roxynoodle
04-20-2013, 02:57 PM
Merlin is my 22 year old female CAG I adopted 16 months ago. She has a unique attribute in that she is nearly blind.
She can learn to imitate any sound she likes I think. I had always read about the talking ability and hadn't realized they were master mimics period. Merlin isn't much of a talker but can imitate what I estimate to be about 75 sounds. Yes, she loves high pitched and annoying ones like the fire alarm, "code blue" (medical monitoring equipment that she learned because I watch House), an ambulance, dog squeaky toys, whistles. She also loves doing bodily function sounds and can do 7 or 8 different farts. She will also make a disgusting belch sound right in my face and then do a deep belly laugh (ha ha ha! Ho ho ho!) She also expects me to imitate them all back and it's rarely under an hour before she tires of that game And she tries to teach me, so if I don't do a good enough imitation she will keep doing the same sound over and over until I either meet her approval or she gives up on me for the time being. We also seem to have developed our own nonsensical language that we speak to each other. I think that developed from my imitation back of the squeaky car brakes, lol! It just kept developing into it's own Merlin/Audrey language that if others heard us speaking would question my mental status
She isn't terribly fond of other birds and is intensely jealous of other Greys or African species. She gets very angry if I even watch a video of them. I can't say for certain but I have the impression she considers herself "above" my S. American birds and other non Greys.
She is intensely bonded to me, and extremely affectionate, but I know many Greys are not Velcro birds. She will sit on me for as long as I let her, with her beak pressed against my face, demanding I pet and scritch her. The only other thing she loves as much is food. She is quite the piggy and loves to eat. And speaking of eating, she is especially happy if I hold pieces of apple for her or feed her from a spoon. She also trained me to pick up her water dish and hold it for her so she didn't have to bend over as far I did not realize at first I was being trained
She is one of the greatest manipulators I've ever known, human or non human. She knows exactly how to play me by being cute and sweet about it (no temper tantrums from Merlin; she knows you catch more bees with honey). Aside from the water bowl, she will also flatten herself against me when it's time to go back to her cage so I can't get a hand under her. She will also go to my shoulder with her butt to my face and her head on my upper arm to flatten herself as I can't really get either hand in front of her. Then she will jump off me onto the couch and bend her head for more scritches and give me the biggest puppy dog eyes. Then often when I go to place her on a perch, she will quickly run up my arm and bury her face in my chest and give me the puppy dog eyes and beg for more cuddle and petting. She has another where she hangs on the cage bars perfectly still, with her head cocked giving me that sappy look until I come over and kiss her. It's impossible to resist and it gets me every time
When she wants to dance, she gets my attention and then does a couple of dance steps and looks toward where she knows I am, and expects me then to sing for her until she doesn't feel like dancing anymore.
She is my heart and I don't mind meeting all her demands However, I am often up sick all night and need to nap in the afternoon. My other birds can see so they know I'm napping and will let me until it's afternoon snack time. Merlin can't see so she doesn't know and often as soon as I lay down I hear, "Whoo!" and then she wants to play the sound imitation game. I love her so much it's ok though. I'm used to not sleeping
I have to wear safety goggles when I cuddle with her to keep her from preening my eyes.
155
She can learn to imitate any sound she likes I think. I had always read about the talking ability and hadn't realized they were master mimics period. Merlin isn't much of a talker but can imitate what I estimate to be about 75 sounds. Yes, she loves high pitched and annoying ones like the fire alarm, "code blue" (medical monitoring equipment that she learned because I watch House), an ambulance, dog squeaky toys, whistles. She also loves doing bodily function sounds and can do 7 or 8 different farts. She will also make a disgusting belch sound right in my face and then do a deep belly laugh (ha ha ha! Ho ho ho!) She also expects me to imitate them all back and it's rarely under an hour before she tires of that game And she tries to teach me, so if I don't do a good enough imitation she will keep doing the same sound over and over until I either meet her approval or she gives up on me for the time being. We also seem to have developed our own nonsensical language that we speak to each other. I think that developed from my imitation back of the squeaky car brakes, lol! It just kept developing into it's own Merlin/Audrey language that if others heard us speaking would question my mental status
She isn't terribly fond of other birds and is intensely jealous of other Greys or African species. She gets very angry if I even watch a video of them. I can't say for certain but I have the impression she considers herself "above" my S. American birds and other non Greys.
She is intensely bonded to me, and extremely affectionate, but I know many Greys are not Velcro birds. She will sit on me for as long as I let her, with her beak pressed against my face, demanding I pet and scritch her. The only other thing she loves as much is food. She is quite the piggy and loves to eat. And speaking of eating, she is especially happy if I hold pieces of apple for her or feed her from a spoon. She also trained me to pick up her water dish and hold it for her so she didn't have to bend over as far I did not realize at first I was being trained
She is one of the greatest manipulators I've ever known, human or non human. She knows exactly how to play me by being cute and sweet about it (no temper tantrums from Merlin; she knows you catch more bees with honey). Aside from the water bowl, she will also flatten herself against me when it's time to go back to her cage so I can't get a hand under her. She will also go to my shoulder with her butt to my face and her head on my upper arm to flatten herself as I can't really get either hand in front of her. Then she will jump off me onto the couch and bend her head for more scritches and give me the biggest puppy dog eyes. Then often when I go to place her on a perch, she will quickly run up my arm and bury her face in my chest and give me the puppy dog eyes and beg for more cuddle and petting. She has another where she hangs on the cage bars perfectly still, with her head cocked giving me that sappy look until I come over and kiss her. It's impossible to resist and it gets me every time
When she wants to dance, she gets my attention and then does a couple of dance steps and looks toward where she knows I am, and expects me then to sing for her until she doesn't feel like dancing anymore.
She is my heart and I don't mind meeting all her demands However, I am often up sick all night and need to nap in the afternoon. My other birds can see so they know I'm napping and will let me until it's afternoon snack time. Merlin can't see so she doesn't know and often as soon as I lay down I hear, "Whoo!" and then she wants to play the sound imitation game. I love her so much it's ok though. I'm used to not sleeping
I have to wear safety goggles when I cuddle with her to keep her from preening my eyes.
155