Alex was also able to deal with abstracts and was good at problem-solving. Pepperberg was able to exchange thoughts with Alex. I believed she proved to any non-believers that birds can do much more than mimic, they can communicate.
I never taught a bird to talk by repeating a phrase or word over and over. I taught simply by example. I would talk to the bird, ask questions, describe what I was doing while going about my daily activities.
When I was a young child we had a parakeet. I am not really sure whose pet it was but remembering back it was my mother who spent the most time with him.
She would repeat a phrase over and over again, and that is exactly what Blueboy did, said the same thing, over and over again; pretty bird, Blueboy, pretty bird, Blueboy. That is why you teach communication, not repetition.
One of my first parrots was a hand-fed baby. I would spend hours a day with this bird. Even if I couldn’t spend one on one time with him, even if I was just cleaning house I would always talk to the bird. I just simply described what I saw, depicted what I was doing, asked him questions, though it was a while until I saw the results of my efforts.
When I put the cage cover over the cage during the night, I would sit close by and listen. In the sweetest, lowest voice imaginable I could hear this bird mumbling to himself, over and over, mumble mutter until he went to sleep. He was practicing speech. I also didn’t recognize any formed words in the mutters. It was a while until he uttered his first words. However, as the nights went by I could hear more variations in tone and inflections in his mutters.
BIRD TALK
I had an exhausting day between my two toddlers and work. I had the kids bathed and down for the night. I tucked my parrot in for the night and told him how much I loved him. While putting the cover over the cage I asked him how his day went and told him about my day. He seemed a little huffy because we weren't able to spend as much time together as we usually did, but we made up and I went to bed.
My bird and I had a pretty set pattern beginning each morning. The first thing I would do would be to uncover his cage. During the morning routine, I voiced everything I was doing. Things like, "let’s get your cage door opened, and I will go get you some fresh food and water". I would ask him questions; do you want to go outside with me today? Or, would you like to go for a ride in the car today? I voiced everything.
The next morning I did something I rarely did. I slept in and it felt great. Something woke me out of a deep sleep. I set up and listened. My parrot repeated what he had just said, I thought I was dreaming. “Come here and open this darn door, now!” I had been late getting him up. He had never heard those words in that sentence before. I am sure with all my vocalizations he had heard every one of those words in different sentences.
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