Bird Spam

[summer_jackel]

There is a grey African parrot in my living room. I am pedaling hard and listening to music as well as to the parrot, who is whistling excitedly. It's subtle but, I believe, unmistakable; the bird is attempting to match tone and beat to the music. He isn't very good at it, but he's getting enough of it right to convince me that I'm not imagining things. He takes long breaks to listen and is quiet when he's working on it, more confident when he has it right. Adorable. Nicholas Greybird, who I'll be calling "Nikola" in the future due to preexisting associations with "Nicki," is eleven years old; I wonder how good he'll be at whistling along with music when he's in his thirties?



Nikola shredding stuff. He was uninterested in the toy until he realized that parts of it contained slivers of walnut. I just realized that he hasn't noticed the biggest, easiest to get piece I put in the whole thing. Ha.








I love the texture of his feathers, and how he uses their position to communicate intention, desire and mood. I took him into the shower with me (on a perch at the rear of the tub) and was very pleased that he seemed to enjoy it...he did the happy parrot fluff dance, let himself get reasonably wet, and glared at me when I blocked the spray. Now his plumage is all sleek and perfect. I am glad that he likes baths, because I do not particularly want the house covered in a fine layer of feather dust.



Here's Kaya with her favorite foraging puzzle. I just got some new, more complicated ones that hopefully will stump her for awhile. Miz Perfect Parrot has grown a tiny little bit of yellow on her epatulets this molt, the first she's had. A pure Meyer's would have had big yellow patches a long time ago, and I was wondering if she would ever get them, or if they would always be smaller. She has the full Meyer's nare patch, and the most Senegal part of her is her back end... it's almost like the top of the bird is Meyer's, the bottom is Senegal, and the rest of her is a smooth gradient.





Kaya shows off which of her quarters is the Senegal quarter:




Spazzcon! I took a couple of dozen shots of small zoomy conure, but between the house lighting and the fact that he is always in motion, these were the only ones that came in enough focus to post. He appears to be letting his breast contours grow back everywhere but right around the middle of his chest, which I can only take as a good sign. He remains obsessed with Kaya, but I've been breaking up his routine a lot, and that tends to make it a little mellower. He seems to be adding behaviors, like new calls and ways he uses flight, so I can only hope that these are signs of maturity that includes other avenues for his hormones.



Quintessential Gavin

Comments

[smile-n-cuddle.livejournal.com]

BIRD PICTURES SQUEEEEE!!!

I'm sosososososo glad you have Nikola! He fits you so well :)

Someday, someday.... I'm gonna get one too!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

He is a really good bird. I love his energy, and the fact that he has not yet manifested any parrot flaws---he's really nice to have around!

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

Well, you got him very well socialized, and you seem to be doing all the right things. Kudos to you -- I think Nickola'll be pretty happy in your care. :>

(A horse whisperer friend of mine once said that he sometimes found stressed horses that were overjoyed just to find a human being that understood their body signals -- like finding an English speaker in the middle of a foreign city where nobody spoke the language. If it's that way for something like horses, I can only imagine what it'd be like for an animal as smart as a Grey!)

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

I think that it's in the best interest of any captive animal, as well as the people maintaining it, that the keeper understand and be sensitive as possible to how the animal communicates. Most domestic animals are comparatively simple in terms of what they need and how they express themselves; this is not true of Nikola, but it's the same essential problem.

It's not that difficult, though; we are getting to know each other and are both gaining trust. For instance, it was a bit of a leap for me to let him take my finger in his beak with a bit more swiftness and purpose than I'd necessarily like. The subsequent shared grooming session where he preened and explored my whole hand very gently and carefully (and then let me return the favor with his face) was very touching, and the most relaxed physically he has been to have me in close proximity. Now I'm a little better at telling when a beak strike means 'hi, buddy' and when it means 'go away or I'll bite you,' and I'm teaching him to approach me more slowly.

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

You've really taken on a complex task with Nik, but the more you talk about it the more it sounds like you're up to it.

My friend Mirrdae had an observation about parrots that I'm sure you could confirm. He used to be a parrot caretaker for Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon, back in the day. One of the things he says he learned is that birds, especially the highly intelligent ones, can be suicidally stubborn -- that once they get an idea in their heads, it gets stuck in there like Gorilla Glue and no force of will or training will EVER get it out again. No matter if you the trainer put it there, or they got that idea themselves.

He'd said, reflecting you, that it's a really damn good thing that Greys are not fire-breathers. Else they'd sooner or later discover the concept of 'hotfoot' and then nothing on Earth would stop them doing it to anyone they though it funny to do it to. ^.^

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

The African Gray shows how attractive gray can be, In fact they might be the reason they invented gray, I don't know.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Gray is the epitome of taste and goes with everything!

[howl-at-the-sun.livejournal.com]

That is one happy, excited little grey bird.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

It's really cute to watch him play! Shreddy things that are full of small treats are his favorite so far, but he's also working his way through my collection of bird foraging puzzles. I just got a couple of new ones that can be increased in difficulty as the bird masters getting them open; I gave Kaya and Nicki one each, and made it pretty easy to get the treat. I've seen both of them making attempts, but so far neither has solved them. I'll give them both a few more days before I make it easier.