Evolution sort of makes the whole idea of extinction and "survival" blindingly complex. The simple idea that "birds==dinosaurs (maybe)" led to us having pet bi

Evolution sort of makes the whole idea of extinction and "survival" blindingly complex. The simple idea that "birds==dinosaurs (maybe)" led to us having pet birds for a while ( through the influence of our youngest ), which was very rewarding. With smarter birds, there's more of a sense of a cognitive "there" there than most animals. Almost what you get with dogs - although dogs have been ...engineered so heavily as our "familiars" that this takes some of the fun out of it.