And my friends say birds don't know what they are saying....

[TooLover]

Today at lunch I was trying to get Buck Buck back into his cage. He loves to hide in the newspaper on the very bottom tray of his cage (but is smart enough to throw the ones with poop on the floor). Anywho, I was having a problem with him and Elwoodblue finally looked at him and told him to "step up". Even more fascinating was the fact that Buck Buck did!
At bedtime Elwoodblue goes to the bird room and Buck Buck stays in the living room. When it comes to bedtime and we pass Buck's cage, Elwoodblue has started calling out for "Buck Buck" as though Buck Buck is going to save him!
My little Merlin has really come along in his talking, so much so that you can finally understand his "hello" and it isn't a little screech like before; when he really wants your attention he yells it!
Just had to share with you all - I sometimes need these little stories to keep myself sane after I have cleaned up the bird room or little piles of poop, and ask myself why! Why? Because they bring me such joy! :!: :!:

[Joel]

LOL Laurie, too cute!

[primrose04]

I really do think they know what they are saying. I was in the kitchen the other day and my quaker said "commeer commeer" when I didn't respond to that she yelled out "hey Rose" so I went in and asked "What do you want?" and she said "cracker" I said" you called me all the way in here to give you a cracker ?" and she started laughing. so how could I not give her a cracker then, I just thought that was so cute.

[TooLover]

exactly my point - they DO KNOW what they are saying!

[Joel]

I have a Grey female that says the same thing "comeeer" with an attitude and repeats it until I do go see what she wants which is usually also a cracker or an apple or her own concoction - a combination of the two = a "crapple". ...........She will even prompt me further by saying: "YUM-YUM Goood".......... When I hesitate sometimes or am just too busy to jump when she says so, she then tries to butter me up by sayin: "You are my favooorite peeer-son". Too funny & cute.........Then I just have to quickly go and give her a big hug. Has she got me trained or what?

[The Outlaw]

Laurie:

Visitors here at ********** always crack up when they listen to the conversations in the bird room. I've had folks that would respond to voices coming from outside the bathroom door. They'd say something like, "I'll be out in a minute" and the birds would say, "Ok". They are always surprised to find no one waiting to use the bathroom.

When my birds are on a common gym and want to go around each other, they always tell the other bird to "step up". If they hear any yelling "Stop It" is the response, sometimes given by the offender just before I say it.

To get my attention, I also get "Gimmee kiss" followed by a very loud smooch sound. At 2:00, I hear everyone bring up the "cracker" request. This immediately starts a discussion amongst them about when it should arrive. Usually its followed by "cracker, NOW!"

And, while on the cracker subject, they will accept no substitutions. I once tried to substitute Townhouse crackers for the much preferred Ritz. I got a virtual prison riot. Dreamer, my star "pitcher" threw his at me and kept saying "cracker, cracker" until I found a sleeve of them in the poolhouse. I'll never do that again (LOL).

At night, when I put them in cages, that's when the sweet stuff starts. The macaws always talk to each other. They actually say things like, "I love Baby, awww awww". "I love YOU, smooch" is usually his reply. Then they say they love each other to most of the birds. They don't like Chi Chi, so they yell at him one more time. And, they call Joey the dog who usually goes in to make sure all is well.

My Taco still calls the dog, Shadow from her last home. Then she mews like a cat and laughs. Cleo, the visiting CAG, starts calling me and doing whatever she can to get my attention. She'll speak in both male and female voices and then just start flinging kissy noises at me until I cave in and get her. She is my night owl. Mai Tai, my Ekkie, in her sweet little girl voice, says Ma a few times and then everyone settles down for the night.

My quaker is the one that brings the house down. He'll just start laughing, for no apparent reason, later in the evening. We could be watching the scariest movie and he'll just start laughing in the most maniacal way. It totally cracks me up.

They have trained us very, very well. Dreamer, though not my best talker, is by far the most charming. He sings I Love You and then puts his head down for kisses. He loves to have the white patch smooched anytime I pass by. I almost passed on him. Now, I can't imagine my life without him. He's the most fun and curious creature that I've ever seen in my life.

THE OUTLAW

[smallonion]

I love these stories! I hope others will post more stories about their birds talking. Humph doesn't talk and Corbett only talks a little. But Corbett has the world's sweetest "helllloooo". It melts my heart. He doesn't say it too often, but whenever my grandmom comes over, Corbett hellos her to death! He must love her.

[LtlWngdAngl]

In this book I'm reading, The Parrot that Ownes Me by Joanna Burger (recommended to me here), she addresses many studies that have been done, and that are being done, that prove that parrots, though not knowing English specifically, do learn to associate activities and images with words that they do know. So, though they don't speak and understand human language, they do speak and understand what they are taught in order to convey wants and wishes.

[The Outlaw]

Well, we do the exact same thing. That's why, through body language, etc. we can communicate with people who don't speak our language. That only proves to me that we use the same things for comprehension. I read that book as well. Did you find it at all disturbing? It seems to me that in many ways she encouraged breeding behaviours.

The Outlaw

[Casa Amazona]

Elisa has been good lately about attacking Kiwi while on their play cage, but last night she got ornery again. When I scolded her she turned her back on him and went stomping (or so it looked to me) across the top of the cage muttering. I couldn't quite catch the words, but I bet they weren't pretty.

Joanie