Little pitchers have big ears

[pjthompson]

You know how you have to be careful what you say around little kids because you're likely to hear that same language coming out of their mouths at the most embarrassing times?

I'm here to tell you, the same applies to talking birds—and not just for words, but any sound you make on a regular basis or that they hear in nature and outside nature.

The roommate's starling, Baby, is a brilliant mime. His vocal effects include the whirling of the calculator when she's got the tape running, the barking of the little dog a few doors down, the cawing of the crows outside, and the chickens who used to live over the back fence. He whistles the opening bars of The Blue Danube, only he's replaced the pom-pom pom-pom at the end with the smooch-smooch smooch-smooch noise we taught him. (Although sometimes the notes of the Danube wander off into some strange territory. Mozart had the same problem with his pet starling.) Baby also wolf whistles. This has caused amusement on many occasions when unsuspecting humans have walked by him. His favorite words currently are "What?" said in a semi-startled tone, "okay," "ouch" (he's been known to bite), "kiss," and "bugs fresh"—that last a request for mealy worms, a staple of his diet (starlings are non-seed-eaters). We don't know why he reversed the word order since it was originally "fresh bugs," but that's another well-known characteristic of talking starlings, mixing the words up and sticking them together in different order. This has also been known to cause amusement.

Now we get to the little pitchers part of this post...

His latest sound effect is a, well, very natural sound. In the last few days he's started making the sound of a ripe, full, basso profundo fart.

I'm not pointing any figures, but I will say that the roommate is the one who spends the most time with him. Just sayin'. Be careful out there—and watch your sound effects in polite company.

Comments

[hominysnark.livejournal.com]

That's actually pretty convenient--next time someone passes gas, you can just blame it on the bird.

(Yes, the cats get blamed for everything around here. Even when I'm not here.)

[pjthompson]

Hadn't thought of that angle. Good thinking!

[frigg.livejournal.com]

hahaha...that's precious! I didn't even know starlings could build up such a varied..err..."vocabulary".

[pjthompson]

Oh yeah. It tends to shuffle around over time. They forget stuff if it isn't repeated a lot.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

That's funny!

BTW, a 17th century proverb runs:

Children pick up words as pigeons peas
And utter them again when God shall please.

[pjthompson]

lol--good one. Some things never change.

[purdypiedad.livejournal.com]

Oh, now that is just awesome! Do you know if starlings are in the mynah family?

I used to have a rainbow lorikeet with a vocabulary that was quite entertaining. He also learned to bite and then yell "ouch!" quite loudly. He regularly mimicked the sound of squeaky doors. One day, I thought was had a trespasser. Shortly after that, I thought we had a ghost, because I couldn't find anybody in the house, yet I heard doors opening and closing for several days! But, when multiple doors started squeaking at the same time, I learned that my ghost was Sigmund, the parrot.

The poor guy would never get it through his head that his wings were clipped, so he'd constantly launch off my hand and plummet to the ground, sometimes crashing into things. In panic, I'd run to where he fell and pick him up, saying something like, "Oh, Sigmund! Are you ok??? It's ok, buddy. You're ok. That's a good bird!" So, naturally, he soon learned to comfort himself after his crash landings with my exact phraseology. It was quite helpful for the times he crashed into tiny places where he was hard to find.

[pjthompson]

Love it! Yes, starlings are indeed part of the mynah family. This one fell out of the nest when he wasn't even fully fledged and a neighbor, knowing the roommmate's rep for helping hurt birds, brought him to her. So, he doesn't really know he's supposed to be a wild bird.

Your Sigmund sounds adorable. Birds really are wonderful pets, especially the talking variety. People who've never been around them don't seem to realize how much personality they have. Immitating the door is just hilarious.

[purdypiedad.livejournal.com]

You roommate sounds awesome.

I've had two parrots, and I agree with you. Apart from being the highest maintenance pets I've ever owned, they were wonderful.

Sigmund used to wrestle with me like a cat, on his back, gently attacking my hand with nails and beak. He was such a clown too. In stead of jumping on my hand when I let him out of the cage, he'd jump on my hand and hang upside down. Oh! And you should have seen the state of the bathroom if I let him play in a sink full of water!!!

I also had a cockatoo. She was such a sweetie. She'd fall asleep in my arms, laying on her back like a baby. Unfortunately, she didn't care for being dethroned when my daughter was born and had to find a new home.

[pjthompson]

You're right that they're very high maintenance, especially the non-seed eaters, but they're so much fun!

Oh! And you should have seen the state of the bathroom if I let him play in a sink full of water!!!

Baby has to be the cleanest bird on the planet. He loves taking baths--5, 6, 7 a day if we'll let him. Water running in the kitchen sink is his favorite shower.

I also had a cockatoo.

We had cockatiels when I was younger. They were fun. But cockatoos are so beautiful.

[jandersoncoats.livejournal.com]

I'm reminded of the myna bird in Judy Blume's Fudge books that says "Bonjour, stupid."

[pjthompson]

Starlings are actually part of the mynah family, so no wonder. They can be rather choosy sometimes about what they decide to add to their vocabulary. Sometimes you repeat things over and over hoping they'll pick it up and they do, sometimes they steadfastly refuse. The accidental pickups tend to be most fun.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

That...is... brilliant! A living whoopi cushion!

[pjthompson]

I know! I can hardly wait until the next time company is over. :-)

[merebrillante.livejournal.com]

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

If a fart sounds in a room, but there is no smell, is it a fart?

[pjthompson]

Sound without fury, clearly.