My experience with parrots is limited to a young, smart, entertaining miniature macaw. He came to our family as a gift from a relative, via a North Carolina breeder, already trained to say a few meaningful phrases. One of those was, "Poop, good boy!" because that meant if we'd put him on his cage he would indeed poop. Immediately after that he would say, "Good boy, up!" meaning please carry me around again. Jinx loved to ride around the house on a shoulder and cuddle into the curve of a neck. He had an enormous cage, set in front of a large window for his viewing of the world, and with many toys in it, but he favored being on top of the cage or being with his people. He was extremely social and enjoyed any interaction we gave him. When he felt especially affectionate, he would vocalize, "I love you. Kiss, kiss!" And he would very gently give kisses.
He soon learned more words. If the house was quiet and we were at the computer, watching TV, correcting school papers, or reading, he would ask, "What are you doing?" When we answered, he would say, "Oh!" as if he understood.
One of his favorite things was water. Hearing the kitchen faucet running, Jinx would run across the top of his cage and call out, "Water, water!" Of course that meant he wanted to be on a hand and have access to dunking himself in the waterfall of the faucet. If I placed a bowl of water on top of his cage, Jinx would eye the bowl and exclaim, "Water!" Then he would race through the water from every possible direction, and finally he would settle in the bowl, fluttering his wings, immersing his breast, and preening his feathers. Once when I was showering, my husband opened the shower door and stuck his arm, with Jinx on it, into the shower. Eyeing me and the water, with his body bobbing rapidly up and down, Jinx asked, "What are you doing?" I replied that I was showering. He cooed, "Ooooooh!" with charm. How hilarious that scene was! From that time on, "Water" and "Shower" were interchangable words in his vocabulary.
As soon as he heard the keys jingling in the morning before we left for work, Jinx would call out "Bye-bye!" When we returned from work, he would greet us with, "Hello!" If after the nightly news, we stayed up with the lights on, Jinx would loudly start repeating, "Good night!" until we turned off the lights and went to bed. He never needed a blanket over his cage to keep him quiet at night and often took naps in the daytime. When he heard us stirring in the morning, he would softly call, "Good morning!" When the canned laughter of sit-coms blared, Jinx would imitate it in a cackling, raucous sound. If the phone rang, Jinx would say, "Hello!" until we answered, and during the actual conversation he would chatter nonstop nonsense, until the conversation ended.
Jinx's favorite food was banana. He quickly learned the phrase, "Banana, mmmmm good!" He ran through a maze of PVC pipes on top of his cage and exclaimed "Peek-a-boo!" when he emerged. What fond memories we have of him!
Jinx wasn't a squawking, screaming bird, but he knew how to imitate, thrived on attention, and needed to be social. His bad habits involved his beak. His curiosity and instinct led him to crush several necklaces and buttons, and he liked to grab earrings, too. Gold, silver, and stones especiallly attracted him. He also would grab a finger once in a while, but squeezing his beak near the nostrils broke him of that pretty well.
Unfortunately after a few years, I developed asthma from Jinx and returned him to his gracious previous owner. When we took him to the airport, he peered intently at us through the opening in his kennel and said, "Bye-bye!" He was such a smart little guy, only about 5 years old when we parted with him. I'm lucky to have had him in my life for the few years he stayed, and I would recommend a miniature macaw to anyone with time to spend with such an endearing bird.
Pam
