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spiritbird
10-15-2013, 10:07 PM
I was watching a PBS show where there was a team of people testing this question with crows. Two men put on scary masks and acted nasty while walking in a park where the crows were located. Then those same men removed the mask and walked the same route in the park. The men continued to do this for a few hours and when they saw the masked men they gave a warning call to other crows. My point here is I am sure our birds recognize us because they see us every day. Sometimes I put on a hat or scarf and at first my birds are not sure of who I am. This was part of socialization training, something the wild birds do not get. The doves and other small birds I am feeding outside see me through the window and do not seem as scared of me as they were a few week ago. Any thoughts on this??

Pinkbirdy
10-16-2013, 12:34 AM
My birds seem to really act like they know you or not .I wear reading glasses sometimes and they still know me.

ShellyBorg
10-16-2013, 01:02 AM
I wore a hat yesterday that no one had seen before. Did not faze any one here.

Mare
10-16-2013, 02:55 AM
My birds are definitely sensitive when someone they don't know comes around. They always act the same towards the familiar regardless of what we wear or how we look. I always tell new people, when they act uncomfortable around Sassy in the house or Amigo outside, not to worry, you're safe until they get to know you! :th_biggrin:

Turquoise
10-16-2013, 03:03 AM
Not sure how much in reference to the crows was recognizing the men without the masks or just their natural defense tactics to warn others of impending danger. I lean more toward the crows would have given the warning call even if it were two women walking through the park after the men had scared the crows with masks. My personal opinion of how I think wild birds react to danger.

As far as my birds, I know mine recognize me no matter what I wear & they recognize my hubby as: 'The Other'. Only Roscoe has been very leery of my son Jory since he has been here for these few days. The other birds were a bit cautious at first, but now treat him as: 'The Other~Other'. Roscoe is still apprehensive about coming out to play, but I know he will be fine once the house & routine is back to it's crazy 'Pre~Other~Other' stage.

I am totally certain that if Angel could see his breeder who he was very bonded to before coming to live with me, he would remember her & want to go live with her tho it has been close to two years since he has saw her. I don't think our parrots ever forget favorite people in their lives no matter how many years have passed. So, yes I do believe birds recognize certain people for some significant reasons they impacted their lives.

Mare
10-16-2013, 03:29 AM
My husband was telling me about this program he saw on a close subject to this. It was an experiment done on a busy college campus where two men disturbed a nesting birds nest. I don't recall what kind of birds but after that, when ever these men walked this path past the tree with many other students, these birds picked them out specifically and flew at them in an aggressive way. I find it amazing that they could pick them out of a crowd, every time.

spiritbird
10-16-2013, 01:15 PM
Many bird people have said we do not give birds enough credit for how smart they are. Prey animals have to be smart.

Debra
10-16-2013, 02:18 PM
A couple of years ago, I had long hair with a perm in it. One day I was sick and tired of it so I went and got it all cut off. Little Amber turned aggressive towards me until she realized it was me -- about a week later.

Honesty
10-16-2013, 02:42 PM
I swear Codie would recognize me even if I had a suit of armour on. He even knows it is me as soon as I come in the front door. He must know my footsteps LOL

Blancaej
10-19-2013, 02:53 PM
I definitely think they recognize us and so much more! I've been told Quincy and Savannah start making noise when my car pulls in the driveway! LOL!

spiritbird
10-19-2013, 04:26 PM
Does any have any wild birds in your area that you think are used to seeing you?

Blancaej
10-19-2013, 04:38 PM
We have Robins that always try to nest in my car port. We have to chase them out every year because the poop all over my car. I think they remember us, when they see us coming, they stop trying to nest in there. LOL! They do it ouside of the house now and seem happy!

Debra
10-19-2013, 04:56 PM
My wild birds aren't as flighty as they were when we first built our feeding station. I can almost walk up to some and now they just go to the nearest trees and watch me fill their feeders. Same with the squirrels. They even know my car and don't fly far when I drive in. I'm waiting for the day they come knocking on my door because their feeders are empty. Lol

spiritbird
10-19-2013, 05:20 PM
You would never have empty bird feeders! I think they get used too us being there too. Do fill the feeders when it is going to or is raining? I am finding a mess if the seed gets wet.

Debra
10-19-2013, 05:33 PM
Yeah they eat when it's raining. We usually move the feeders to the porch when it rains. They watch us so they know where their food is and they enjoy their meal out of the rain. We don't spoil them much. LOL.

kendrafitz
10-19-2013, 07:06 PM
I think that Rosie does without a doubt. She is a shy girl, which amuses me bc it never occurred to me that a bird could be shy. If someone that she doesn't see regularly comes over, she clams up. She has even gone so far as to hide by hanging off my back or by sticking her head under my hair. I guess she is like an ostrich, figures no one can see her if she can't see them. ;)

Boggiebird
10-29-2013, 04:06 PM
Ok this is a little long so bare with me It will be worth the read and answer the question. My friend Tom Q owned a yellow napped Amazon named Barney he was an amazing bird with a vocabulary to match, He knew many songs in full and row row your boat was banned from the household. Tom wanted to teach Barney "Hello Dolly" after listening many times we guest Barney couldn't figure out who "Dolly" was so he sang {Well hello Barney well hello Barney instead but learned the entire song. Many years later due to his job Tom had to go to Austriala and was gone for 9 months leaving Barney with a friend. After his long flight home and a taxi ride H made to to the friends house to collect Barney and when he walked into the living room and saw the bird he heard the refrain { IT"S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!} So you tell me did Barney not only recognize his owner but pick out the one line from a song he knew to describe how he felt after 9 months seperation . Or just a mimic?

Honesty
10-29-2013, 04:50 PM
Ok this is a little long so bare with me It will be worth the read and answer the question. My friend Tom Q owned a yellow napped Amazon named Barney he was an amazing bird with a vocabulary to match, He knew many songs in full and row row your boat was banned from the household. Tom wanted to teach Barney "Hello Dolly" after listening many times we guest Barney couldn't figure out who "Dolly" was so he sang {Well hello Barney well hello Barney instead but learned the entire song. Many years later due to his job Tom had to go to Austriala and was gone for 9 months leaving Barney with a friend. After his long flight home and a taxi ride H made to to the friends house to collect Barney and when he walked into the living room and saw the bird he heard the refrain { IT"S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!} So you tell me did Barney not only recognize his owner but pick out the one line from a song he knew to describe how he felt after 9 months seperation . Or just a mimic?Thats an amazing story James. I think this has answered everyones questions :) :thanks4sharingthumbthis with us!

spiritbird
10-29-2013, 04:53 PM
James that is an amazing bird! Time and time again we hear stores or whiteness how intelligent parrots can be.

Feathers First Aviary
10-30-2013, 12:03 AM
I don't think birds are given nearly enough credit. I absolutely believe they recognize people and choose their favorites, and those favorite people may change if there is a dramatic or even traumatic experience, for instance, growing up my grandmother had a goffins too, this bird hated me with a passion, I would clean her cage for my grandma and I would literally have to wear a sweatshirt just to take the brunt of her beak! After my granda passed away I took the bird and it was like a switch was flipped, suddenly, she hated everyone but me and I was now allowed to do pretty much anything with her and really never had to worry about any sort of aggressive or defensive behavior again, strange, right?

Our bfa is wild caught and was kept locked in his cage for over six years when we got him, the main thing his old owners told us was that he hated men. Fast forward three months or so into him living with us and he doesn't care much for me( I am definitely the "other" in this situation, but he will fly to my husbands shoulder. He is one of the birds that hates hats, I don't think its that he thinks its a different person, I think he just feels threatened by hats. He loves my husband but if he walks but him with a hat on he will literally fly to his head and attack the hat.

I also tend to wear darker clothes and almost never wear white shirts. Since we were pirates last weekend for a halloween party I had on a bright white shirt, when I walked into the breeder room to check food and water bowls before we headed out they all freaked for a minute when I walked in the door, the same has happened while walking into both of my bird rooms wearing hot pink pajama pants. I have been wanting to dye my hair blue again for a couple years and now that I fully work for myself I am able to but I have worried about how the birds would react to it. Its one of those things where I really want to do it but not at the cost of possibly ruining my relationship with our fids, maybe ill have to do a test run with a wig first :p

And you may call me crazy on this one but I do believe some birds will use words in context. On many occassions, someone will tell a joke and before any people have a chance to laugh at the joke, or just a funny quip or what have you, pretty boy(the bfa, he came with the name lol) will start laughing. I have watched him do it over and over, he will laugh when you say something funny, even if no one else has laughed yet. The U2 that we babysit long term has also surprised me with some interesting dialogue. I was cuddling with him one day, he is a big cuddler, and I told him, I'm sorry sweety, I have to put you back, I have to run out to the store, he just leaned against me harder and said "I love you!" ....wanna talk about melting your heart, right? Needless to say he got a few more minutes of cuddles before I put him back in his cage. :p

Sorry for the long post and for any typos, I'm posting from my phone and it doesn't always cooperate with me

spiritbird
10-30-2013, 01:51 PM
Please do n not feel sorry for a long post. Every words you write is wonderful. My EB Chipper is a real talker as most of you know. he is putting his words together now and last evening he said something so dang cute "give Mommy a pretty kiss". The only word I taught him was kiss. Guess he picked up the rest of it from listening to causal conversations.

Turquoise
10-31-2013, 12:57 AM
I just love reading all of these examples of our feathered kids and their perfect timing with 'right on' conversations that never miss a beat! :th_hug8:

James that is such a touching story about your friend's Zon and his ability to recognize his best buddy. Then show him just how much with a fitting song verse. Sara, I love your descriptions of your Grandma's Too and then her change when she only had you as a familiar face once her world changed. These are the stories that make the cleaning and cooking and listening to the noisy parts of the day with our feathered kids all worth it! :)

Anyone who hasn't added their input or awesome stories yet, will you please come over & let us hear all about your amazing birds!! And everyone who has already donated their input, go ahead & add more. I know each & everyone of us has lots of these stories still within us to tell.:th_biggrin:

Sharing stories with family, flock and friends is a way to keep the stories alive. If we keep the stories within in us they leave this earth when we do and will never be able to be told and passed on. Like I said in another thread about favorite movies, one of my all time favs is "Dream Keeper" and although it is about keeping the Native stories alive within the circle of life and passing them on, it fits quite well with our beloved stories of our favorite subjects here~~Our Parrots.:th_heart: