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When we were kids, growing up in Florida, the rule in our house was to be where we could hear our mother, if she was calling us home.
We had neighbors who had 2 Macaws. A red one and a blue one. Sometimes, on pretty days, the neighbors would have the macaws in a big cage in their back yard.
Those birds learned my mother's voice, and would sometimes call us home. We'd go home, only to find out it was the parrots calling us home. It could get annoying. lol
Well if some swearing parrot needs a new home, I would be glad to have them. I think it's hilarious.
I always wanted a parrot who would swear in Russian. Maybe when a lady enters his field of view, he should say the equivalent of "Hey Baby!". Well it's funnier in the original Russian.
Well, though this doesn't bring about the same scenario at all, I know, we have a little female 9 year old budgie who says, rather frequently, "Hi BABY"!!!!! She also says, "I love you, honey".......no swearing, though, that I can understand.
IMO the story about the parrot swearing contagion hilarious, apparently from the responses here and reported in the story I'm not alone. We've had a few birds who had pretty decent vocabularies over the years ( including our current budgie) and it's been my experience that birds who tend to talk learn to say the words and phrases they hear repetitively, and those that they just plain like. And if they like the sound of particular words the owners or caretakers have to make little to no effort to have the bird pick up those words and say them repetitively. I'm guessing those African greys REALLY like the sounds of the cuss words they're repeating, and being as super smart as birds are, have no problems learning those words from their "flock", ie, other birds. They also love the attention that saying those words bring them.
It's one thing for a thoughtless owner to intentionally teach a parrot to cuss, but sometimes they simply overhear it in everyday conversation. There are lots of very potty-mouthed humans around. If/when their bird swears people react, so a bored or neglected parrot learns swearing results in attention. As mentioned before, they tend to be drama queens. They love commotion. I'm certainly no prude and can cuss like a sailor (compliments of my navy dad) but I don't use language like that in conversation. I reserve it for the bashed toe, stupid mistake, frustration filling out a tax return, something when I'm alone with myself. Many folks don't.
An elderly lady friend of mine rescued parrots and had 2-3 African greys when I'd visit her years ago. They were always surprising her with what they picked up. One was incredibly skilled at mimicking many household sounds. Microwave beeps, burglar alarm keypad, clocks, kitchen appliance noises, creaky hinges, TV or radio chatter, everything. She got the bird from another family. They had several young kids and a new baby (one reason they got rid of the parrot). The parrot learned a lot from each of her families and would repeat words or phrases in the voice of the person she heard use it. The mom apparently shouted "because I told you to!" quite a bit. The parrot would shout "because I told you to!" in her voice. She also imitated baby crying and an obviously sulky kid screaming "I don' wanna!"
It caused a problem with phone calls. When the phone rang, my friend would drop what she was doing to answer the call, only to discover the parrot was imitating the ring tone and her run was wasted. She suspected the parrot enjoyed watching her rush around. So, clever person that she was, instead of struggling to extinguish a behavior the bird seemed to enjoy, she channeled it. She taught the parrot to "answer" a real the ring with "Hello!" If she heard the ringtone but NO Hello, she knew it was the parrot messing with her. If she heard the ringtone followed by "Hello!", she knew there really was a call coming in. The parrot certainly learned to say Hello quite easily...and did so in a perfect imitation of her teacher's distinctive low-pitched voice.
Another interesting thing was how quickly this parrot learned patterns in household activity. When my friend went out the front door it was usually to retrieve mail from her mailbox. She'd come back indoors in a couple of minutes. The parrot wouldn't say anything in particular. When she went out the back door she intended to be gone for some time. The back door led to the garage/car and that's where the burglar alarm keypad was mounted. The parrot knew she was actually leaving, so she'd politely announce "Goodbye!", again in my friend's voice.
You ought to hear those birds with a houseful of people with allergies. Birds imitating those sneezes, sniffles, snorts and throat clearing makes it sound like those poor birds have it worse than the humans!
You ought to hear those birds with a houseful of people with allergies. Birds imitating those sneezes, sniffles, snorts and throat clearing makes it sound like those poor birds have it worse than the humans!
You're right! I now remember my friend's parrot imitating her distinctive throat clearing too!
You ought to hear those birds with a houseful of people with allergies. Birds imitating those sneezes, sniffles, snorts and throat clearing makes it sound like those poor birds have it worse than the humans!
We had neighbors who had 2 Macaws. A red one and a blue one. Sometimes, on pretty days, the neighbors would have the macaws in a big cage in their back yard.
Those birds learned my mother's voice, and would sometimes call us home. We'd go home, only to find out it was the parrots calling us home. It could get annoying. lol
My parents had a neighbor who owned two Miniature Schnauzers and an African Grey parrot. The parrot would call the dogs (mimicking the neighbors' voice), and when the dogs came into the room the parrot would say "Bad dogs! BAD DOGS!' and laugh. The poor dogs never did learn to tell the difference between the neighbor's voice and the parrot's voice.
After you've known a few parrots, you realize that "birdbrain" isn't an insult, it's a complement!
After you've known a few parrots, you realize that "birdbrain" isn't an insult, it's a complement!
Yeah? Well, I've dealt with a few owls, raptors, and Galliformes who fit that descriptor perfectly! Ever heard of a "dunder chicken"? Some grouse earn that moniker because they seem notoriously clueless or trusting. I've actually walked right up to them before they reacted. Of course, part of that may be because they put too much faith in their cryptic coloration. They just can't believe anyone actually saw them.
"Grendel, our African Grey, is perversely determined to NOT learn what we want him to say, and instead chooses his own phrases and sounds to imitate. He uses specific sounds to serve as names for each family member. Unfortunately, his name for me sounds like a belch, and my husband’s sounds like a fart. (We are a classy household.) He will occasionally speak an entire sentence that he has heard, and never repeat it again.
If any of us sneeze or cough, he starts hacking like a life-long smoker. He meows, barks, and hoots like an owl. No electronic sound nor squeaky cupboard is safe from his imitation. He asks for kisses, tells us we are pretty, and asks "who's a good kitty?” — but we tried to teach him none of this.
The one exception: he will deign to whistle Bridge Over the River Kwai, though it gets a little meandery at the end."
and....
"Let's just say
~ NEVER Have Sex in the Same room as my African Grey ~ they Repeat EVERYTHING!!"
and....
"I have had for, oh about 26 years, a nanday parrot named Doc. I was given him by someone who was fed up. Doc, like many parrots, was given up during his puberty. Like humans, they are just not that much fun to be around during puberty, for about the same reasons.
Nandays are infamous for being the kind of parrot you would give someone you don't like much. They are very loud, stubborn, and difficult to train. My beloved Doc is all of the above.
Docs favorite thing, next to bells, is to imitate any sound the human body makes involuntarily.
Think about that for a minute. Think about all the sounds a human body makes. Doc loves them all, but the more dramatic, the more he is excited by it, the more he remembers and will repeat that sound.
I learned early on to *never* keep his cage in or near the bedroom. Never.
We make a lot of noise in the bathroom too! One memorable GI bug I had….ah, that took a few years for him to stop making those noises… when he was bored or if he saw someone heading towards the bathroom."
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) but I don't use language like that in conversation. I reserve it for the bashed toe, stupid mistake, frustration filling out a tax return, something when I'm alone with myself. Many folks don't. 
