My granddaughter loves to visit our neighborhood pet store. Currently, she is hoping and praying for a hamster. I'm fairly certain her mother is riding this one out. So we visit the hamsters, and the cats, which her mother is also adamant about not adopting, as they just got an adorable dog last year, she works full time and has a two year old as well. None of this affects my granddaughter. She would own a zoo if she could.
This week we made our visit. This shop is known for exotic birds. There are every kind you could imagine. They are babysitting many birds each week as well. I'm fond of going around, and, you guessed it, talking to the birds, many of whom have good vocabularies. This time there was a huge parrot, bright emerald green with feathers of red and yellow, just out on a bird perch instead of in a cage. A little girl rushed up to us and said, "Look at this!". She kept saying hi and hello, and the bird greeted her back, but then he raised one claw and waved at us. He had me at the wave. So I stood there while my granddaughter walked around and talked to him and waved back.
Birds are extremely social, and when I'm in the store I try to make the rounds, talk to most of them, and read the cards so I know what words they've been taught. Often it's "pretty boy" or "how you doing?" but they all respond to a soft kind voice and make eye contact. They clearly appreciate my speaking to them. And they are obviously intelligent. What a pleasure to use my speech to connect with another species. They definitely appreciate my effort. It brightens their day. And mine. I can't forget the parrot waving. In fact, I might have to stop in today, by myself, and say hello.
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