach carefully for him and say “Be a good boy. Don’t bite me.” During one period, when he was being down right testy, I found myself saying: “Be a good boy. Don’t you bite me.” more often. One night I reached for him and said: “Be a good boy.” and he said “Bite me.”  You have to love a bird that issues his warnings verbally.

quaker parrot

I had been working with Libby on animal sounds some time ago.  I would say: “What’s a kitty say?”, and she would respond with an ear piercing “meow”.  She made the cutest croaking sound when asked: “What’s a froggie say?”. We were currently working on ‘rooster’ when I decided to see how Linus would do with the same training.

It was cage cleaning day and I stuck him in a carrier while I cleaned and I worked with him on animal sounds. He loved it when I shouted ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’. The carrier would shake from him bouncing up and down, but he wouldn’t repeat anything back. When I had put him back in his cage and was working on Theo’s, he shouted ‘cock-a-too-doo” and I almost fell over. Of course, he didn’t say it again and probably never will, but boy was it funny!

Blue and gold macaws

I think my favorite ever story comes compliments of two blue and gold macaws owned by a young married couple I knew in Austin. I was visiting with them in their kitchen and the birds were on a huge playstand that occupied, well, most of the room.  The house rules were that while the birds were in the kitchen, the dogs weren’t allowed in, and vice versa.The dogs were napping on the sofa in the living room. Birds being birds, however, the macaws were not to fond of following rules. They had devised their own little game.

One bird would, in the wife’s voice, call the dogs to the kitchen by name: “Here Trixie! Here Dingo!” The other bird, in the husband’s voice would yell at them to get out: “BAD DOGS!”. They had the dogs running back and forth for about 30 minutes. The owners just shook their heads while I laughed uncontrollably. Apparently, this goes on frequently.
What are some of your favorite stories?

Blue throated macaws

This question seems to be coming up a lot recently on the birdtricks facebook page and other places I visit regularly. I appreciate that people have the good sense to ask, but it’s a very difficult question to answer without knowing the person asking it, without getting a sense of the person or what their lifestyle is. I normally spend more effort trying to talk people out of getting birds than recommending a species to them.

Owning a bird takes a lot of time and work:
Are you up to it? Those of us with birds understand the higher level of care they require compared to our cats and dogs.  Aside from daily cleaning chores that come with having a bird, there are dietary requirements that take more time and thought than just opening a can.  With their great level of intelligence, they need constant mental stimulation.  And being social creatures, they require out of cage time with their flock and family member. Without attention to these details, a bird can easily become aggressive, loud and/or feather destructive. No one will be happy with this outcome, not you, not your bird.

Harlequin Macaw

Since no one can answer this question for you, it’s time to take a good look in the mirror and decide what kind of person you are, and how much of yourself you are willing to give to a parrot.  If you are a good, attentive owner, plan on getting up a little earlier for work and making some changes to your social calendar.  This might be tough on a younger new owner.

And a lot of money:
Birds are very long lived pets. They require lots of toys to keep them mentally and physically active.  Store bought toys are expensive, and if they are good toys and you have chosen them well for your parrot, they are promptly destroyed.  This is the point of toys.  Birds require fresh foods everyday, a good brand of pelleted food, some species require seed and nuts, others have specialized diets. You will be spending some time in the kitchen if you are feeding your bird correctly.  A good quality and appropriately sized powder coated cage for a large bird will cost $1000 or more.  This is tough on an owner of any age.

Rose Breasted Cockatoo

But mostly, a lot of patience and good sense:
It takes a lot of thought to raise a bird to be happy and independent and a welcomed part of the family. Parrots have the knack for throwing curve balls at their owners. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they will begin a behavior you’ve never seen before. Or decide they now hate their favorite food, toy or person.  You will learn to explore why your bird does something before you even try to understand how to go about finding a solution to a problem. You will have to know your species of bird well, in both captive and wild settings. After a while, creative thinking will be second nature.  You will learn that it truly takes a village to raise a parrot. You will find the advice and wisdom of those experienced with the type of bird you have selected to be helpful and comforting, and you will seek these people out.
Does this sound like nonsense to you?  Get a fish.

Still want one?
Which bird? To begin with, I don’t believe that there is any species of parrot that should be considered a “beginner bird”. Smaller birds are just as in need of enrichment, good food and love as are the big birds. The only difference is the volume with which they can state a complaint, or the severity of the bite they may issue when you make the mistakes we all did as beginners. If the beak intimidates you, you already know you want a smaller bird.
The very best way to determine which bird is right for you is to talk to someone who has the species you have in mind.  There are sites pertaining to EVERY species on the internet. Google conure, for instance, and you will find more info on the many species of conure than you can process in one sitting.  Go onto the bird forums and ask if anyone has a green cheeked conure because you are thinking about getting one. They will be happy to share info with you about the good, bad and ugly of that species. As your research continues, you might stumble across a bird species you hadn’t considered that would fit nicely into your life.
Know that the traits listed are what is typical of the species.  It doesn’t mean that every bird reads the manual. Some african greys don’t talk, some scarlet macaws aren’t nippy, not all cockatoos need to run the world.
If you decide to rehome your first bird, you should be aware that you are taking on the product of any mistakes or wrong-doings made by previous owners.  Often these birds come baggage, some bags are heavier than others. These birds sometimes need special considerations in terms of patience, and may need a push in the right direction in the areas of diet and socialization.
A lot, if not most, of how your bird turns out has to do with your technique of raising the bird and your willingness to put the time and effort into him. You will have your bird with you for a very long time. Take all the time you need now to choose carefully.

Congo African Grey Parrot

Have you ever just sat and listened to your bird’s calls and tried to figure out what they mean?  Just like babies have different cries meaning: I’m hungry/wet/tired/angry, your bird has a different meaning and a different sound to each of his vocalization.
We all know the shrill, panicked sound of the alarm call.  Often meaning that there’s a fly in the cage or Alex, the evil pool guy, is in the back yard again waving around that net thingy on the the long stick.  Sometimes a hawk has flown past the window, or sometomes a toe is stuck.
Have you listened closely enough to be able to tell the difference between the frustrated scream and the angry scream?  Or the difference between the sun-down calls and the I’m-just-happy-to-be-alive calls?
Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, is remarkable when it comes to independent play.  He will invent a project for himself and spend hours accomplishing it.  For instance, everyday he pulls about 5 feet of his cage cover, which is draped over the back of his cage during the day, into the cage.  He then winds it around the perch several times, and finally, weaves the last 18″ or so of it into the cage bars.  While it’s a complete nightmare trying to free it so I can cover him for the night, I love this about him.  He always finds something challenging to do with his time.

Congo African Grey Parrot

Sometimes, though, he gets his mind set on doing something that is physically impossible, like putting the proverbial square peg in the round hole.  Lately he has been trying to pull the hanging toys from the bars of his cage, without first bothering to undo the quick links.  Ain’t gonna happen, but he tries and tries until eventually I hear his frustrated shouting.  Even though he’s steaming mad at this point, this call is high-pitched and drawn out as opposed to his angry call which is rapid and consistent.  When I hear his frustrated call, I know that, somewhere, there is an uncooperative toy in need of correction.
Linus diligently sounds the sundown call, and sometimes Theo, mu goffins cockatoo, joins in. Even though the entire flock is within ten feet of them, they want to make sure everyone is home for the evening.  My favorite sounds, are the “Oh, what a wonderful world!” calls that come from all of the birds in the mid afternoon.  Linus always adds a playful whoop to his, the cockatiels sing an adaptation of a favorite song that sounds little like the original, and Libby, my quaker, always imitates one of the other bird’s calls with precision, but never her own.
I pay attention to their different range of sounds because it tells me how, or whether, to react. If I hear that Linus is frustrated and it goes on for a while, I will usually intervene and try to direct his attention away from the source of his frustration, or simply remove him, or the toy, from the cage for a bit.  If it is an angry scrream, I leave him alone, because it is directed at me and designed to get my attention, which he will not get in that manner.  I look into his problem once the screaming has stopped.

Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot

I know roughly how long each call will last, and can tell if it will escalate, with relatively few surprises.  This sometimes helps me plan my day. For instance, I don’t bother trying to make phone calls in the late afternoon knowing that the long, lazy sun down calls are due. In order to communicate with your parrot, you need to understand what they are trying to say.  Deciphering the intent of their vocalizations is one way.

Blue and Gold Macaws

I learned a long time ago never to look at Linus when I am on the phone.  Being a cockatoo, he believes the sun rises just for him.  He can’t understand why I would talk to an electronic gadget when I have perfectly good cockatoo standing by.  If I look at him, it’s an invitation to join in the conversation.
My daughter called the other day and was telling me about a jacket she had seen in a store window that cost $3500.  She was jokingly asking me if I thought she should take out a loan for it, just as I was passing the cage.  I looked up, and briefly locked eyes with Linus.  “Alright” he says.  Astonished, my daughter says: “WHAT??”  “What WHAT??”, I said.  “You think I should take out that loan?”  “NO!!”  Apparently, Linus sounds a bit like me.  It took a minute to clear up the confusion.
I have a friend with an african grey that like to sit in his cage and have long imaginary phone conversations, in her voice.  He begins by imitating the tones of the phone dialing and goes on the have the most boring phone chat: “Uh huh, uh huh.  Really?  Hmmm.  Okay.  Uh huh…”  It’s really embarassing for my friend who hopes she’s not really that dull.  I find it hilarious, and have suggested that she employ his services when telemarketers call.  Or her mother-in-law.

Galah

Dave and Jamie’s rose breasted cockatoo, Bandit, sounds exactly like Jamie.  Listen for it when they post videos.
I have some friends that own an amazon, who favors the husband, but speaks with the wife’s voice.  I was mentioning to them that I thought this was an interesting twist.  They are convinced that it is intentional.  While the husband might not respond to the bird beckoning him, he is unlikely to ignore his wife.
Ironically, I have started sounding like my parrots.  When I leave for work, I make a big production out of saying goodbye to each of my birds individually:  “Bye BYE, Theo.”  “Bye BYE, Tinky”, until I have addressed them all.  Ususally, the last thing I hear when I am walking out the door is a giant “Bye BYE” from Linus.  It’s really cute, but not so much when it slips out when I am leaving my co-workers for the day.  “Bye BYE, Jessica!”  It’s a bird owner thing.  I dropped a pen one day and a little girl picked it up and handed it to me.  I said: “Thank you!  What a good bird.”