My "unadoptable parrot", Kilo Lani, is quite a talker! When I picked him up last Saturday, I was aware that he said, "Pretty Bird" - in fact, that is what the people at the rescue called him because he had no other name and it was the only thing he said. But, I have learned that he actually has quite a vocabulary and drops new words on us all the time. Sometimes these are new words he has picked up in just the past few days and some are things that he obviously knew, but had just never bothered to mention before.
This is a bit of a mystery - I was under the impression that Kilo had been basically neglected and was not really a pet bird - but he has sure learned to talk! And, as he gets more comfortable with me and the family/flock, he talks more and more. Don't tell the people I got him from - talking parrots command a much higher price than a throw-away parrot who bites! My theory is that even thow he was not handled much, he was in an environment where birds were being encouraged to talk, maybe using recordings based on some of the things Kilo says, maybe to make them more attractive for sale, and he picked it up.
Did I mention that last night, he sat on my lap for a while? Did I mention that last nigt he started eating from my hand gently, without lunging?
Category: Things Kilo learned to say before he came to us - survey says -
- Pretty Bird
- Come Here
- Night Night
- "What does the kitty say? MEOW!"
- "What does the doggy say? Bow Wow"
- (growls like a tiger)
- Goodbye
Category: Things Kilo has started trying to say this week - survey says -
- Step Up
- "Clever" (the start of "you're clever")
- "Coco" (the nane of our other parrot)
- "Jack" (the name of the dog)
- Good Morning
- ...and 3 or more other things that are not clear enough to recognise yet
Several of these things he says in response to events - when the cover is put on his cage or when the lights are turned off, he says "Night Night". When he wants attention, he says "Pretty Bird". When he wants to be picked up, he says, "Step up".
Last night, we had a great time with him starting to eat gently from my hand and sitting with me in my chair and all of a sudden this morning at breakfast we hear, "What does the kitty say? MEOW!" When we tested it by replying "Kilo, what does the kitty say?" he replied, "BOW WOW!"
As Bruce Lee said, "It is like a finger pointing to the moon - Don't look at the finger", that your parrot just tried to bite, "or you will miss all that heavenly glory!" Did I mention that Kilo Lani means, "Look Heavenward"?
