Chatty Marcus

[MarcusCAG]

I read once, somewhere, that a parrot will generally start talking "for real" at ten months, or at the ten-month mark in a new home. We've had Marcus almost nine months now, so if that little concept has any truth to it, that might be an indication as to why he's started expressing himself a bit more lately. He's still relatively quiet (save for his backing-up garbage truck sounds and his shrill telephone rings), we never hear him practice anything, but... the boy is obviously taking in a lot of what we say. Or remembering things from his previous situation(s) and choosing to apply that knowledge appropriately here. Much to our delight.

 

The following are a couple of little memorable things he's thrown out over the past few days:

 

Scenario #1: It was hot in the house, I was hungry, and I went to the fridge to get out an (organic) apple. I paused before biting into it because I thought, maybe the boys would want a nibble first? So I walked into their room and offered it to Marcus, asking, "You want some apple?" I didn't want to turn the ceiling fan off to open his door, so when he looked kind of excited I just pressed it against his cage bars. Marcus went to town! At one point I realized I should move on down the line to Bunsen (um, yeah--but you never know!) and so I told Marcus that was enough, and I turned to Bunsen, asking him if he wanted to eat some apple. Almost immediately, from behind me in Marcus' cage, I heard the most adorable little boy voice I have EVER heard from him when he literally squealed, "OooooOOOOoooh, I DO!"

 

Scenario #2: Earlier tonight, my husband and I were in the boys' room and--I forget what happened--we started arguing a bit, something about Tybalt and Beaker. I really can't remember what the issue was! But apparently our voices, although not at all overboard to either of us, had entered tones that were disturbing to Marcus. He was sitting in his cage near his food bowl when he drew out the unsettled-sounding, "Sto-ooooooop iiiiiiiiitttttttt..."

 

Scenario #3: For whatever reason, maybe because he's green and comparatively small like Beaker, Marcus calls Tybalt "Beaker" and seems to have no desire to learn his name, too. Anyway, Tybalt and Beaker have become two troublemakers in their own right, and sometimes I think Marcus might be annoyed at how fast they zip around the birdroom together. And at first I thought I was hearing things, but whenever either one of them will do something to irritate him--for instance, fly too close to him on the top of his cage--Marcus will say "stinker" instead of "Beaker", like he would before, a reprimand ("Beaker!!") . We never call either of them 'stinkers' so he must have heard this word somewhere else and pulled it out of his memory just for them!

[Zoom]

I love Marcus!

[Luvparrots]

Marcus certainly is very entertaining! I love hearing about him!

[judygram]

Marcus is one smart grey and knows when to put in his two cents worth, looking forward to hearing more of these little stories of yours, thanks for sharing it with us.

[MarcusCAG]

I'm just glad I can 'share' him here with everyone. Sometimes I tell other people about the things he does, and there's just this silence, like, So what? I guess they just don't understand how much we adore him, or what it really means when a parrot says something they haven't been taught to simply mimic, that they're actually thinking on their own. I think a lot of people don't realize they can do that.

 

Anyway, thank you for all the sweet comments!! I will let Marcus know that "people Mommy talks to on the computer" think he's a "good boy".

[Cupid]

Not a good boy, a GREAT boy! WE LOVE MARCUS!

[kingsnake]

I like reading stories like these. Thanks for sharring

[katana600]

Marcus sure keeps things light hearted at your house, I also love to read about his ways. Time will tell if there is any accuracy to the ten month theory. That would put Gilbert's big spurt right around Christmas time, so I will try to notice if he gets more verbal. If Tybalt isn't careful, Marcus is going to give him a nickname that stinks... I mean sticks. LOL

[danmcq]

From your observances in the three scenarios, Marcus his been sitting, observing and listening very carefully to all that is taking place in his new flock and home. He obviously has a deep understanding of how things used to work compared to how they do in your home. He also (I suspect) has a good vocabulary and understanding of how to use the human language to describe what he wants or things about the real-time activities. They are very empathic and thus the comment on what he perceived to be an escalated and emotionally charged event taking place between you and hubby. I guess you could now call him your personal live-in Dr. Phil.

 

Please keep these updates on his progress coming. They are a very good read and interesting from your perspective and writing style.

[chezron]

So funny! They always surprise us with the fruit of their observations.