Friday, January 2, 2009

Random stories

One way to make a parrot's cage more enjoyable is by adding perches and toys on the outside. This is one of Daphne's favorite places to perch. I think it helps her to feel secure with larger birds flying around, since she has a flat perch that acts as a ceiling.
************************
Rocky was playing with his towel on the couch, next to Thomas. He stopped playing for a few seconds, looked up at me (when I took this picture), and then resumed his game.*************************
Earlier this week, I had "Wheel of Fortune" on TV for the first time since at least May. Stella got so excited, especially when anyone went bankrupt! She was imitating the noises and beeps. We may try to have this on more regularly for her in the future. It seemed to be a clue to her past -- perhaps they watched it regularly at her old house?

*************************
Max is very much in tune with Thomas and me. When I put a shirt on, she imitates me. Same thing when Thomas or I put a coat on -- she moves her body, pretending to put her own coat on. She'll also do this with noises. When I floss my teeth, she makes the sound of the floss emerging from between two teeth (I didn't really realize this had a sound until Max). When Thomas gives me a hug, she makes a kiss sound. She makes a swallow sound during the first drink I take out of every cup.

Today I witnessed a new one. Max, Thomas, and I were in the bathroom. As he put his deodorant on, she made downward sweeping motions with her beak on her wing. Then, when I put mine on, she did the same thing! I wonder how long this has been going on -- I'm usually have my back turned towards her when this happens.

She really can be such a delight!

*************************
I found a piece of tissue paper, balled it up, and gave it to Max as a toy. Realizing a foraging opportunity, I took the ball away from her, hid a cashew in there, and returned it. Towards the end of this video, she found the cashew. I think it's so funny how she'll eat right through the paper instead of extracting the food!



*************************
I hope that everyone has a great weekend! We don't have too many plans outside of the house, so the parrots are looking forward to spending lots of time with us!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it would be neat to get a "used" parrot. I could have a lot of fun figuring out what sort of activities went on at their old house--like with Stella and Wheel of Fortune!

Mary said...

Sammi,

It can be a lot of fun when they recognize something, or when something completely unexpected comes out of their beaks. Kind of like peeling layers off of an onion.

Quite frankly, some of the best parrot-people relationships I've seen occur with "used" parrots; which is a good thing since there are so many out there that need homes!