So I saw this parrot...

Published on May 13, 2006 By momijiki In Blogging

I saw this parrot one time when I was shopping at a department store. I think it was the pet section of Seibu in Shinjuku. Generally, I find department store pet shops quite depressing. But I really wanted an animal fix.

I walked in looked at a few pups and kitties, looked at various and sundry rodents, as well. There was a special area for the birds and I walked in and was quite taken with a beautiful pink and grey parrot. I don't know the English name, it was called something like "Peach colored Parrot" in Japanese. Of course, the pet shop named the bird, "Momo" which is "peach" in Japanese.

I spent some time talking with the parrot and it would cock it's head like it understood. My husband walked in and I said, "Isn't this the most amazing looking bird you've ever seen?" The parrot preened a bit and my husband looked at it.

My husband's comment to the bird was, "Baka!" which means "stupid" or "foolish" mainly depending on your tone of voice. Apparantly, "Baka" can also be fightin' words. The parrot was greatly offended and turned its back on us. My husband walked off and I stayed and looked at the bird amused that it turned it's back on someone who insulted it.

In order to make up for my husband's behavior I said "Momo-chan, kawai" to the parrot. This means "Momo is a cute parrot." The parrot turned its head around and shuffled around on the perch to face me and obviously wanting to hear more about how cute it was.

Then the shocking thing happened. I said goodbye (hubby waiting impatiently) and the bird raised it's foot and waved bye to me.

Wierd stuff, man. I heard that parrots are really smart. Obviously knew when it was being insulted or praised, but the waving good bye thing.... I don't care if it was trained or whatever. Really smart and freaky looking.

(I just looked up this bird... it wasn't a parrot. It was a cockatoo... a galah or rose breasted cockatoo and can be seen at this link
Link
I think it would be really fun to interact every day with an animal that smart. I don't, however, like the idea of living with a pet that can poo in high places.

My mom's friend does parrot rescue. She said a lot of people die before their parrots and don't provide for them in their will so the parrots are literally "homeless" and penniless. Provide for your parrot in the event of your untimely demise.

If I ever win the lottery and get a house with a solarium/greenhouse thingy attached, I will get a parrot. Then the bird can fly around and not have to live in the cage and hopefully, the bird poo will be easy to find/clean.

a nice link for people thinking about getting a parrot
Link

Comments

momijiki

on May 13, 2006

I just researched more about this Galah cockatoo. It produces some kind of powder for it's feathers which is really hard on people with allergies.

So nix the cockatoo. Apparantly, parrots don't have this powder thing going on.

Dr Guy

on May 13, 2006

Baretta had a Cockatoo on his show. They are smart birds! Thanks for the smile!

terpfan1980

on May 13, 2006

Birds can be amazing pets. I posted a few articles over time on some of the brood our family has. Several cockatiels, a few 'keets, a green cheek conure and a style of ring neck parrot (that a local pet store tells me is actually a species of parrotkeet, but I don't know what makes the technical difference, and from size alone, I'd call a parrot).

The ring neck we have is smart and entertaining in her own way. She loves french fries, pizza crust, bread, and potato chips and will occassionally do a thank you head bob after getting those treats.

The green cheek conure is a fascinating little critter that loves to hang up side down in his cage, walking on the roof of it that way. Watching him eat is kind of entertaining as he makes use of his claws to hold food items, rotating them this way and that, and getting a good grip on things. Before we got him (and later the ring neck which does the same thing) we didn't realize birds would use their claws in that manner, as the cockatiels and 'keets just use their beaks and nothing else when dealing with food.

The green cheek is our best communicator, though not a 'real' talker. He mumbles words, some of which are very intelligible, others of which you are left thinking you've just heard Kenny on South Park (who always mumbles and is almost never able to be understood).

In anycase, while birds can make great pets, they also can be a bigger obligation than people realize. Some species of birds can live for many, many years. If you ever think of getting one as a pet, get your homework done first, and find out how long your new pet will be with you. Also be aware that birds spit and flick seed hulls all over the place, and can be quite the little mess makers. Not quite as odorific as a cat with it's litter box, or as noisy as a puppy dog can be, but still something to be aware of and prepared for.

momijiki

on May 15, 2006

Nice bird stories! Your birds sound like a lot of fun.

My friend had a cockatiel that absolutely detested me. He would fly over near me, chirp as loud as possible then fly away and stomp off to underneath their couch chirping in irritation the whole way.

It was pretty funny to see a bird stompin' off.

Another friend had a cockatiel that adored me. I'd always visit him in the cage and he'd hop over to see me. One day he was flying free and he popped on to my shoulder. Cute, I thought, until he started to try to groom my eyelashes. I thought the bird was going to peck my eyes out! So of course I screamed in panic and nearly gave the poor beast a heart attack.

When my friend asked me what happened, I said, "George tried to peck my eye out!"

She said that he was just trying to be friends and groom my eyelashes. No one warned me that this was any kind of bird behavior. Even still, I don't want a bird grooming my eyelashes. Just way to high an ick factor for me.

Poor George didn't take much to me after that. But at least he wasn't as scoldy as that other cockatiel.

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