Tribute to Alex

Alex, you will be greatly missed!

Spread your wings - fly free!

Alex, the African Grey passing away on Friday, 9/7/2007. I have been very sad since I've learned about Alex. It was because of Alex that my humans decided to adopt an African Grey Parrrot. They watched a show on TV about Alex and they fell in love! (Lucky for ME!)

Alex was a true pioneer and paved the way for the understanding of parrot intelligence, and I believe he is largely responsible for the better and more humane treatment that many parrots receive today because of that understanding. We still have a long way to go before all parrots receive the treatment they deserve, but Alex can rest knowing that he made a massive contribution to parrotkind.

The death of Alex is not only a great loss to the parrot community and the field of Avian research, but also for humans too! Dr. Pepperberg's research, which uses a training method called the model-rival technique, also holds promise for teaching autistic and other learning-disabled children who have difficulty learning language, numerical concepts and even empathy. So far, results using this learning technique with small groups of autistic children have been very promising.

Here is an excellent video produced by PBS about Alex.

Visit the The Alex Foundation for more information about the work being done.

So this is where we part, My Friend,

And you'll fly on around the bend,

Gone from sight but not from mind,

New pleasures there you'll surely find.

I will go on, I'll find the strength,

Life measures quality, not its length.

One long scritch before you leave,

Share one last look, before I grieve.

There are others, that much is true,

But they be they and they aren't you.

And I, fair, impartial, or so I thought

Will remember well all you've taught.

Your place I'll hold, you will be missed,

The feathers I stroked, the beak I kissed.

And as you go to your final rest,

Take with you this -- I loved you best.

~unknown author

The Drawer

This is my all time, new, favorite activity in the whole world! I LOVE TO PLAY IN THE KITCHEN DRAWERS! I will beg every day after lunch to go to the drawer! I get very noisy when I beg! Lots of bird sounds and I also say "I Love You!" ... Sweet-talking Marcia works every time!

Here is a picture of me begging!

When Marcia finally gets tired of me acting this way, she clears off the kitchen counter and empties a drawer next to the drawer where she keeps the kitchen towels. (She puts toys in the empty drawer for me to play with. You'll see what happens later!) I'm soooooo happy when I sit on the kitchen towel drawer! Then when she goes into another room, I crawl down and open the cabinet below. There's not much in the cabinet except boxes of dishes that she only uses at Christmas time.

Here I am, about to go into the cabinet! THIS IS SO FUN! When I'm in the dark cabinet, I pretend that it is a hollow in an old tree! A perfect place to build a nest if I lived in the wilds of Africa! I climb in and close the door behind me! Then I climb up and onto the side of the closed drawer that has a bunch of toys just for me. I perch myself on the edge of the drawer and have the best time shedding paper and all my toys! Then when Marcia comes back into the room, I crawl out of the cabinet via the towel drawer. In this picture, she opened up the other drawer to take a picture of what I had done! I'm so proud of my accomplishment!

I'm I building a nest? I dunno, but it sure is fun!

Watch this movie of me and my kitchen cabinet exploration:

I hope you enjoyed my drawer adventure as much as I do! See ya next time!