Truth is... I don't really have a lot of time to blog. You see I spend a good deal of the day playing with toys, eating, bothering my humans, and watching my humans clean up after me. See, it's not easy being a parrot! I'm noisy, I make a mess where ever I go, and I need to hang out with my humans as much as possible. I'm a flock animal! Unfortunately, most people just don't understand that! So they get a parrot... because the think "OH! How CUTE!" or "Gee! I would love a bird that TALKS!", then they put it in a cage and forget about it! SHAME ON YOU! (Sorry, I didn't mean to get emotional.) You see, we are really great to have as pets, but you REALLY need to know what you are getting into when you get a parrot. So... allow me to explain...
#1. How noisy is a parrot?
This is what a 5 year old Moluccan Cockatoo sounds like. Cockatoos, Macaws, Conures, Amazons, and African Greys are the top 5 loudest parrots.
#1. How noisy is a parrot?
This is what a 5 year old Moluccan Cockatoo sounds like. Cockatoos, Macaws, Conures, Amazons, and African Greys are the top 5 loudest parrots.
Loud enough for you? Now, granted we don't do this 24/7. But we often know when you are watching the news or a favorite TV show and we usually choose that time to exercise our voices. I'm not as noisy as some of these parrots, but I certainly can be annoying with my constant chatter!
#2. How messy is a parrot?
Think a 2 year old is messy? It's like having a 2 year old for the rest of your life!
Here is a picture of me having dinner! It was yummy too!
#3. I need YOU!
This is a hard one to explain, so bear with me. Parrots are among the most intelligent creatures on earth, and their 'intelligence scale' may very well be alongside the higher primates, or even, in some cases, in the range of a two to four year old HUMAN child! (Such a statement may startle some people, who think of parrots as only 'bird-brained' imitators of human speech.) In fact, parrots are socially and psychologically complex beings, and exhibit the same range of emotions that humans feel, like love, sensitivity, anger, frustration, revenge, humor, pain, sorrow, fear, loneliness, anxiety, excitement, happiness, anticipation, and, of course, sexuality. Dr. Irene Pepperberg has been studying the intelligence and reasoning abilities of the African Grey parrot for almost 30 years.
Like human children, parrots NEED to be held, to feel warmth and love. They NEED companionship in order to avoid loneliness and depression. They need reassurance and security. They need physical and intellectual interaction with their environment and with other creatures, in order to grow and learn and prosper. They need to escape boredom, and the frustrations of being kept in a cage for hours on end. They need good nutrition, and a sanitary environment...
The list of needs could go on and on, just as in the case of human children.
OK, I'm on my soapbox now! Don't believe me? Well, here is a picture of Lola.The list of needs could go on and on, just as in the case of human children.
I could go on and give you more examples, but if you want to learn more, do some Googling. Just Google: "Parrot abuse", "Parrot rescue", and/or "Parrot sanctuary".
What is a day like living with me? That will be the subject for my next post! Stay Tuned!
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