| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Vintage Redhead |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 06:32:39 AM
Living in suburbia has it's moments. Most of the time, I find myself just annoyed by the "compactness" of everything -- too much traffic, too many stores, so many houses so close together. Sitting outside in the summertime evening is wonderful though - somehow I've learned to ignore the background drone of trucks and traffic noise (just not the planes. My house is in flight patterns for two airports...)
In the past few nights, we have discovered that one of our backyard neighbors has a bird, possibly a parrot, but definitely one of the "talking" birds. In the cool of the late afternoon and evening, they put it out on their back porch. Most of the time, we can hear it just saying "Hello" over and over.
The funny thing that we started hearing last night: the parrot barks like a dog! And not just any dog - this parrot is copying different dog barks from around the neighborhood!! It was absolutely hilarious last night listening to the parrot copying each different dog that barked. We are really excited to go out and listen for it again tonight - maybe with some of our neighbors who haven't heard it yet.
Just thought I'd share. It's just so darn funny - I wish there was a way to share it with y'all! ~ K
~ Kaylyn ~ (Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/
My Life: http://vintageredhead.blogspot.com |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| asnedecor |
Posted - Jun 15 2007 : 3:28:07 PM
Back in college my boyfriend at the time live in an apartment and across the way from his back patio was another apartment with a patio. At that apartment they had a big parrot - that would call the cat "here, kitty, kitty" and then it would meow. It was the funniest thing I ever heard. It is amazing what these birds pick up.
Anne in Portland
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them" Eyeore from Winnie the Pooh
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| lisamarie508 |
Posted - Jun 15 2007 : 2:19:12 PM
We have a pair of swallows that are quite entertaining. I don't remember which kind they are but the male is an almost irridescent blue with bright white from his chin to his butt. While they don't talk, they obviously have personalities.
Two years ago, I got a new birdhouse and I painted a design on it and then set it on a shelf on the outside of our garden shed. I intended to get back to it later to nail it up under the eaves of that shed. Two weeks later, I noticed a swallow go into it. My husband and I watched for several days as they were building their nest. We had to continually chase stray cats away who were very interested, too. We thought about hanging the house right away but were afraid it would disturb them and they would leave. So we continued to keep watch and guard them from the cats.
One morning we went outside and found the bird house on the ground. I was so upset to think a cat had knocked it down and ate them! I was almost in tears as I FINALLY hung the bird house in the hopes we would get another pair.
Later, that afternoon, they were back! The male (who I named George) was sitting on the perch of the birdhouse and calling to the female (named Gracie) who was sitting on the power lines 50 feet away. Gracie answered George but wouldn't come down. George called to her again and then she turned her back to him. George then went inside the house and called to her. She looked at him over her shoulder, answered him and turned back around. He sat in that bird house seemingly begging her to try it and got no response. It was obvious that Gracie wanted nothing to do with that house after a cat had knocked it down.
Finally, George gave up and they flew off. The next morning the whole scene played again as George tried to convince Gracie that the house was safe. This time, though, Gracie did 3 fly-by's but still refused to go in and went back up on the power line while George begged a little while longer. Again they left.
That afternoon they came back again and this time George sat on the power line while Gracie did 2 fly-by's and then finally went into the house. My husband and I cheered for George. She shuffled around in it for a minute or two and then poked her head out and called to George. He answered and then they flew off but came back with nesting materials.
They come back every year and we watch them raise two batches of babies every year, teaching them to fly and catch bugs. That part's really fun, watching all of them flying around darting and diving everywhere.
I just love birds. They are so entertaining and I love their calls. It's great watching and listening first thing in the morning and again after supper when they are the most active. Right now, their first batch of babies has just hatched and they are constantly flying in and out trying to keep them fed. We'll be watching the fledglings learn to fly soon.....
my blog: http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
We come from Nature, we go back to Nature; health & happiness in between requires intimacy with Nature. |
| dreamingofNC |
Posted - Jun 15 2007 : 1:27:41 PM
My mom has an eight year old African Grey female named Ali. That bird has a vocabulary of over 200 words and can use them in context correctly. She requests the foods she wants: Milk, Ice, Cantalope, Orange... She even told my mom the other day that there had been a bug in the kitchen--she just kept adamantly repeating the word bug when no one had said the word around her for days. She calls the dogs, rings like the telephone, and talks like different people that she's around (exactly like a human). She even calls her humans by name, except she calls my mom by my name since Mom uses my name a lot in conversation, so Ali thinks Mom's name is my name.
She was my dad's bird and lived at the airport office that my dad ran. She could even mimic the airport radio frequency--which could be ear splitting tones sometimes. My parents divorced, and my dad is away on business a lot, so Mom got custody.
The lifespan of African Greys is 30-50 years. Macaws can live up to 100.
We do have to be really careful of what we say because she's always listening. We had a cockatiel that died over 7 years ago, and Ali still mimics the words and songs that the cockatiel knew.
They are so smart it's like having a 3 year old child around. It's amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSDFzg8_Wfg
This grey, Einstein is completely legit. It's amazing.
This week my mom's bird has been singing Happy Birthday. |
| Carol Sue |
Posted - Jun 14 2007 : 01:43:37 AM
These bird stories are hilarious. To listen to all the different dog barks in the neighborhood is hysterical. I am sitting here laughting thinking about it. A good laugh is great medicine.
Carol Sue
Life is short, enjoy every moment. |
| Amie C. |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 12:44:12 PM
I listened to a songbird one morning on the fire escape in Philly. It ran through a number of different birdcalls, and then I started to recognize car alarms and cell phone ring tones!
I've heard that parrots can live 100 years...wouldn't it be funny to hear slang words from 70 to 100 years ago from the bird? |
| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 11:01:17 AM
Thanks for the funny bird stories! Sometimes, my dh has the cockatoo at his animal shelter call me on the phone.....I get some weird faces from students/teachers coming down my hallway, as I imitate bird's voice and we exchange 'hello's and 'How are you?'s
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 10:29:11 AM
I know my MIL loves talking birds and would probably love to get an African Grey. Since they can out live their humans, we would be the ones to recieve the Grey at that point. If we ever do get a bird, I would want it to have a room all to it's self, at least as big as my child's room.
Alee |
| Lavendar fields dreamer |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 08:51:00 AM
lmao
the bird calling the cat. sounds pretty risky for the bird if you ask me, doesnt it realize that cats hunt birds and eat them.
lol |
| KYgurlsrbest |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 08:34:42 AM
That's too cute! I love birds that can talk! Especially barking. How funny!!!!
There is a great artsy neighborhood near my office, called Mainstrasse Village, and there is a beautiful old civil war era brick, that has this enclosed porch. One day, while waiting for my date (my now husband), I kept hearing someone say, "Boy, you're pretty. Pretty pretty pretty." and "Whatcha doin?" "Whatcha doin" over and over. It sounded SO human--unbelievable, and, a little unnerving :) A lady came out of the house and I said, "someone up there is REAL talkative", and she said it was her two african parrots enjoying the weather on porch. If I didn't have 4 dogs and 3 cats, I think I'd have one!!!!
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." Margaret Atwood
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| UrbanChick |
Posted - Jun 13 2007 : 07:49:02 AM
Our bird copies the rooster down the street from us, but because he is so far away it sounds really faint so he makes a soft crowing sound. I know when to take the cover off his cage in the morning when I hear "err err err roooooo" softly coming from his cage. He will also say "here kitty,kitty,kitty" needless to say the cats no longer answer to that and I have to call them by their individual names if I want the to come to me.
"Courage dosen't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying: I will try again tomorrow." |
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