Copying Behavior

[kendrafitz]

Has anyone experienced their parrots copying behavior?

A few weeks ago when the kids were still home for summer Rosie was copying Ashie. It cracked me up and I meant to post but I never got around to it. Rosie was on our bed and Ash and I were kneeling on the floor next to the bed. Ashie started cuddling with me and Rosie waddled over and started snuggling with me on my other side. Once Ash moved on, so did Rosie. Then Ash gave me a kiss and Rosie ran/waddled back to me and kissed my other cheek. This went on for about 10 minutes, Ashie doing something with me and Rosie copying. It was really funny and interesting.

Yesterday my mom was here after my son's football game. Everyone was sitting at the kitchen table and I was standing with Rosie on my shoulder. I was speaking in an excited, animated way about the game. Rosie is chattering and dancing around on my shoulder. I was too involved in the conversation to notice (so ridiculous that I am so used to Rosie on me that I barely register how crazy we must look to others). All of a sudden my mom burst out laughing and said that Rosie was completely mimicking me. Head bobs, chattering and all.

Which got me thinking, has anyone else experienced this type of behavior from their parrots? It's pretty cool. :)


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[spiritbird]

I have not had this experience but I never had a Macaw on my shoulder. Rosie girl is amazingly attached to you so it must have been a lot of fun for her to mimic you. I bet her voice sounds just like yours too.

[kendrafitz]

I don't know if she sounds like me. She definitely has a sweet little girl voice much of the time. She does play around with different pitches here and there. :)

Rosie is much more interested in getting the inflection of the way we say things than the actual words. There are a lot of times I guess what she is saying based on the way she says it. The actual words are an afterthought, she enjoys the sound. My musical little diva. :)

[Mare]

That's cute how Rosie does that :). I would love to see a video! The only one of our birds that sorta mimics is Sassy. If there is music on and she sees me bouncing around, she starts hopping and has all kinds of fun. I saw a video on FB the other day with a woman cuddling her little parrot, you may have seen it, the parrot was totally into it and repeating everything in Spanish, it was adorable!

[kendrafitz]

Mare - I love that Sassy dances away with you. She is a funny, sassy girl!

I haven't seen that video, but it sounds so sweet!

[PeachyDoll]

Our Rosie does copy things as well. Whenever someone is sweeping she pulls her neck in a sweeping motion and makes a sweeping/raking noise. The last few months she has also consistently imitated my mopping (I mop in a figure eight swirl pattern) when I look over at her she's twirling her neck in a figure eight pattern and WOW their necks are amazing! When I stop she stops, just like your Rosie. They do totally pick up on your voice fluctuations and our energy in the room. That would be a hysterical video.

[kendrafitz]

I love the neck motions! I can just picture it. My Rosie doesn't do any of that. I would LOVE to see a video of that!!!

[PeachyDoll]

I would love to post a video of Rosie doing that Kendra but I am painfully aware of how some people would react to her state of undress if you will. When I see other birds on youtube that have bald spots or missing feathers commenters can really rage on the poster. You open yourself up to a lot of scrutiny and I know that Rosie has a very happy and spoiled life but there was a time where she was so stressed out that she did permanent damage. Spending time with bird people that understand is different. In fact, I could be wrong but I think we are the only baldy bird on here, no one seems to mind :)

[kendrafitz]

I understand, I would probably worry about the same. Why do people have to be so mean spirited and jump on other people when it is none of their business? Sigh...

Why should anyone mind if Rosie the Queen is plucked?!? There are lots of birds that pluck, for all different types of reasons. My Rosie's vet actually told me it is a hugely common problem with cockatoos especially. He told me they were the most difficult parrots to keep healthy and happy in captivity. There are just so many different factors with owning such complex creatures. I give you tons of credit for taking on such a HUGE responsibility. Your Rosie is beautiful and happy and most importantly LOVED.

BTW, I actually think the plucked guys are cuties. Obviously no one wants their parrot to pluck. But when I see pics of the baldy babies, my heart melts. Probably bc I know they are survivors of something and that makes them even more special. :)

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[PlaxMacaws]

Everything that Kendra said! Too many people hurl out false blanket opinions in response to situations they know little to nothing about. If there's not an immediately evident threat to a pet's safety that can be logically demonstrated, folks should certainly mind their own business. Clearly evident threats are the exception, of course. Plucked birds are unfortunately fairly common and should never warrant assumptions about current caregivers or the quality of their care. Feathers lost during situations at prior homes often never grow back. This sad reality needs to be understood and accepted by all! It further needs to be understood that plucked birds can be very happy birds who are leading wonderfully enriched lives with their current families.

As for copying behaviors around here, there's nothing quite as funny or adorable as Rosie Macaw's join-in-with-the-group snuggles and kisses. But there are a couple of things that come to mind... if I start bobbing up and down, both Zaf and Salsa follow suit. And for some strange reason, while their rhythms seem to match quite well, one of them always seems to be up while the other is down - it's like a back and forth thing and it's pretty funny to watch. Then of course usually when I stop my bobbing, so do they. The other mimicked behavior I can think of is Salsa lifting his foot and waving as he says "hi" or hello". He learned that from me waving to him each time I tell him "hi". Oh, and Sals also copies Zaf's raspy, whiny squalls. Zaf starts his squalling (usually when he's inside of his cage and wants to come out) and Salsa starts making exactly the same sounds to mock him. I must admit that it is funny to watch and hear :D

[kendrafitz]

Tony, I am smiling just thinking about Zaf and Salsa bopping up and down. That I would love to see a video of!

[spiritbird]

I second that.