Cognitive abilities of a Grey

[danmcq]

I wanted to share a story from the forum admin (Virginia B.) of aviancognitionforum@yahoo.com.

 

It truly displays the mental processes taking place in the minds of our greys. They are constantly processing and building conclusions of what they observe and hear in our homes. I can not stress how important it is, that we all treat our Parrots with the utmost care in what we say and what we do.

 

"""Let me tell you about Chaucer's first use of the word 'bad', a good many years ago (8) now. Way back then (long before I had a proper appreciation for his ability to understand human language), I used 'good' in the ordinary way, and then, because I thought it would be easier for Chaucer to understand, I used 'NOT good' for the opposite, ALWAYS, instead of 'bad'. So whenever he did something unacceptable, I said "Not good" (and never 'bad').

 

Chaucer, therefore, had never heard the word 'bad' until one day our cat Zeus -- ordinarily the very sweetest of cats -- uncharacteristically swatted my leg with his claws, and I burst out, "Bad cat!" That was all! I said or did, nothing more. No repeats, no further incidents. And then, a week or so later, Zeus, who had a heart condition, died in my arms, and Chaucer was watching the whole time.

 

And then, over the next 2 months, Chaucer began (excruciatingly, to my grieving ears) to talk about "Zeus dead", and he seemed to be trying to make sense of why this had happened... and he began to talk about "Zeus bad. Hurt Mama."

 

Lord almighty! *I* had never said such a thing! That's not why dear Zeus kitty died! But that was the sense that Chaucer made of it... on the hearing, ONE TIME ONLY, of the word 'bad'. (Oh my, now I'm starting to grieve all over again.) I could tell this all at much greater length, in far greater detail, if anyone wants, but I'd have to look through my records (happy to do that, though)."""

 

A note from Virginia, should anyone here wish to check out the group:

 

"Hi Dan,

I am always pleased when new people, who are interested in avian cognition, want to join ACF. But as you know, from the email I sent you, when you wanted to join, I really would like to know a little bit, even just a very little bit, about someone, before I approve their membership application. (That way, I hope to be able to keep out people who may want to use the list for their own purposes.) So if you know people who might want to join ACF, please tell them to include a little bit about their birds, or their interest in avian cognition, in their membership application. Thanks for any help you can give on that!

Virginia B. & Chaucer (CAG) & Holly (Conure)"

Edited April 25, 2010 by danmcq

[pearllyn]

Well, Wow.....and that's just about all I have to say about that. Except, do you know how old Chaucer was at this point Dan? This really is a remarkable story whatever his age, I'm just interested.

Thanks for sharing this with us Dan, for those of us with young birds who are relatively new to the world of greys, it is just another little glimpse of how ultra remarkable these souls are (as if we ever doubted it!)

[kihei]

a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!!!!!!!!

[Debandbella]

Their intelligence is amazing!

[danmcq]

Lyn - Chaucer was 2 when he did this.

[judygram]

That is one amazing grey Dan, really makes you sit back and be in awe of them.

[Luvparrots]

Wow great story about Chaucer. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[Dusty]

Wow that is quite hectic! Just goes to show what you do in front of your grey has quite ab effect on them.

thanks for the story

[pearllyn]

Wow - 2oy? Amazing!

[Luvparrots]

Now I understand a little more about their abilities. When Ana Grey said, "Want some apple, I'll be good." I couldn't figure it out. So I thought about what I had said to her. I do say, You be good and I do say, I'll be back. So perhaps she has combined them and thinks my name is "I'll.

[JillyBeanz]

Goodness me! I had to read it three times to take in the velocity of what happened here. It is truly unbelievable. What an absolutely fascinating read. Thanks for sharing this.

 

PS. If you want me to write Virginia a reference to get you into her group - then my fingers are poised to type!!

[Xtreme575]

Wow, I need to smarten up how I speak to him. Literally. Instead of repeating simple terms, I'm going to turn it up a bit, just to see what happens. Thanks Dan...

[kittykittykitty]

Chaucer is truely remarkable, but I believe all our Greys are. I never cease to be amazed at Pecious. And even though they aren't birds, my kitties' ability to communicate is beyond belief. I quoted what I heard once before, "The only dumb animal is the one who says it."