My husband and I are parents to three parrots, an African Grey, female Eclectus and White Bellied Caique. Bird lovers are a fascinating group of people, and it turns out I am a total bird person. I'll bore you with details of their every movement in play, and try and entertain you with what I think are hysterical story. Pretty much like any mom! In case you're not a bird person let me give you a quick lesson in why parrots rule!
Our Grey is our talker. All grey in color, with bright red tail feathers the African Grey is known more for speech and intellect than their looks. His vocabulary is one hundred words plus, and he has a knack for choosing chatter to fit the situation. When I walk into their room to uncover them in the morning he greets me with a sing-songy “Good morning!” followed by a hearty “Time for breakfast!” As timid as he is talkative he is nervous of new things and new people, but as he warms to you he'll greet you with a dancing head bob and flutter of wings when you walk into the room. If he's connected a phrase to you, he'll say it for you when he sees you. He doesn't play as much as our other two; his interests lay in speaking, watching us and generally being part of the flock. He's our little smarty-pants. Rodney is nine years old.
Our Eclectus is the beauty of the house. The female Eclectus is red, the male is green. Our Ekkie has beautiful red feathers on her head and chest, suddenly changing to rich blue halfway down her front. Her wings are a darker red, and the feathers underneath are a gorgeous bluish-green. Her eyes are jet black, rimmed with the smallest line of blue and they have a way of looking right through you. She is a looker for sure. The Eclectus can also have great speech; however our girl has chosen not to talk. She loves to wolf-whistle, and says "Hello!" now and then, but that's about it. She loves her showers, loves to play and is as tame and gentle as can be. To this day she has yet to bite anyone. Lucy is six years old.
Our White-Bellied Caique is our rowdy toddler. Known for their endless play and hyper movements the Caique is non-stop entertainment. One second he's swinging from a rope, the next second he's bounding to the other side of his cage to frantically gnaw on his chew toys. Caique's are not great talkers, but they will learn to utter a few phrases. Along with laughing and making kissy noises, he will loudly ask the room, “What's your name?!” and “Whatcha doin'?!” He longs to be with us all the time; however he can happily amuse himself when you finally peel him off of you. When he's not safely locked in his cage he's the bird we need to keep our eye on. At any given moment this Caique will escape and zoom across the floor to discover something new to chew on and figure out. It's impossible not to smile when you're watching him; he's clearly our house favorite. Dice is four years old.
I'm telling you, birds are more entertaining and interactive than most people realize, in short - they rule!
