I have an elenora, a female whom I've had for 29 years. I've never had an umbrella, so I can't really compare the 2, but I can tell you about her. She's pretty independent - she doesn't need to be held, she's very good at enjoying ambient attention. But she does thoroughly enjoy being held and touched, and she'll enjoy it for as long as you're willing to lavish the attention. She isn't very loud, but she can be "whiny" at times, especially if we're making food! She can be very demanding if she sees a box of cereal or crackers. She likes everyone in the family, but she sometimes turns into a little brat if my husband and I are sitting on the couch in the evening watching a movie. She's really bonded to me, so at these times she INSISTS on running over to him to "attack." She has no beak, so she can't hurt him, but it does get annoying. She is very persistent about it, but only in the evenings when we're together on the couch. She isn't a good talker, but she does say some things. She LOVES music and will dance enthusiastically to anything with a beat. She loves to spend time playing with tiny pieces of things - bits of paper, small seeds, bits of feather floof, dried beans, etc. As I said mine is a female; I've heard that males can quite a bit more aggressive when they're feeling hormonal (and in my experience, Beaker is very hormonal, at least with me, her favorite person).