MarcusCAG

With Marcus, I remember once or twice when he seemed to "try on" saying some common greetings/words in my voice, my hubby's voice... but he's apparently decided that, aside from "Hello-o!" (which pops out occasionally in the mornings and/or after we've been gone for a while), most of his old terms are being "kept" by his older voices. Like, his "What?" is really defensive-sounding and kind of harsh, it's actually funny. He'll apparently be making a simply inquiry as to what we're doing, but it always sounds like he's going to bite our heads off: "WHAT?!" Especially if he does have some issue with what's going on, like he did recently with a TV show that he wasn't happy watching. But even for normal stuff, it's like it's his go-to voice and tone, he's a big tough guy or something. Only once (that I can remember, anyway), when my hubby and I were talking about Marcus in his presence--we were debating whether or not to tell him much beforehand about his groomer coming to trim his talons--did Marcus use a different tone of voice for "What?" It sounded a little ambivalent, if I can use that adjective to describe our dear Grey... it was like he realized we were discussing him and wasn't certain if he was happy about the subject! And Dee: I like that Gilbert is calling your new kitty a "pretty girl", so sweet!

^^ I think "Missy" is a lovely name for your new baby girl. I can't help but think if your dear Murphy ever comes back, "Missy and Murphy" will just roll right off your tongues! And your Ella-Rose sounds like a total sweetheart!

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George will be able to tell if you're tense or not, so if you aren't quite ready to have him perch on you yet, just let it be for now. Continue to talk gently to him and like was suggested, maybe offer him an appropriate treat (unsalted nuts, no avocado, no chocolate, no mushrooms, etc.) to continue to win his favor. He probably just is enjoying the attention so much but is still a little uncertain at to what your angle is. Give the issue with the doctor a little more time, perhaps, until you can both see that George would be very happy with you. And in the meanwhile you can continue to research Greys and what the responsibility would be, so when you finally have that conversation with the doctor, you will be well-prepared and obviously a good thing for George in the long run. That being said, I think it's wonderful that you're reaching out to this old Grey like you are. He won't forget you during your off days, these creatures are very intelligent and remember kindnesses done to them (and by whom) as well as harms. All the best to you both as you continue to befriend one another!

I've seen pictures of them before online... I do believe they're from Australia. (I didn't click on the link just now, sorry, I just remember reading that before.) They're lovely birds to look at and I remember reading, too, that compared to other parrot species, their beaks are particularly small. They're also sexually dimorphic like the Ekkies, aren't they? Like Greywings said, definitely a cousin of some sort.

I love that! "Whoo!" Marcus says that sometimes too, like a punctuation mark, but I'll have to pay attention and notice if he says that after a sneeze. From what I've read in the forums, it seems sometimes that a lot of these Greys have similar mannerisms/reactions to different things, despite being in completely different homes and situations. Very cool! Makes me wonder what a true Grey 'flock dynamic' might be like, in that such attitudes are translated (transliterated? maybe I'm way off!) into their interactions with humans, instead. Too, I like how Roscoe can tell the difference in if you're really leaving, or just going outside. Keen boy! Half the time when I get dressed in the birds' room where my closet is, Marcus will say, "Okay, time to go!" even if I'm just getting on something more comfortable to clean the house in. So I'll tell him at those times that I'm not going out, I'm just getting dressed. He does occasionally say "Go to work?" so I don't know if in his mind they are two different situations or not. My husband says he says that to him all the time in the mornings while he's getting ready to leave, so maybe when it comes to me (because my schedule is less of a 'schedule'), Marcus just finds me a bit more confusing. And everyone else: Awesome stuff! I love reading about these wonderful, intelligent Greys! Thanks for sharing all of your stories! And I have to say, Rosa in particular made me giggle with her commanding attitude with strangers, dejavu--can the other people hear her when she tells you to go??

Hehehe, I like that part about not being 107 years old... my mom played a lot of John Denver and Peter, Paul, and Mary when I was growing up, so I know a lot of that music, too. "You Are My Sunshine" is actually one of Marcus' favorite songs for me to sing him, but I've never thought to sing him any of the folk stuff I was reared on, myself. I'll have to try that! And to answer your question, personally: Yes, Marcus just adores being sung to. My hubby says he (Marcus) prefers my singing voice, since my husband can't carry a tune very well, but I wonder if it's more the fact that I'm singing to Marcus. He'll often be hanging out and then just suddenly bow his little head and kind of hum the first few notes of this one song I sing to him often, one we sing at our congregation meetings. That's my cue to stop whatever I'm doing, go over there, and "tickle" his head and neck while I sing him the entire song! Then, of course, if I stop too early for his liking, Marcus will "hum" again and I have to wrack my brain for more songs to sing him!! For a short while it was a bedtime ritual kind of thing, but now it's just whenever--and Marcus is often the one to call the shots! But he loves being sung to; the little parrots do and they don't, it's more like take it or leave it depending on their mood, but for Marcus, it's almost a necessity for his happiness!

Oh, so many lovely comments from all of you--thank you so much! Dee: I had read about the parrot and the phone number, too. But I do worry that a microchip might never be searched for, yet if Marcus can identify us by name and ends up being vocal about it--perhaps that might help some after all? (But of course I pray nothing like a separation/escaped parrot scenario ever happens!) Gwen: Marcus is fine today after his crash and was very good company while I cleaned the house earlier today, thank you for inquiring! And Bunsen has been behaving herself, I'm so glad... Hehe, your Gabby sounds like quite the character, definitely a match for Roscoe!! Dan: Wow, lots of neat tidbits to absorb, thank you! Actually, my husband was afraid that I was making Marcus believe he was going to be moved again and rehomed--thus the sad "Stay here!" comment. I felt so bad when he suggested that concept, I know Marcus is very happy here and I don't ever want him to think we'd ever get rid of him!! And, hehe, you really think Marcus wants to beat up our dog? Could be... I just thought he had named his bell!

Goodness, what a gorgeous, cute, heart-melting baby! I am so glad to hear that he's "out of the woods" so to speak and getting bigger and stronger... from what you posted in your other thread, he had an unfortunately rough start with a callous breeder but he certainly is in wonderful, loving hands now. Happy thoughts to you both! Does your little one have a name now??

I realized I haven't posted anything in general here about our Marcus in a little while, so I thought maybe I should get on that and let everyone know how things have been going. Actually, Marcus seems to be 'coming out of his shell' very much anymore. Aside from the rest of the flock's antics--Bunsen the female cockatiel getting crazy-hormonal, and Tybalt the IRN figuring out how to escape from his cage being only two things that have kept me on my toes lately, nevermind the fact that Beaker our Quaker seems to think I am Public Enemy #1 anymore (sigh!)--Marcus has been very affectionate, talking/mumbing many new comments and phrases, and has been trying out his almost-grown-in wings. He smashed into the cupboard door earlier tonight (!) but he's okay, I think he was just a little disoriented and maybe a little bit embarrassed. He also apparently has named his bell in his cage after our dog, Dahlia, and yells her name at it while he attacks it in the mornings and afternoons sometimes. Rather funny! Marcus and Preparations for the Future As this concept has been simmering in the back of my mind for a while, I got the grand idea yesterday to try and explain to Marcus that my husband and I have "full, entire, big names" which of course include our middle and last names, respectively. I thought maybe if Marcus knows our entire names (that sounds like 'bad English' to me somehow, but all of you know what I mean), then if he ever gets lost in some horrible accident, then he can tell people who his parronts are and they can look us up. Well, I must have been making him a little upset with all of my comments about "Mommy and Daddy being far away" and "Marcus can't find them anymore" because suddenly Marcus kind of dipped his head low and had very 'sad-looking' body language when he said, "Stay here!" I took that to mean that he wants to stay here with us, and I embraced him quickly and told him I want him to stay here, too, but I was telling him all these things in case of an accident someday. About that time, my hubby walked in and scolded me for scaring him (I didn't mean to!) but I think Marcus maybe got an idea of what I was trying to teach him, because whenever I would say my entire name, or my husband's, his little foot would smack his perch like he was emphasizing what I was saying. Each name got a foot-smack. So I will try and reiterate such things in the future in a less-scary way for him, and hopefully he will remember it. My mom suggested, too, that I teach him how to spell our names, so there are no mistakes if people ever have to try and look us up online. Marcus and the ABC Letters ...Which leads me to the next issue of the ABC letters and Marcus. I haven't worked with him with those for a while now, because I've been busy but also due to the fact that I realized I'll only get so far with that by myself. I need a model/rival, really! Thankfully, my husband and I have a new, young friend who possibly might be able to assist me in this regard; I believe he has the interest to work with Marcus and myself this way, anything scientific or experimental is up his alley, it's just a matter of getting his mom to allow him to hang out over here often enough for it to be worthwhile. So we will see. He really is a nice kid, sixteen and very bright. I'm hoping Marcus takes a shine to him once they get to meet. Marcus and the TV Lastly, Marcus has been spending more time in the den with us in the evenings. My husband and I really don't watch much television (in fact, we don't get any channels but just watch DVDs or old VHS tapes of our favorite shows/movies), but at night sometimes we will put an old Columbo in or something. Well, I've discovered I have to be aware of what we're watching when Marcus is in the room. Bunsen, our cockatiel, seems very sensitive to the high-pitched screams of hawks in the one movie I sometimes play for the birds in their room on the laptop; so I'm trained now to just skip over those scenes. But they never seemed to bother Marcus or the other boys... so it was kind of a guilt-creating surprise the other night when Marcus reacted strongly to what we were watching on DVD in the den. It was an old sci-fi show (Space: 1999) and one of the characters came out of stasis too early and realized he would die in the space pod before he reached Earth--and he started screaming, "Help me, help me!" I was in the kitchen making dinner and wasn't paying much attention, but suddenly Marcus up on his swing said, "What?" When he said "What?" again, I replied that the man was stuck and couldn't get out of the box. But then Marcus said louder, sounding agitated, "What? WHAT?! WHAT!!!" And I looked up and it dawned on me that he was very uncomfortable with the man screaming like that. So I told my husband that I think Marcus didn't like the show and we should change it. I felt kind of bad (and Marcus was okay after it was off) but I'll need to pay more attention now to what we put in the DVD player because Marcus really seems to enjoy watching TV when he's out with us and it's on. I put the Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie in for him the other night (usually he watches it with the other birds in their room, not in the den) and Marcus made these little comments during the film... like once when the flock onscreen took off altogether, Marcus muttered, "Flew away!" It's just kind of neat to hear him talking a bit more lately. I have been encouraging him to respond to us when we talk to him, and I guess he's becoming more comfortable with the idea of 'conversation'. Sometimes he mumbles his replies and they are impossible to understand, but at least he's putting forth the effort. Anyway, that's all I think I'll post for now, but I just wanted to share those things with everyone and let you know how Marcus has been coming along.

What a neat thread! All of these lovely Amazons... when I read through the list, I realized you could add chezron and her Pancho to it, her family has had him for a few months now and he is part of their flock along with Brutus the Grey and Jimpster the Quaker.

Yes, Paul, it is wonderful news and the pictures are just lovely! I am so happy for all of you... "For Murphy & all the lost greys out there I'm going to do my best to give her a good life." That is just beautiful... I know you will! And she will love you so much for it!! :)

Dan, I am now thankfully reassured that I have not been wearing out my welcome here with my many Marcus stories. I will therefore post about them in this thread as he "produces" them, per your instructions. :D And your Dayo really is quite a character... I always love reading about him, thanks for adding this new tidbit!!

I don't know how applicable my input will be, since we adopted Marcus at eight years old and he came to us with a number of voices "under his belt" already, so to speak. But he has a number of different voices now: an older man who coughs and grumbles about things about Earl Grey tea sometimes, as well as an older woman who speaks sweetly and calls him by his former name (obviously the older couple who had him before us). Then there is a younger man, who is a bit abrasive and who is demanding--presumably the son of the older couple who owned Marcus originally, and through whose aggressive attitudes we believe Marcus developed some of his behavioral problems. (Those issues have essentially been worked through by now, he is generally our golden boy anymore.) It is like Marcus has certain sayings that he loops through his personal 'downtime' that I hear when he's just hanging out on his Boing, or resting in his cage. They were things he certainly must have heard in his former home and that he has retained and now repeats often, for whatever reason. But they are not used for communication with us. Then, there are the voices that Marcus has learned from my husband and myself. He will call our dog in my husband's voice, and will use a 'harder' version of that when he says things he's miffed about (like calling my hubby from the shower: "Ross, COME HERE!"); and those very few times he said his new name, the one we gave him--which I haven't heard from him in quite a while, actually--that was said in a very sweet and almost childlike version of my voice. He uses this version of my voice to say my name, too (it melts my heart to hear him call me that way!). BUT. I will say I do believe that Marcus has his "own" voice, too. He uses this tone when he puts thoughts together that, to us, are completely spontaneous, such as when he pops out a sincere question or a comment regarding his surroundings, all of those things that are generated at that moment with the distinct point of communication. Sometimes he uses a lower tone, kind of mumbly, but it is still Marcus' voice. When it is not mumbly and garbled (I presume because maybe he is self-conscious about an answer? his other voices are generally very loud), then it is not really my voice, I think, but it sounds more female than male. And sometimes it can sound very goofy, like he is a little kid hyped-up on sugar and everything is all strewn together and said very quickly (actually, he used to draw out some of his syllables more, but I haven't heard that in a while). So perhaps Marcus just uses my voice as a template for his own, the one that he chooses to use for himself... or maybe I'm overthinking it all. But that's the impression I've received from him, and that's how Marcus shares himself with our family.

You're welcome. I thought that little idea he came up with (the concept of the woman putting on "feathers") was a neat, tiny insight into his little avian brain, myself. And I guess it makes sense, really. If I was a bird I'd probably assume outerwear was made up of what I was most familiar with, too. And I know my hubby and I have talked about "fur" around the birds before, too, even if not directly to them about it, so perhaps he understood the distinction after we explained it, besides. I don't know. Hope so! I do tend to think that a lot of other mature, relatively talkative Greys probably say some pretty neat things, too, during the course of their day-to-day interactions with their respective human flocks; really, I'm sure they do. (Like Dayo, and I know JDS's Sully has thrown out a zinger or two that has been shared in the forums in the past.) I was thinking last night when I posted this latest of Marcus' comments that I feel like I'm sharing here so much, it's becoming a little "Marcus heavy"... which isn't bad in and of itself, I think all of these little incidents are, again, neat flashes of insight into how these wonderful Greys can think and feel--which is what was basically requested at the outset of this thread. But I do hope other people will start posting here more often, too! If I may respectfully say so (since this isn't my thread), I'd like to read more about everyone else's Greys and their intelligent comments, as well... Any lurkers out there who want to add to Dan's Grey cognition thread with your own lovely stories? Please, please?

I just read over this thread and I am just horrified at how this little one was treated by the breeder (and who knows how many others?)--but like other members here have said already, I'm so very happy that at least you have a good avian vet who can help you through this delicate situation, and please just know I'm thinking of you and your baby too.

"Hello, Tucker!" Welcome to the Grey forums, Tucker and family! My, he is a very large and handsome Grey--bigger than my Marcus, I'm sure, what a gorgeous young man!! Everyone here will be very happy to hear more stories of your Tucker and see more pictures of him as you would like to share them.

Thank you, Gwen, I very much appreciate all of the 'cockatiel input' everyone has been so kind to offer me recently, I still feel kind of like a newbie with my Bunsen and this issue--funny thing, huh? And yes, I am proud of our Marcus, too... He was such a gentleman during his grooming!

Paul, I must say I am very excited for you... thinking of you right now, and hopefully things will work out Wednesday 'without a hitch' and you will have your lovely little one home with you.

Marcus said something else memorable last night; unfortunately I wasn't the one to hear it! While I was doing the dishes, it was my husband who was hanging out with him in the den, with Marcus up on his swing and an old mystery program playing in the DVD player. The character on the show had just put on a bright, white mink coat. Marcus apparently said something in a low tone because my husband suddenly told him, with a bit of surprise in his voice, that she was wearing a coat and it was made of fur. He (my husband) immediately turned in my general direction and asked me if I just heard what Marcus said to him. I replied that I had not. My hubby explained that Marcus had said, "Is she wearing feathers?" So of course I had to go in there and add my two cents and help him understand, too, that her coat was made out of fur, not feathers. But I think it's neat that he was watching the television and paying attention--I just would have liked to have heard him ask that, myself!

My! How did you get him to start saying your address in the first place? Did you explain to him the reasons why? Did you just make it like a fun game or something? I'm curious because I read about that here elsewhere (teaching your Grey your address in case they get lost and found) and I like the idea of it, or something similar to teach Marcus, like maybe just our names plus our family name instead of the street address--in case we move or something in the future, and the address changes. Either way, hopefully Mr. Four-Zero-Zero-Zero will learn your correct house number someday. Thanks for sharing your story, it made me smile!

Eshana, Katy, thank you so much for your comments! Yes, Bunsen apparently is a female, because today when I was in here I unexpectedly heard all of these disturbing, weird screeching/shrieking noises coming from the birds' room. I went in there and Bunsen had her tail to the sky and her vent was so open and rhythmically dilating; you could have put a marble in there... Tybalt was freaking out in his cage and Beaker was yelling (Marcus seemed rather non-plussed about everything), and once I left again Bunsen died down her caterwauling after a few more minutes. I got the idea to go online just now and found a video of a female cockatiel "in heat" and she sounded exactly the same, with similar body positioning. So--we have a little girl! And a hormonal one at that, at least right now. I'm hoping maybe an earlier bedtime may help with this situation. Any other ideas? I don't need her to start laying if I can help it...

Eshana, here are a few photos of Bunsen that I took today. I don't know how helpful the one will be (and the shot of Bunsen on the cagetop was just added for cuteness' sake!), but the photograph of the feather might be of some use. I keep a little plastic 'bucket' of the birds' feathers as they molt out--the nicer-looking ones, anyway--and this feather is one of the ones with the pale yellow speckles on it. Would that be some of the "barring" that I read is particular to female cockatiels? Or perhaps is Bunsen considered pied? Also, in terms of the thought of how Bunsen perches, more vertical or not, could that be applied to other parrot species as well? Tybalt and Marcus stand basically straight up-and-down and I see Beaker more horizontal; it's very obvious when Beaker and Tybalt are perching next to each other. Could that be a sign that maybe Beaker is female, as well? Anyway, thank you again for your input...

My, all of this wonderful input! I am really starting to think that Bunsen is female. there are just a lot of little things that you all have been bringing out that seem to add up to that conclusion. (Of course, I still may be wrong, but the evidence seems to point in that direction.) And Eshana, I will try and get some pics of the underside of Bunsen's tail tomorrow when the light is good--Bunsen's generally very accommodating so it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe your trained eye will be able to verify things for me then... All of you, thank you again for all of your educated and experienced thoughts and comments on the matter. I really appreciate it! Oh, and just an FYI because I mentioned it in an earlier post here: Marcus did have his curly little talons trimmed this morning and he was such a good boy, I was so proud of him! He did 'growl' a little bit at one point while he was wrapped in the towel, hehe, but he didn't hold a grudge at all and was mumbly-chatty with the groomers in a happy way while they were leaving.