The Funny Things Our Parrots Say!
November 21st, 2010Patty
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?
Lol LOVE the Macaw story at the end.
Classic!
Haha, wow. I really like the “meow” response. And “bad dogs” is great as well. I have one of mine saying “lady gaga” when i say bad romance.
My favs from my U2 Honey are as follows:
Me: Hey Honey, How you doin’?
Honey: Pretty good. I’m a good bird. I love you. How you doin’?
In that butter melting sweet voice they do. These are all things she says but once she pieced them together and had me rolling!
Once while trying to pull the covers over my terrier mix Bella she kept making kissy sounds and saying “I love you pretty puppy.” again in her sweetest lil’ Too voice.
And finally…
As a Veterinary Hospital Manager, Honey enjoys the privilege of going to work with me and spending the day on her perch on my desk, looking out a second story window overlooking the street and our parking lot. One day I got locked out of the clinic and ran across the street to wait out of the rain. Back inside after only about 20 minutes I went upstairs to check on her, and she promptly erected her crest and declared me a “BAD BIRD! BAD BIRD!” After I apologized to her she accepted with “I love you, be a good bird.” She has done this again once, and apparently it’s a result of crossing the street. I do not garner such disapproval if I stay in the building or parking lot. Haha
Hi!
When I adopted my Mitred Conure, Cayman, nine years ago, my mom decided to introduce him to the other members of our flock slowly by bringing them into the room, while Cayman remained in his cage. She introduced our cockatiel, Gino, first. Gino was quite taken immediately, and proclaimed Cayman a “Pretty bird!” (many times…) my mom said “Oh, that’s so nice, Gino! What do you have to say to Gino, Cayman?” Cayman looked at the two of them, and said in a gravelly voice “Screw you!” We both just about fell over laughing. It took a while to work on that mouth of his after that…
My boyfriend is the type that likes to look at himself in the mirror for hours and when you are trying to head out to go somewhere and have to wait on him it gets anoying. One day as i was telling him over and over “come on! lets go!” I hear Sirus my ring neck parakeet wistle as though he was calling a dog. I then decided to get the bird in on the action: I wistle like he did and added ” here boy” and proceed to tap my thigh. Well not that day but the next day when by boyfriend was again in the mirror, I looked at Sirus and said ” come on boy help me out I went into the hallway I wistled and said “herre boy” and he repeated. Now, EVERYTIME he wants my boyfriend to give him attention he wistles( calling a dog), sais “here boy” and every now and then will imitate the sound of me tapping my thigh or add “my beautiful baby” to the whole thing. He is starting to mix up some of the words we tell him. Its funny when you say that you will here ” pikaboo my baby” we are trying to get him to talk when we are in the same room and since pikaboo is one of the things he sais alot when ever he sais it i would go into the room and say ” yes pikaboo my baby” but he didn’t catch on that it meant yes we heard you keep talking. Now i also have a sun conure and he can be loud well Sirus will turn to him and go ” shhhhhhhh” or imitate the conure to get him to be quiet it’s kind of funny. Sirus is my special bird he went from being a bird that was afraid of everything to a bird that now lets us touch him and pet him, he alot more happy then he was that’s for shure.
One day I was making breakfast when Pica my Galah just would not stop stepping on the plate I was working on.
When I placed him back for about the fifth time Senna my African Grey stood on the place were I dropped Pica over and over.
I dropped Pica almost on top of Senna. Pica raised al her feathers to intimidate Senna when Senna dropped down his beak, she looked really mean at Pica and shouted: “PICA!”
Pica stepped back and ran away!
It was hilarious.
Fred, my Cockatiel, is a fantastic whistler and loves to go into a challenge with me. He will start off and whistle a tune and then I have to do the same tune. Sometimes it’s pretty hard to get it exactly as he does and when that happens, he squawks at me very rudely. Then we switch places and he has to whistle the tune I do. He does that for a while, but then he takes control again. He’s an aggressive little guy, and very adventurous. When he is playing on his Condo and wants to go to his Apartment, he takes a shortcut across my desk, jumps onto my stomach and goes up to kiss me before looking up. That means he wants me to pick him up and move him to the bamboo pole that is above my head so he can go to his Apartment. When I place him on the pole, he very clearly says, “Thank you”. It is so adorable.
My Amazon is just learning to talk – she’s getting cadences and rhythms fine, but her enunciation still lacks clarity.
Her cutest latest obsession is playing peekaboo: she repeats the word over and over until we hide behind the door frame, then pop our heads around the corner – to which she bobs and calls out ‘peekaboo!’ in the cutest little voice.
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We’ve learned the hard way to be careful what we say/do around my CAG, Casper.
My fiance Michael was doing some work in the bird area, building a closet. One afternoon, while I was hanging out with Casper, he suddenly yelled “OW! MOTHER (BLEEP)ER!” (only, he didn’t say bleep).
It was hysterical. He has only said it once, although once in awhile he will beat his bell very ahrd and yell “F’er!” at the top fo his lungs.