African Grey Vocabulary
By MamaJacci
@MamaJacci (16)
United States
August 29, 2007 3:26pm CST
Our bird is about 9 years old now. She talks quite a bit, especially when the sun comes up in the morning. That is when she practices her entire vocabulary. But she talks at other times too. When the phone rings, she says "hello" in my voice. She also calls out to various members of my household using the voices of various other members of the household. She used to try to sing the Sponge Bob theme song. Then we stopped letting our kids watch t.v. She snaps her beak to sound like a person snapping their fingers. She also bobs up and down when she is excited OR when you ask her a "yes or no" question.
As much as she talks, I'm wondering when she is going to stop being afraid of new toys. How can such an intelligent animal be so fearful?
2 people like this
2 responses
@ZimaMcHotpants (63)
• United States
29 Aug 07
Well, it is fairly normal of them to be suspicious of new things. They are smart enough to not just take your word for it when it comes to the "alrightness" of something new. They need to figure it out for themselves. It's only that they are birds that we even take notice. All animals thrive best under consistency and routine, and do less well when things change. Humans are the same way. We don't like things different from us inherently, and most people would consider us pretty smart in terms of the animal kingdom! :)
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
30 Aug 07
after reading the 2 stories about the talking birds it makes me think of how amazing God is to creat thise beautiful talking animals. As for them being afraid of new toys maybe you should just put them in the room at firsst and gradually move them closers until they are right next to where34 your bird hang out at the most. Just a thought
@MamaJacci (16)
• United States
30 Aug 07
Yeah, you're right. God's design is pretty amazing. Also, the gradual introduction to new things is exactly what the expert trainers say to do. It is so funny watching her react to new things. My husband built a new cage for her a couple of years ago. This thing is like a giant birdie playground. It took about 2 months for her to venture off the perch next to her familiar food bowl. Every once in a while, we have to replace a perch after she chews it up. When that happens, she finds the perch farthest from the new one and stays there. If you try to put her on the new perch, she flutters to the bottom of the cage. She has never hurt herself. But sometimes, we worry.
1 person likes this
