Grey Cognition and language abilities

[danmcq]

I love hearing of Inara's cognitive abilities she came with and has refined further. Grey's are so intelligent, it's almost scary at times. Sometimes I spell out words so Dayo has no clue of what I am saying like.... I am going to get some Chocolate Cake. Then I sneak off and woof it down. Thats the only way I can eat things that are great for me but poisonous to him. It reminds of when our children were very young and could not spell yet.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Inara is growing in leaps and bounds... now it is up to you, to keep up! I am surprised Sophie doesn't repeat " I don't think so", which I say always. I know she doesn't say it, because she knows what it means! LOL! Sean and I were watching the movie " gravity" today. She sat there quietly on Sean's shoulder the entire time. I watched them as much as I watched the movie. It was awesome to watch Sophie love Sean so much. As Sean had seen the movie before, I caught the moments of disinterest with the movie, and interest in Sophie. They were in their own world, playing games that only Sean and Sophie have developed. I did comment to him, that many Grey owners struggle with their own personal relationship with a bird... but to have family members that are loved also... is exceptional! He laughed it off Nancy

[Inara]

Thanks, danmcq and Nancy. Yesterday, the intentional flights continued, as well as this morning. I figured now is a great time to work on recall since she originally initiated the flights. She seems to enjoy landing on my arm so we're off to a good start in that direction.

 

Danmcq, I hear you on the spelling things out! It wouldn't surprise me if you Dayo will have C H O C O L A T E C A K E figured out in no time flat Nancy, I agree, it really is nice when our fids have affection and love for other members of the family. Inara is very fond of Joe and reaches her little foot out to step over to him, asks, "Where's Joe?" when he is at work, likes a bit of on his arm time each evening after he gets home, and loves to whistle back and forth with him.

[Habbeshaw]

Perry,my CAG. Has just started making vocalizations, he says stop it and hello, but he is sounding like a robot or demon. Is this normal when they first start to talk? He is 14 months old and very smart and I have trained him to do dozens of tricks,he truly is amazing!. Any thoughts on the robot voice?

[Greywings]

He will probably develop many voices as his vocabulary grows I would not worry about the current robot sound he must like the effect.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

The robot voice ... is FREAKY! Sophie adopted at age two, had a normal male voice. Her previous owner. As time went on, she adopted my voice. She DOES make me sound like a " valley girl", which kind of annoys me! I have commented on this with my kids years ago. I " caught" the look between them. Okay... for some reason I sound like a " valley girl". No disrespect meant!

Your baby will have a robot sounding voice, until they choose to imitate someone. Its normal, yet FREAKY!!!! Nancy

[Darci]

That is really amazing.

 

If I have to move Morgan's cage while he's in it, I say in a calm voice, "It's OK." The other day, I sorta bumped him, and said, "Sorry, Morgan, I didn't mean to bump you." And he said, "It's OK." I was not moving the cage at the time!!! Now I wonder if he has put together what "It's OK" might mean, or if he was just babbling. He's now almost 9 months old, so I don't expect him to understand all that much, but maybe he does!!!

 

Great story, Dan!

 

I am told that the one I am adopting tells herself "you're alright" when she's frightened and has learned to self-soothe. Wow. What amazing creatures they are. She is only 5 years.

[birdhouse]

I dare a-ny-one to try & claim he doesn't know what he's talking about (when it suits him)!

 

Typically clumsy me sloshed a water dish all over just now. I didn't even really have time to register the mess I'd made when -

 

Phenix: "Oh, Nooo!"

 

Me: "I just spilled that all over the place didn't I?"

 

Phenix: "Yupper!!!"

 

Then we both laughed because I mean how could I get frustrated (even w/a fairly good sized mess) after something like that? Even though I've been lucky enough to live w/this little varmint for 25 yrs, he can still surprise & delight me. And he can always make me laugh.

Edited September 30, 2015 by birdhouse

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Some verbalize, and some don't. BUT... they get a lot more than they let on! I have great respect for the quiet ones.... as I think they are busy thinking and learning Nancy

[Kya]

I love this thread! It will give me good reading for days, I made it through page 8!

 

Kya is new to us, we have only had him for a week. He is a 10 year old rescue.

 

This morning, we noticed that where some of the things he said in the past were in the voices of his former owners, several things he says have switched over to "my voice".

 

We picked him up late one evening, and had already discussed his terrible diet with the previous owners. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bite of junk food now and then, but it's a rare treat here and not something we do daily.

 

The first morning we had him, I woke and walked to his cage and said "Good morning, Kya" - he replied "Good morning!"

 

He then stated "I want a pop tart." I said "I don't own a poptart, but you can have an apple." He ignored me.

 

The second morning, we did our ritualistic good morning to all of the birds - Kya responded again, but this time he said "I want an apple".

 

He knew what I had on hand because I told him 24 hours before, when he should have been a nervous wreck over being in a new home with strangers.

 

When my phone rings, he says "Hello...okay...bye".

 

When my dogs bark, he says "stop it" - usually before I can get it out of my mouth.

 

When my other birds get all wound up when we come home, he arrogantly states "all the birdies just chirp, chirp, chirp".

 

I have no doubt that they know what they are saying and just when to say it.

[yentrangkorea]

Spock will always be missed. That is a very emotional mental picture.

[Kya]

This has taken me awhile to get through, but one of the most interesting threads I've ever read on any forum! Lots of laughing involved!

 

Kya already had quite the vocabulary when we got him - he's a 10 year old we rescued. I've had talking parrots - everything from a parakeet to an umbrella cockatoo, and never seen one that I would consider literally participating in conversation until Kya.

 

He likes to go to bed at 10:00 pm, so around 9:45, he starts telling us "goodnight", "I love you", "Give me a kiss (kissing sounds".

 

We argue over food a lot, he was raised on junk food and the first morning we had him, he demanded a pop tart after saying "good morning". We still occasionally argue about pop tarts, but he now says "pop tart...nooooooo" and answers himself on that one. He randomly yells "apple, now" or "grape, now", and will accept nothing else when I come to him. Needless to say, apples and grapes are at the top of the grocery list. He's stopped asking for peanuts, which was pretty much 80% of his diet before coming to live with us. He does get 1 a day, it's his treat for returning to the cage. He says "Thank you peanut".

 

For weeks when I was trying to introduce him to pellets, I would put applesauce on them, as he wasn't showing any interest otherwise. I would tell him that it was applesauce every time I gave it to him. To this day, if I try to slip them to him dry, he will look me right in the eye and say "applesauce".

 

If my conures get too loud (i.e. screeching), Kya yells at them "Stop it. Stop it right now." If the dogs bark too much, he says the same thing. This was another learned behavior when we got him, but he knows when to use it. He also makes fun of the conures for their lack of conversation, and will say "All the birdies do is chirp, chirp, chirp" - always when they are chirping and carrying on.

 

When we are preparing to leave for work, he can tell when we are about to go. He will start saying "Goodbye. Bye Bye. I'll be back. See you later. I love you. Be careful" - over and over until he almost makes me feel rushed to get out the door!

 

He has one curse word, and always uses it appropriately. If he drops something or we drop something, he says "Awwwwwwww, s&%t". Apparently, he got in trouble for this in his former home, because this is always followed by "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus - Kya is a goooooooood boy!"

 

When my 5 year old grandson is here, Kya entertains him with his rendition of manly sounding bodily functions - very realistic. My grandson dies laughing, Kya laughs, and then repeats it, each time getting just a bit more nasty sounding. He will then say "Kya is gross". (He does not like children at all, but knows my grandson, who is all about bodily functions, will play this game for hours.)

 

I could go on all night, but everyone would grow tired from reading! He's starting to use our voices, replacing the voices of his former owners. He still occasionally speaks in their voices, but mostly it is ours now. We don't know if some of the things he is saying are new, or he's just using more of his vocabulary now that he is more comfortable in his new home.

[Inara]

Kya sounds like such a hoot! Love your relationship with him, and his sense of humor!! For anyone who has never lived with our feathered conversationalists, it's hard to have them believe it until they hear it themselves! :cool:

[Luvparrots]

Kya, would love to hear your parrot.

[Kya]

Kya, would love to hear your parrot.

 

I would love to video him, but unfortunately, as soon as he sees the phone / camera pointed at him, he clams up completely. He will occasionally dance for the camera, but acts like he can't say a word unless I video from the other room. He's a hot mess.

[Inara]

I would love to video him, but unfortunately, as soon as he sees the phone / camera pointed at him, he clams up completely. He will occasionally dance for the camera, but acts like he can't say a word unless I video from the other room. He's a hot mess.

 

HRH Inara is the same way. She looks at the camera/phone with a WTFlock?? look and clams right up. I have not taken the time to desensitize her with it, by holding it up and fake recording several times a day. I'm lazy..... Plus, despite being very tech savvy, I have yet to perfect the art of editing and uploading but am working on it.

[birdhouse]

Me, too. Exactly, Inara.

 

I had a lot more of a moment than conversation w/Phenix this AM. I was giving him his breakfast, etc. I was also telling him that we were finally going to find out if he was getting new digs (not). The cage was finally going to deliver & we could see if my nagging doubts were correct (sadly, yes). I was hoping I was wrong so he needed to eat a good hearty breakfast before I did something that put him off his feed for a while.

 

And then he just stopped & gave me that look. I think we all must know it. The one eyeball, over the shoulder, "what are you up to?? look.

 

So I told him again while he just drilled that stare into me. Then he turned his back on me & left w/all the attitude he could possibly deliver. When I was finished telling him my plan, he gave me the other look. The look that makes you extra glad there's some bars between you...? Punctuating the episode by beating the ever loving out of the nearest bell. I got the distinct impression he was finally listening to what I'd been saying for the past 3 wks. lol

[LNCAG]

I find my grey is much more chatty if I am out of the room (out of view) from him. The one thing he does say when I am in room with him (I moved him to my living room) is "Whatcha doing?" (and this can be annoying!)

And I feel compelled to answer -- as if he really wants to know. :rolleyes: Surely he can see what I'm doing -- usually reading a book or online.

If he wants to be held, he simply says "step up?" to request out of cage time.

Oh, and he will whistle sometimes when I am in the room.

 

But mostly, he does his best chatting when I step out of the room a few minutes.

[Timbersmom]

Same here LNCAG. Silence when I'm with him, talks nonstop when I'm out of sight.

[kittykittykitty]

Precious is the same!

[danmcq]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us LNCAG. Also, welcome to the Forum!

 

It seems they all talk a ton when we are out of sight. Dayo will talk often though as we settle down in the living room and he sits on his T Stand next to us watching TV and eating seeds/pellets. He will laugh very loudly at times as he watches TV and finds something amusing.

[Kya]

I think my two are chattier (is that a word?) when we are out of the room because they want a response from us. I call back and forth to them all the time, answer their questions, bring them their treats they ask for, etc. I see it as their flock call, only most of ours do it in English. They can't see me when I am on the computer at the dining room table, so the banter back and forth is constant. They know I am there, they hear the keyboard clicking, but they will keep on until I actually answer them vocally. (Or does this mean my birds are spoiled rotten and I am trying to make it into something it isn't???)

 

It is interesting because we have a 2 year old Sun conure, as well. She has never talked until the greys came along, and didn't talk much until we brought Gracie into the home a few weeks ago. Now, the greys chatter back and forth between each other so much, she has started to pick up on it. She isn't as easy to understand as they are, but she is talking non stop. I guess she thought if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

[Luvparrots]

My greys both can talk. Although Sterling Gris does the most. He also sings a little of a couple of songs. He is shy and only talks when he feels safe. Ana Grey quietly talks when she wants to talk. Their vocabulary is basically the same.

[Acappella]

sconeswatch, best idea if you start your own thread if you want to get good responses.

[CTGull]

How has this not been added to in over a year?

We rescued our nearly 5 year old CAG 9 days ago.  Every day she gets more chatty, with various noises and whistling.  I wonder if the whistling is something she was taught or is she making it up as she goes?

And like many Greys, she shuts up as soon as she sees someone coming into the room.

Many different voices.

Should be interesting.