The relationship between humans and parrots can be surprisingly profound

https://www.topic.com/birds-of-a-feather

by kawera • 8 years ago

91 28 8 years ago

drukenemo• 8 years ago

I love parrots, but have always thought that it's mean to remove a bird from its natural habitat.

From its social habitat- agreed. Parrots are suprisingly human- even when it comes to habbitats. Those birds leave no tree left alive. The natural environment if unchecked is a dessert.

perl4ever• 8 years ago

I did a double take and then a triple take on that last sentence. I can't decide if you mean "desert" or "dessert". Either kind of work.

onychomys• 8 years ago

I worked in the Pepperberg lab as an undergrad. They are amazing animals, and working there was a wonderful experience, but I'd never have one as a pet. They're basically like 2 year olds in their behavior - selfish, demanding, destructive. Imagine having a toddler in your house every day for 60 years. It'd be brutal.

paulcole• 8 years ago

I used to take pet sit for two parrots. One African Grey and one Jardine.

The Jardine was so friendly and chill. Would hang upside down on my finger and loved being rubbed.

The African Grey was dedicated to causing as much trouble as he could. His favorite trick was imitating the sound of the cat jumping on the piano so you'd yell at the cat.

The old lady who owned them died and they ended up willed to her kids. I can't even imagine inflicting that on anyone.

ocdtrekkie• 8 years ago

For what it's worth, there's a huge difference in how a parrot acts with its owner than "another human", and I'm very curious how a lab environment would affect that compared to a home.

In the case of a parrot of my father's, the bird was incredibly well-behaved for my dad, but absolutely refused to get along with any other humans. After a number of years of invested effort, I got to the point she would tolerate me solely when my dad was out of town... to the point that when taking care of her she'd want to sit on my shoulder for a while. ...But the very moment my dad walked back in the door, I was persona non grata again.

From my understanding, the tendency of a parrot to bond to one person is pretty strong.

drpgq• 8 years ago

That sounds like a few of mother’s cats over the years

logfromblammo2• 8 years ago

My mother has a caique. He likes to play "jokes" that are really only funny to him. These include biting the web between your fingers hard enough that it hurts, but not hard enough to make you bleed; and pooping hard at an angle, so that it clears the newspapers and metal barrier and hits the floor. Then he laughs.

He basically gets an unending series of toys specifically designed to be destroyed by parrots, and they get swapped out whenever they deteriorate enough to be dangerous.

In contrast, I have a terrapin, who still hasn't finished chewing through her first cuttlebone, and who couldn't care less if you left her alone with her ceramic heater for weeks on end. The worst thing she does is to poop in her walk-in water dish.

Imagine having a roommate that's perfectly quiet, keeps all their stuff tidy, and is generally almost unnoticeable every day for 80 years, except they sometimes poop in the sink or vanish for weeks on end during the winter because they're sleeping in their own refrigerator. Oh, and they don't pay rent. Now imagine having a roommate that does stuff like grab the sandwich out of your hand as you are eating it, take a big bite as you watch, and throw the rest on the floor. And they don't pay rent. Seems like an easy choice, right? But you're never going to tell any fun stories about the first roommate.

ams6110• 8 years ago

Imagine having a roommate that's perfectly quiet, keeps all their stuff tidy, and is generally almost unnoticeable every day for 80 years

What's the point of a pet like that? I really don't understand keeping fish, reptiles, or rodents. Pets are a major hassle, though for some the companionship is worth it. But fish and lizards don't really provide companionship.

scarecrowbob2• 8 years ago

I agree with you.

To add in another reason why I get a little sad every time I visiting my buddy and his parrot:

I can't imagine locking a 3 year old in a cage every day and leaving for work for work. That's brutal on both sides.

krageon• 8 years ago

You realise that cages for babies are literally a thing already? The only difference is the top is open because actual children cannot fly.

gerbilly• 8 years ago

They are beautiful, but I wouldn't want to own one.

I think it's fine to own pets, but it's probably better for the human and the animal if we stick to long domesticated species that seem to like spending time with us: cats dogs and maybe some 'easy' birds like cocktails.

When you stick with cats and dogs especially, it's easier to interpret their behaviour and veterinary care is more straightforward.

Parrots seem to me to have much more complex needs than we can easily fulfil as humans.

js2• 8 years ago

A close childhood friend had a pet parrot. And for a time, my parents-in-law kept more than a dozen. I'll stick with dogs thanks. Even cats are too much for me. Apropos, This American Life (Feb 23, 2018) recently aired this:

Veronica Chater explains the conflict in her house between her love for her pet macaw—a kind of parrot—and her love for her husband and three kids. The macaw wreaks a sort of low-level chaos in the house, because it wants Veronica all to itself. (10 minutes)

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/639/in-dog-we-trust/act-two...

kbutler• 8 years ago

I'll stick with dogs thanks. Even cats are too much for me.

Dogs are much higher maintenance than cats.

charleyma• 8 years ago

One of my friend's parents owns a parrot and I didn't believe it when she told me their Macaw could live up to 80 years. I can't imagine having a pet live for a lifetime...

coding123• 8 years ago

The pictures in that article are incredible. See the one at about 50% of the way down (yellow parrot coming at the camera). Wow

tzs• 8 years ago

FYI for those with Amazon Prime, Irene Pepperberg's book "Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence-and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process" was added to Prime Reading a week ago.

dejv• 8 years ago

I used to work at place where one coworker did bring his own parrot everyday.

He was interesting animal: he could roam the offices freely, he had people he liked, people he dislike and people he liked to tease (like making notification sounds or phone ringtones), he also liked to sit by window and barked on cats outside.

They said those parrots have mind of two year old baby, having that old kid right now I must say it is quite accurate.

itdaniher• 8 years ago

I have a rescue Cockatiel I inherited from my late grandfather. He's a poor excuse for a parrot, but a great pet and 10/10 work-from-home friend. Flies from his house, sits on my monitor, bows his head expecting headpats.

Don't rule out feathered friends - there's a continuum of intelligence and dependency ranging from finches (simple lil robots, a'la fish) to African Grays (3yo intelligence as discussed) - I've found my 'tiel to be in the sweet spot - intelligent enough to have his favorite people, not so smart as to constantly demand attention.

existencebox• 8 years ago

Got a cockatiel when I was... very very young. Maybe 4-5? It's nearing 30 years old now. I chuckle that you call it the "Sweet spot" since frankly, I don't think I could own one in good concience again (at least until I'm much older.)

When I moved out for college, my mom basically took over "mothering" the bird, and in hindsight I'd have been horrible to it in _any_ other situation. My mom has a lifestyle that lets her be at home with it most of the day, lets it out to fly around almost constantly, makes sure it has things to occupy it/companionship, and as a result it's aged beautifully. That being said, it requires significant amounts of aformentioned attention, (I'd even argue BECAUSE It's so smart it constantly likes bothering people, even when very young it figured out a half dozen ways to escape its cage, including lifting a slat off the outside of the cage _from the inside_, pushing a food dish out its hole, then climbing out after it, and was savvy enough to do this only when we weren't watching) and more than just attention, patience. If you give too much of a response to its teasing/let it "take advantage of you" (e.g. not enforcing a bedtime, since it will absolutely try to run away, yell at you, and nip at your fingers if it wants to stay up later) it'll absolutely learn this and leverage it more in the future. "Parenting" certainly seems fair for owning one of these animals.

I love that grumpy little fluffball so much, but after watching how hard it was to adapt from being bonded with me when I moved out, I've come to the realization that one has to really be ready for a long term commitment that often goes beyond what most people think of as "a pet" to give these birds the home they deserve.

geebee• 8 years ago

People often discuss intelligence in a pet as an unqualified positive, and I understand it. We like to interact with pets, and the more human like intelligence they have, the more easily we can relate to them. Intelligence is of course something we value, but I do think we overlook how it can become a problem as well.

I have heard some parrot owners speak dismissively or disparagingly of the cockatiel's intelligence, but like you I think they are a good balance for avian pets. They're cute, curious little creatures. They aren't notably good talkers (though they can semi-pronounce a few words). They are good singers and can learn a few tunes, though they tend to warble and free form after the first seven or so notes (I find this endearing). I also find that cockatiels are more physically affectionate than many parrots with a wider range of people, and are less prone to bonding exclusively to one person to the angry, biting rejection of anyone else (one theory is that this is because they're more migratory and need to form more relationships than many parrots). Just to be clear, cockatiels do have their personal preferences and bond, but I grew up with 'tiels, and they all readily accepted extensive head scitches from every member of the family and people they recently met.

They aren't in the same league as many parrots in terms of intelligence.

Overall, having grown up with cockatiels... well, it's hard to know what's going on in their heads, but they do seem happy. We always allowed ours to be flighted (tougher with larger birds), and they all got a lot of attention which is pretty critical.

In spite of the positive words here, I am 50-50 on even cockatiels as pets. I just don't think people understand how many decades of commitment they really do take.

MandieD• 8 years ago

I loved my little maroon-bellied conure and miss her greatly, but frankly, cockatiels are better pets. Sassy was many good things, but “sweet” and “even-tempered” were not among them.

Sometimes she was estatically happy, other times she wanted to take my fingers off and didn’t only because her beak was too small. And she could make that shift with little or no notice. She was able to open any cage fastening that did not require a key or human grip. All this in a bird most people would think was a funny-colored budgie.

I’m not sure about keeping parrots of any size again, at least until I’m retired or it looks like remote working will be the norm for a long time - and then, I’d lean towards cockatiels, and definitely rescues.

creep• 8 years ago

I've always liked birds. Magpies and crows of course are common where I live, and they are really quite intelligent. I always try to interact with them. The magpies respond to me sometimes, and sometimes follow me for a while if I've said something to them and I'm walking. Maybe I look nuts trying to talk to birds, but they know you're "talking" towards them, unlike some other common city animals (jackrabbits where I live) who assume you might be trying to harm them.

mark_l_watson• 8 years ago

I have had a Meyers Parrot for 15 years. He is a lot of work but I really enjoy having him as a pet.

Please, please don’t get a parrot unless you have an hour or two a day to spend time with them. Parrots need lots of attention. Especially good is setting up puzzles, hiding things for them to find, etc.

The relationship between humans and parrots can be surprisingly profound

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