I spent some time yesterday talking to birds in the pet store. My granddaughter was oogling the bunnies, but I struck up conversations with Paris and Fern. Paris is a large gray cockatoo with bright orange feathers in his tail. He can say "Hello", "Hello Paris" and "Hello Sweetie". He was intent on my talking to him, absolutely riveted. "Fern" is a bright green smaller bird with neon yellow feathers underneath. She can dance and bob her head and knows her name, but whistles back at you when you speak to her. Her whistle is shrill and about as startling as a siren. These birds are hugely social and delight in conversation. The pleasure is in engaging them and recognizing them as intelligent creatures.
I love my visits with the birds, and marvel at their beauty and friendliness. There are always visiting birds as well as ones for sale, so the variety is endless, and the owners appreciate any help socializing with them. Whenever we go, we are at least 30 minutes in the store, with my granddaughter enraptured with the bunnies, cats and guinea pigs, while I am a bird person all the way. I've never had a bird, except hurt birds we tried to rescue, but my grandmother had parakeets and my brother had cockatoos and peach faced lovebirds. I don't want one as a pet, because the thought of it being unable to fly free is too disturbing to me. Also, they are delicate and can't be in drafts. But visiting them and having an intelligent conversation is delightful.
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