Any one that has ever owned an African Grey Parrot will completely relate to this article. If you have ever owned a parrot, you will be able to relate to a certain degree, but not as much as if you had ever had the privilege of keeping company with one of these amazing birds.
All birds have a sort of amusement about them otherwise, why would we ever put up with the seed throwing, water splashing, dander spreading and feather molting beings! Many species swing from their toys, say “hello” and “I love you,” but none can out do the African Grey. This amazing bird actually associates the words they imitate with the current situation. For instance, my female “Mimmie” would always ask if the food was good when ever we ate at the dining room table or even if I was just in the kitchen preparing something. You know it's really scary when you begin to answer the bird back, “yes, Mimmie, this is really good.”
My male, “Swinger” would start his morning out making phone calls. It would go like this: beep, beep, beep…seven times, the same as dialing a local number, then he would make the perfect ringing noise and proceed to answer the phone. “Yes, hello;” then not being able to truly carry on a real conversation, it would be his mumbling interpretation, capped off by, “well, thank you very much, bye, bye,” His normal routine was to make several of theses speaker phone calls each morning.
They are such amazing birds; they imitate everything from water noises to the cat's meow, the bark of the dog, even the sipping of coffee and the cup being placed back on the table. And can they whistle; any thing from the cavalry charge to the opening trumpet call at the races. But, just imagine how funny it is to hear a bird say, “here kitty, kitty, kitty!”
When ever I'd be getting ready to leave the house, they somehow knew and would begin to say, “Bye-bye, well, bye-bye.”
The most amazing is their thought process and word association. One day I was in the living room and I heard a knock on the front door. When I opened the door and saw no one there, the birds started to laugh at me! Can you ever imagine being made fun of by a couple of birds?!
The stories could continue on but, some are not necessarily appropriate to share in this context. As I said, they imitate EVERYTHING! So, if you're thinking about getting one of these amazing birds, just be certain all that you say is something worth repeating!
