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How much do they really understand?

jmfleish

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Jon and I put a new platform perch into Smokey's cage yesterday and of course Smokey took the chance to escape and was walking around on the top of his cage and on the side and was off to who knows where...those greys, they like to wander! Smokey is Jon's bird...he loves Jon and we knew that when we got him...he likes men. That's kind of why we got him, none of the other greys really took to Jon and Jon was always complaining that none of them really like him so when a client of mine said she had a grey who only liked men and was looking for a home for him, I said we'd be happy to take him. Smokey tolerates me but does like to stalk my feet and will bite me if I hand him my fingers while he's on his cage. He's a good bird though and will easily step up on a stick for me and we have an understanding when it comes to cleaning his cage and food and watering. He's a fairly good bird except for when it comes to the stalking and biting of my feet. Clancy is the same way, although it's not my feet he goes after...Clancy likes me and does not go after my feet but will bite Jon's feet if he is out and about the floor. We try to keep them off the floor but they get on out and walk around every now and then.

Anyway, so...Smokey is out and Jon and I are installing a fairly large corner perch in his cage and I ask Jon where Smokey is and Jon says he doesn't know and asks if I'm worried and I say yes! I'm wearing sandals! All of the sudden, Clancy pipes in saying, "Let him do it!" Both Jon and I literally say at the same time, "Let him do it?" looking at each other stunned! It was clear as day! We were not just hearing something garbled. I have never heard Clancy say that phrase ever before. Could he have possibly known what we were talking about, knowing that I was worried about Smokey coming after my feet? Do they really understand and know how to use our language or am I just anthropomorphizing here? I was just stunned!

Clancy is just an amazing grey and usually comes up with amazing things to say. He spends half the day yelling at the chickens or the other noisy birds in the house telling them to be quiet or to knock it off! Every now and then he'll come up with a doozy though like the day he told Tuchis to "Put a sock in it!" when Tuchis was being really loud. A few weeks ago when Cisco nearly fell of the top of her cage, he said something like be careful and it's the tone he uses too...not just the words. I wish I could tell him how much he enriches my life...he's just amazing!:)
 

MARILYN CEDENO

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I don't doubt that they associate certain events with certain phrases/ words. When I am out of Roxie's sight, either in the kitchen preparing her chop or eating at the dining room table, she'll call out "what're you doing?!" She never says this at any other time. She also yawns loudly, either early in the morning when I'm on the couch having my coffee, or late at night when I am watching the evening news and she is settling in for sleep.
 

sunnysmom

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I think they definitely have a level of understanding.

I always followed @cassiesdad's lead and would explain things to Sunny as to what we doing etc. I told him one night that the next day we were all going to go and visit my parents. For reasons, I don't remember now, we decided last minute not to go. But I forgot to tell Sunny. All morning, he kept flying to the kitchen (where the door is that we use to go to the car) and refusing to leave the kitchen- which he never did. Finally, it dawned on me that he was afraid we were going to leave without him. So, I explained to him that we weren't going to go to my parents after all and he then happily spent the rest of the day in the living room- his normal hang out place. I know it sounds a little crazy, but I really believe he understood and that's why he was doing what he was doing.
 

jmfleish

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I think they definitely have a level of understanding.

I always followed @cassiesdad's lead and would explain things to Sunny as to what we doing etc. I told him one night that the next day we were all going to go and visit my parents. For reasons, I don't remember now, we decided last minute not to go. But I forgot to tell Sunny. All morning, he kept flying to the kitchen (where the door is that we use to go to the car) and refusing to leave the kitchen- which he never did. Finally, it dawned on me that he was afraid we were going to leave without him. So, I explained to him that we weren't going to go to my parents after all and he then happily spent the rest of the day in the living room- his normal hang out place. I know it sounds a little crazy, but I really believe he understood and that's why he was doing what he was doing.

Awwww! That's so sweet!
 

Tyrion

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Yes they do understand ..Tyrion totally does I have started to not be so shocked when things come out of his beak I just take it for granted and talk back to him like he was a person ...like when Ghost gets to noisy he has said "give that pet or bird a toy " or when Ghost flew on me yesterday Tyrion said "now dont bite ma "and everything he says is very clear ..he has said when Ghost is screaming at bedtime "shut that bird up its bedtime " ...so like I said I dont get shocked anymore I just laugh and talk right back to him ...when he wants to come out of his cage he says it " I want to come out " ..he has a very good since of humor I have caught him singing into his food dish about how much he loves it ....he loves to sing ...when he scares himself he says "careful bird be careful " before I do ...it is really like having a small child around ... ;)
 

TikiMyn

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O WoW these stories are amazing! I love it:)
 

iamwhoiam

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They know what they are saying. When one of my 'toos is screaming some of my red-bellied boys will tell her to stop and actually name the 'too that is doing the screaming. They can actually discriminate between the screams. Sophie tried to chase a seed moth away by telling it "Get out of here." She fell off her perch one day and said, "G-d damn it."
One of my red-bellies (RIP Alec :() would request books that he wanted read to him, would ask for his "grandma" and talk to her on the phone and tell her "Come here, grandma." When she would come over to visit he would have conversations with her and what he said was always appropriate. Just a few examples.
 

finchly

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Not what he said, but what I said that he understood...
This morning I was wearing Ernie on one shoulder and skittles on the other. I was offering skittles some treats from my hand, and Ernie acted like he was gonna move to that shoulder. So I offered him some --/ and he bit my pinky.

I never Yell but today I did; I said "you are going back to your cage, young man!" So awkward Ernie who never flies on purpose flew back into his cage!
 

Cynth

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Oh I think they understand completely. I remember looking at my gray and he was dying and I was crying and I looked at him and said I love you.
He looked up at me and said I love you too.
It was the too that caught me off-guard and made me understand that he just really understood. Those were the last words that he said.
 

iamwhoiam

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Oh I think they understand completely. I remember looking at my gray and he was dying and I was crying and I looked at him and said I love you.
He looked up at me and said I love you too.
It was the too that caught me off-guard and made me understand that he just really understood. Those were the last words that he said.

Sorry about your gray but that is a very sweet and touching story.
 

DQTimnehs

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Yeah they understand.
One time I was reaching into Darwin's cage to get some dirty paper. He was on the door above me. I groaned and he said "you ok?" :)

And Pogo sitting on my shoulder made a shrill noise. The cat at my feet jumped and I said to Pogo "don't, you're scaring the cat." Pogo said "it's ok, Blan" (which he called Blanche) to reassure her. He had the wrong cat's name as it was Scully but just to put it all together, the scaring, the reassuring with a cat's name was all pretty remarkable! :D
 

Lodah

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I know that Pilo is gaining so much understanding as he ages and some of his statements are mind blowing and precise as to the timing and event! His intelligence and thought provoked statements are amazing! His ability to communicate is rare for a GCC (as far as I am aware) as they are not supposed to be great talkers... but he sure blew that myth out of the water! :)
 

Ankou

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Oh I think they understand completely. I remember looking at my gray and he was dying and I was crying and I looked at him and said I love you.
He looked up at me and said I love you too.
It was the too that caught me off-guard and made me understand that he just really understood. Those were the last words that he said.
That's really touching. Now I'm crying too.
I'm so sorry for your loss. :sadhug2:


Meanwhile on an unrelated and more lighthearted note, Peanut's response to basically everything is a tiny "pbbbh" or "twee tweet" and she used to get trapped in her own open cage. Bless her. :heart:
(I tease; she's not dumb just more on the level of a very small child or clever dog rather than a 8-12 year old. And I like it that way. I don't know if I could keep up with the needs of a highly intelligent bird.)

Everyone's stories are always really awesome to hear!
It's funny to me how science is always playing catch-up to prove what owners already know but it really does seem they have far greater understanding than we give them credit for. Even if the understanding of what they/we are saying isn't perfect the context seems to be and that's more than I can say for my skills in a foreign language spoken by a different species.
 
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