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Thread: Aspiring Novelist with a Parrot Plot

 
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Kasuku's Avatar


    Aspiring Novelist with a Parrot Plot

    Hi!

    New member here, originally from that parakeet-filled land known as India and currently in the (apparently) equally parrot-filled urban jungle of New York! I have never had a parrot before, and, unfortunately, I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon - not ready for the responsibility of a pet yet - but my family once had an African grey from whom I have derived my username.

    My primary purpose here is research. I am trying to write a novel, and one of the three protagonists has a parrot (species TBD) that becomes extremely important to the plot. It occurred to me that joining a forum like this one would be hugely helpful - both to browse, and learn little realistic tidbits about parrot behavior, and to ask some specific questions. For example, I am trying to decide between an African grey, some kind of cockatoo, and some kind of South Asian parakeet. But I'll leave that for another post!

    Hope this is an okay reason to be on these forums, and that I am within the rules. Thanks for welcoming me!

  2. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-19-2017), PlaxMacaws (05-18-2017)

  3. #2
    Senior Member
    PlaxMacaws's Avatar


    Parrots

    B&G (Jack) | MM (Maynard) - RIP | Hy (Zaf) - RIP | GW (Salsa) | NC (Bozley)
    Welcome Kasuku. I'm sorry no one has replied to you yet. You are fine posting here.

    Activity among our forums tends to come and go in waves. Additionally, many of our regular members seem to have all but abandoned us. I'm unsure why. It's probably related to unexpected developments in their lives and a corresponding reduction of available time.

    The novel you hope to write sounds intriguing. I'm not sure I can help you concerning which parrot species you should choose. Most every parrot person has his or her favorites. If you wish, post some more questions and wait to see if some of our other members chime in.

    Thanks for joining us at Precisely Parrots!
    He wanted to live. He was my Heaven... He's gone!

  4. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-19-2017), Lady (05-19-2017)

  5. #3
    Junior Member
    Kasuku's Avatar


    Hey PlaxMacaws!

    Thanks so much for the response! I knew there was a good chance of not getting a reply here, and am grateful you took the time out to show a newbie some love! Much appreciated.

    I'm definitely going to go post more specific questions around other parts of the forum, and hope for the best! Thanks!

  6. The following 3 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-19-2017), Lady (05-19-2017), PlaxMacaws (05-19-2017)

  7. #4
    Super Moderator
    Dragonlady2's Avatar


    Parrots

    Willy-Eclectus, Oliver-alexandrine, Mookie-Senegal, Bella- Australian King, Joey and Peewee- Barrabands, Peachiegirl-Peachfront conure, Pepper- crimson belly conure, Peanut-plum head, Babyblue-parrotlette, Harry and Louie-canaries.
    Looking forward to hearing more about your novel and yes, please ask any questions that might help you with understanding parrot behavior.

    :

  8. The following 2 users like this post:

    Lady (05-19-2017), PlaxMacaws (05-19-2017)

  9. #5
    Super Moderator
    Lady's Avatar


    Parrots

    Illiger Macaw (Primolius maracana)
    Hi @Kasuku
    ! I think it is most interesting that you would turn to a forum to find folks who have a parrot. I would of probably just researched and see what information I could read about, but this way is much more fun, interesting and more realistic. I would imagine deciding on the species of parrot would be more true to life if you had more real life experiences to go by. So I have some questions for you....what is the parrot in your novel going to be like? Will it talk? Will it have a good relationship with it's human? Will she / he be friendly to most humans? Should he or she live in a cage or a aviary? You don't have to answer these questions per say, they are just some things to think about to help you decide the species. Looking forward to helping you out with any information I can as well.

  10. The following 3 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-19-2017), kendrafitz (05-22-2017), PlaxMacaws (05-19-2017)

  11. #6
    Senior Member
    kendrafitz's Avatar


    Parrots

    Rosie, our Greenwing Macaw (Hatchday 4/1/12)
    Hi Kasuku - hello and welcome!

    I don't know how much I will be able to help you. My only experience is with Rosie our GW Macaw. But I did want to say hello!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Rosie & Kendra


  12. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-22-2017), Lady (05-25-2017)

  13. #7
    Super Moderator
    Quakerella's Avatar


    Parrots

    8 quaker parakeets, 4 Indian Ringneck parakeets, 3 lovebirds, 5 cockatiels
    I love the idea, but also don't know how much I will be able to help. Most of my birds are the little guys, but I will do what I can. Good luck.

  14. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-22-2017), Lady (05-25-2017)

  15. #8
    Junior Member
    Kasuku's Avatar


    Hey DragonLady2, Lady, kendrafitz and Quakerella! Wow, so many responses! Huge thanks to all of you, I can tell that this is going to be a great experience and a fine place to learn more about the parrot world... chuffed

    I get the sense that it might be worth providing some more general information here, so I'm gonna go ahead and do it! Definitely going to go into the other forum sections for deeper questions about parrot psychology, cognition, personality, etc, all of which are fascinating topics that I want to delve into in this novel.

    On the species, I've come up with a few general restrictions. The novel is set in India in the 1800s, so I have a strong preference for African or Asian species, just because I doubt there were a lot of Latin American macaws or conures making it halfway across the world back then. I was thinking mostly on the lines of either an African grey, some kind of Indonesian cockatoo, or one of the Indian parakeets, e.g. ring-neck.

    The parrot definitely does talk, and has a pretty wide range of sounds/words. I think the talkier the species, the better, because I have him doing a lot of talking. Quick question: is it typical for parrots to talk for no reason?

    Third, the smarter, the better - I am hoping to make him quite intelligent, dexterous, self-aware, etc. Specifically good would be a parrot species with a strong memory. Another question: how strong have you noticed a parrot's verbal memory to be? Is it plausible for a parrot to continue to make a certain sound/word for several years after hearing it, for example?

    I wonder how you would rate African grays, cockatoos and ring-necked parakeets in terms of the differences in their intelligence, memory, capacity for complexity in relationships with humans, self-awareness, etc.?

    Lastly, the parrot in my novel has a pretty specific history. He was caught in the wild - this is the 1800s, with very little compassion for birds, and his capture is acknowledged to have been a somewhat traumatic experience. He was transported and gifted to an unsavory Indian royal family that adds him to their generally run-down private menagerie. The menagerie is destroyed in an uprising, and the animals are released; our parrot friend ekes out a living for a few days before being rescued by the third protagonist of my story. (All this happens in the back-story of the novel; in the first chapter, the parrot is already in my protagonist's home. However, the back-story is pretty essential to everything that happens in the main novel, including the parrot's "memories" of the time before the uprising). Long story short, I'm wondering whether you think it is plausible for any kind of cage-living parrot to make it 4-5 days on its own in the wild (given that it was wild-caught and thus has lived in the wild before), and remember how to say words that it learned in its past several years later.

    Thanks so much, and sorry for the long post. I hope this is of interest!

  16. #9
    Super Moderator
    Dragonlady2's Avatar


    Parrots

    Willy-Eclectus, Oliver-alexandrine, Mookie-Senegal, Bella- Australian King, Joey and Peewee- Barrabands, Peachiegirl-Peachfront conure, Pepper- crimson belly conure, Peanut-plum head, Babyblue-parrotlette, Harry and Louie-canaries.
    Interesting story. Just my opinion, I think that an African Grey has the cognitive abilities you are looking for. They are noted to be quite intelligent and are able to speak very clearly in context and small phrases.
    As to cage living parrots being able to survive in the wild for a short period of time, there are all kinds stories of parrots having escaped from their home through a door or window and being reunited with their owners/families. So your premise is plausible.

  17. The following 2 users like this post:

    Lady (05-25-2017), Quakerella (05-24-2017)

  18. #10
    Super Moderator
    Quakerella's Avatar


    Parrots

    8 quaker parakeets, 4 Indian Ringneck parakeets, 3 lovebirds, 5 cockatiels
    Wow, sounds intriguing.

    I agree with Helena about the AG. Very intelligent with a wonderful vocabulary and very clear.

    Survival in the wild is possible, I would say more likely for a larger species such as the AG, but not limited to.

    Unfortunately, I can't compare Cockatoos, African grays and Ringnecks, as I have never had a Cockatoo or an AG. I can tell you Ringnecks are extremely intelligent and speak very clearly. They do not have the vocabulary as quakers do, but they can speak an abundance of words and short phrases.

  19. The following 2 users like this post:

    Dragonlady2 (05-24-2017), Lady (05-25-2017)

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