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I have a male Barraband (Superb) parrot [1] and he can scroll videos on Youtube, select the ones with birds in and play those. People are in disbelief when the

by bArray 1y ago

I have a male Barraband (Superb) parrot [1] and he can scroll videos on Youtube, select the ones with birds in and play those. People are in disbelief when the bird starts watching bird videos on his tablet. His "screen time" is not every day and limited to a few hours. I would love for him to be able to call other birds, he is smart enough to be able to pull that off right now. I have noticed some new behaviours recently: 1. If I'm eating the bird will beg me for food. I have been able to get him to try any foods that he sees me eating. 2. My bird has a high demand for proteins, which he gets somewhat in nuts (limited due to fats) and he will steal meat whenever possible. The species is not supposed to even want meat, but he will steal it when he can. 3. He now makes a wider variety of noises, far beyond any video I have seen of his species. I believe he is trying to replicate human speech and gets close in tone. We talk to him regularly and I think he tries to talk back. Anybody else experience strange behaviours with their birds? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superb_parrot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superb_parrot

firefax 1y ago
>His "screen time" is not every day and limited to a few hours. Are you worried if you give him excessive screen time he won't be able to focus on his studies or something? ;-) (Cute story, thanks for sharing.)
- bArray 1y ago
  I think my bird already has a difficult time focussing, he acts like he has ADHD. He'll happily sit their doom scrolling watching birds. The other concern is that when he gets too much screen time he becomes less interested in us and starts to be a little aggressive (lands on you and pecks you until you put bird videos on) whenever anybody gets a phone out.
  - indrora 1y ago
    A friend of mine has a parrot and I asked what having one is like and he just sent me this video [0] and the comment "Either peaceful and quiet or like this, wall to wall, no in between." [0] https://youtu.be/T8C8iJm_2gc https://youtu.be/T8C8iJm_2gc
    - bArray 1y ago
      Yeah pretty much, they are either just doing their own thing or they are fully engaged with destruction and chaos. You can kind of tell what mood they are in if you spend the time to read them.
  - MisterTea 1y ago
    > starts to be a little aggressive (lands on you and pecks you until you put bird videos on) whenever anybody gets a phone out. Its even psychologically addicting for birds.
    - krisoft 1y ago
      Or alternative interpretation: Parrots are highly social creatures who love hanging out and socialising with other birds. Even a relatively happy parrot who is kept with a few other birds to keep them company, and has access to rooms to fly can feel under-socialised and under-stimulated. (This is not a dig to the commenter in particular. Even if you are richer than a king, and have an aviary zoos would be jealous of probably your parrots are not getting as much stimulation as they would be getting in the wild.) As a substitute to the real socialisation it is craving it finds watching bird videos agreeable. Basically i wouldn’t call a starving man begging for scraps “addicted”. They just have an unfulfilled need. They found a way to fulfill that need (more or less) and they are pursuing what they found to work for them. This might be bothersome for the keepers of course, but it is not the bird who choose to become their captive pet. (I want to emphasise here that I assume that the commenter is a lovely, dedicated, bird-loving person who provides a large flock of friends to their parrots and all the enrichement they can think of and money can buy. This is not a comment on them doing anything wrong. Simply an observation that there are some parrots whose needs are neight impossible to fully meet in captivity.) If the comment would be about the parrot neglecting feeding, sleeping, or socialising with other real birds when they are provided ad libitum with bird videos that would be much more of a sign to me about the addictiveness of the videos.
      - MisterTea 1y ago
        The bird is captive and isolated from its fellow birds so of course it craves socialization.
      - bArray 1y ago
        Unfortunately he is isolated from his species (they are quite rare and endangered - we look out all the time for a female for him), but he flies a lot and socialises with other hook beak birds. > If the comment would be about the parrot neglecting feeding, sleeping, or socialising with other real birds when they are provided ad libitum with bird videos that would be much more of a sign to me about the addictiveness of the videos. He eats well (and varied), sleeps well, socialises with other birds and he plays games with us too. He hasn't got feather loss and he's not getting into weird psychotic behaviours. He has certain routines in his day where he waits for example to be let out in the morning and he puts himself back into his cage. I will say that when you eat near him, he gets excited and seems to be begging (or demanding) food. And when I say "aggressive" with mobile phones, I mean that he lands on you and pecks you (not nearly at full force) until you put on something he wants to watch. It's still not clear to me if it's addiction or just basic need.
  - firefax 1y ago
    >The other concern is that when he gets too much screen time he becomes less interested in us and starts to be a little aggressive (lands on you and pecks you until you put bird videos on) whenever anybody gets a phone out. Do you lock him up when this happens? I care for a bird, if it acts out when we let it roam, we lock it up the next day and it has quickly learned to enjoy it's limited freedom.
    - bArray 1y ago
      If he starts behaving like this we push him off and he flies away. He communicates his boundaries quite clearly by opening his beak (a warning before a peck), and we communicate ours by pushing him away. I should say that he generally behaves himself, but a little like a child, sometimes he is in "that mood" and is almost looks for trouble.
  - glompers 1y ago
    Could his new variety of vocalizations be imitating what he sees on his tablet?
    - bArray 1y ago
      Not sure, but it is difficult to imagine where these new sounds are coming from. I have never heard another bird quite like some of the sounds, one particularly clear one sounds like "eel" but it's as clear as a human would pronounce it. He also cycles through a pattern (probably for attracting a mate) and it gets more and more complex as time goes on. He keeps adding to the noises and pattern, but it's very predictable.
- NoToP 1y ago
  Every generation of parrots just parrots what the last generation of parrots said about them.
  - klik99 1y ago
    Parrot parents parrot their parents
nick__m 1y ago
The species is not supposed to even want meat, but he will steal it when he can. Most "seed eating" bird are opportunistic carnivore. Even the hummingbird with it's extra specialized beak supplements his diets with small insects! Oh and my 12yo bourk's parakeet really like chicken and madly love poutine. Its so funny seeing her taking a bite of French fries followed by a bite of cheese.
- margalabargala 1y ago
  This is not limited to birds. Deer, horses, etc will do the same to small mammals and birds.
TZubiri 1y ago
Nice, he is developing big brain
supertimor 1y ago
I have a double yellow headed Amazon. He doesn’t seem too interested in other birds (not very interested in my sister’s dove or the wild parrots that fly over head). I’ve put on Blue Planet or YouTubes videos before and he likes to listen to the bird songs/talk, but seems more interested in the sound than the video. My parrot is interested in my dog though and has picked up of few of my dog’s training commands. He started to say the release command for when my dog sits for his meals so now I get my parrot to use the command on cue, and get the bird to release the dog (and the dog gets dinner and he gets a treat). If I’m giving attention to my dog, he sometimes wants to come and sit with us on the couch and get some pets himself. He also used to like to drop food for my older dog (who passed), but my younger dog isn’t a huge fan of vegetables so the bird stopped doing it. If my dog seems like he wants to go out the bird will say “you wanna go out?”But most of the time they kind of just ignore each other. His language is very situational. When I uncover his cage in the morning, he says good morning, when I leave for work or to go out, he says goodbye. He makes water pouring sounds when I pour water, and call himself a good bird when he knows he’s done something good, or say ‘mmmm’ when I’ve given something he likes. He’ll say “wanna go out” when he wants out of his cage. He’s not overly loud for a parrot but does like to belt out some opera regularly. He learned most of his phrases/words within his first 2-4 years, but I’ve had him for 6 now and he’ll add a new word/phrase into his vocabulary from time to time. My bird also loves high protein and fatty foods (nuts and coconuts). I’ve never really allowed him to eat my food, but more recently he’s become interested in any food that I’m eating that he knows he’s allowed to have (nuts or popcorn etc), and will say “hello” over and over until I’ve gotten him his unsalted versions of them. I make him do tricks for them usually and that keeps him pretty polite about it. He’s a pretty big bird at 17”. He used to be a lot more adventurous about food, but he knows what he likes now and usually sticks to his favorites. He also likes to dip each of his kibbles into his water before eating them. I’ve never expected to get a parrot, but he sort of dropped in my lap and I rescued him. These parrots live as long as humans, so it’s quite the commitment. But he’s a very smart and sweet boi and he’s managed to charm his way into my life. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-headed_amazon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-headed_amazon
- technolo-g 1y ago
  My African Grey (21m) also dips his kibble in the water. He's done it for at least the past two decades and changing his water is more frequently required than filling up his food bowl. It's interesting to hear your Amazon does it too. Perhaps it's just logical and "cereal without milk" is universally disliked.

by bArray 1y ago

firefax 1y ago

>His "screen time" is not every day and limited to a few hours. Are you worried if you give him excessive screen time he won't be able to focus on his studies or something? ;-) (Cute story, thanks for sharing.)

bArray 1y ago
I think my bird already has a difficult time focussing, he acts like he has ADHD. He'll happily sit their doom scrolling watching birds. The other concern is that when he gets too much screen time he becomes less interested in us and starts to be a little aggressive (lands on you and pecks you until you put bird videos on) whenever anybody gets a phone out.
- indrora 1y ago
  A friend of mine has a parrot and I asked what having one is like and he just sent me this video [0] and the comment "Either peaceful and quiet or like this, wall to wall, no in between." [0] https://youtu.be/T8C8iJm_2gc https://youtu.be/T8C8iJm_2gc
  - bArray 1y ago
    Yeah pretty much, they are either just doing their own thing or they are fully engaged with destruction and chaos. You can kind of tell what mood they are in if you spend the time to read them.
- MisterTea 1y ago
  > starts to be a little aggressive (lands on you and pecks you until you put bird videos on) whenever anybody gets a phone out. Its even psychologically addicting for birds.
  - krisoft 1y ago
    Or alternative interpretation: Parrots are highly social creatures who love hanging out and socialising with other birds. Even a relatively happy parrot who is kept with a few other birds to keep them company, and has access to rooms to fly can feel under-socialised and under-stimulated. (This is not a dig to the commenter in particular. Even if you are richer than a king, and have an aviary zoos would be jealous of probably your parrots are not getting as much stimulation as they would be getting in the wild.) As a substitute to the real socialisation it is craving it finds watching bird videos agreeable. Basically i wouldn’t call a starving man begging for scraps “addicted”. They just have an unfulfilled need. They found a way to fulfill that need (more or less) and they are pursuing what they found to work for them. This might be bothersome for the keepers of course, but it is not the bird who choose to become their captive pet. (I want to emphasise here that I assume that the commenter is a lovely, dedicated, bird-loving person who provides a large flock of friends to their parrots and all the enrichement they can think of and money can buy. This is not a comment on them doing anything wrong. Simply an observation that there are some parrots whose needs are neight impossible to fully meet in captivity.) If the comment would be about the parrot neglecting feeding, sleeping, or socialising with other real birds when they are provided ad libitum with bird videos that would be much more of a sign to me about the addictiveness of the videos.
    - MisterTea 1y ago
      The bird is captive and isolated from its fellow birds so of course it craves socialization.
    - bArray 1y ago
      Unfortunately he is isolated from his species (they are quite rare and endangered - we look out all the time for a female for him), but he flies a lot and socialises with other hook beak birds. > If the comment would be about the parrot neglecting feeding, sleeping, or socialising with other real birds when they are provided ad libitum with bird videos that would be much more of a sign to me about the addictiveness of the videos. He eats well (and varied), sleeps well, socialises with other birds and he plays games with us too. He hasn't got feather loss and he's not getting into weird psychotic behaviours. He has certain routines in his day where he waits for example to be let out in the morning and he puts himself back into his cage. I will say that when you eat near him, he gets excited and seems to be begging (or demanding) food. And when I say "aggressive" with mobile phones, I mean that he lands on you and pecks you (not nearly at full force) until you put on something he wants to watch. It's still not clear to me if it's addiction or just basic need.
- firefax 1y ago
  >The other concern is that when he gets too much screen time he becomes less interested in us and starts to be a little aggressive (lands on you and pecks you until you put bird videos on) whenever anybody gets a phone out. Do you lock him up when this happens? I care for a bird, if it acts out when we let it roam, we lock it up the next day and it has quickly learned to enjoy it's limited freedom.
  - bArray 1y ago
    If he starts behaving like this we push him off and he flies away. He communicates his boundaries quite clearly by opening his beak (a warning before a peck), and we communicate ours by pushing him away. I should say that he generally behaves himself, but a little like a child, sometimes he is in "that mood" and is almost looks for trouble.
- glompers 1y ago
  Could his new variety of vocalizations be imitating what he sees on his tablet?
  - bArray 1y ago
    Not sure, but it is difficult to imagine where these new sounds are coming from. I have never heard another bird quite like some of the sounds, one particularly clear one sounds like "eel" but it's as clear as a human would pronounce it. He also cycles through a pattern (probably for attracting a mate) and it gets more and more complex as time goes on. He keeps adding to the noises and pattern, but it's very predictable.
NoToP 1y ago
Every generation of parrots just parrots what the last generation of parrots said about them.
- klik99 1y ago
  Parrot parents parrot their parents

nick__m 1y ago

The species is not supposed to even want meat, but he will steal it when he can. Most "seed eating" bird are opportunistic carnivore. Even the hummingbird with it's extra specialized beak supplements his diets with small insects! Oh and my 12yo bourk's parakeet really like chicken and madly love poutine. Its so funny seeing her taking a bite of French fries followed by a bite of cheese.

margalabargala 1y ago
This is not limited to birds. Deer, horses, etc will do the same to small mammals and birds.

TZubiri 1y ago

Nice, he is developing big brain

supertimor 1y ago

I have a double yellow headed Amazon. He doesn’t seem too interested in other birds (not very interested in my sister’s dove or the wild parrots that fly over head). I’ve put on Blue Planet or YouTubes videos before and he likes to listen to the bird songs/talk, but seems more interested in the sound than the video. My parrot is interested in my dog though and has picked up of few of my dog’s training commands. He started to say the release command for when my dog sits for his meals so now I get my parrot to use the command on cue, and get the bird to release the dog (and the dog gets dinner and he gets a treat). If I’m giving attention to my dog, he sometimes wants to come and sit with us on the couch and get some pets himself. He also used to like to drop food for my older dog (who passed), but my younger dog isn’t a huge fan of vegetables so the bird stopped doing it. If my dog seems like he wants to go out the bird will say “you wanna go out?”But most of the time they kind of just ignore each other. His language is very situational. When I uncover his cage in the morning, he says good morning, when I leave for work or to go out, he says goodbye. He makes water pouring sounds when I pour water, and call himself a good bird when he knows he’s done something good, or say ‘mmmm’ when I’ve given something he likes. He’ll say “wanna go out” when he wants out of his cage. He’s not overly loud for a parrot but does like to belt out some opera regularly. He learned most of his phrases/words within his first 2-4 years, but I’ve had him for 6 now and he’ll add a new word/phrase into his vocabulary from time to time. My bird also loves high protein and fatty foods (nuts and coconuts). I’ve never really allowed him to eat my food, but more recently he’s become interested in any food that I’m eating that he knows he’s allowed to have (nuts or popcorn etc), and will say “hello” over and over until I’ve gotten him his unsalted versions of them. I make him do tricks for them usually and that keeps him pretty polite about it. He’s a pretty big bird at 17”. He used to be a lot more adventurous about food, but he knows what he likes now and usually sticks to his favorites. He also likes to dip each of his kibbles into his water before eating them. I’ve never expected to get a parrot, but he sort of dropped in my lap and I rescued him. These parrots live as long as humans, so it’s quite the commitment. But he’s a very smart and sweet boi and he’s managed to charm his way into my life. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-headed_amazon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-headed_amazon

technolo-g 1y ago
My African Grey (21m) also dips his kibble in the water. He's done it for at least the past two decades and changing his water is more frequently required than filling up his food bowl. It's interesting to hear your Amazon does it too. Perhaps it's just logical and "cereal without milk" is universally disliked.