Percy will take baths in my hands, and Merlin would love to just plant his little head under my nose and make birdie/kissy noises 24/7, but I think some of their less affectionate shenanigans are the cutest.
I am trying to go a step further in their training. Lately, I've started indicating their
name and then the
action ("Merlin! C'Mere!") so they learn that I'm only going to reward the bird I called. Before this, I would work with whichever bird was ready faster/was making good eye contact, really just trying to involve them both without any violence. Merlin is
always faster, so he hates this new system, and the way he expresses his disapproval is
hilarious.
Yesterday's scene: I called Percy. Merlin landed instead. I set Merlin down and said, "No,
Percy!" If Percy doesn't respond after two prompts, I'll switch to Merlin, but this isn't fast enough for the talent. Merlin was squawking, stomping around, landing on my shoulder to pull my hair (his favorite "LOOK AT ME" move, since my haircut), and trying to give me a little nip on my treat-less hand.
At one point, Merlin flew away to sing to the bathroom mirror, which I'm pretty sure is his way of saying, "if you're gonna do me like this I'll be disloyal".
Then, after all of two seconds, he realized that this means
I'm alone with Percy, gave a piercing shriek of dismay and anger, and came hurtling back, sometimes with a little "bEEbeepBEEBEEBEEE" tantrum.
Merlin's contact call has also changed over the almost two years I've had him-- he has a special, very funny version that goes up in pitch and volume like a teakettle whistle. He uses it when the usual call isn't good enough, or when he's very excited. He'll do it in the morning if I take too long to get up. The pellet bowl is in front of the one part of the cage that isn't covered at night, so he'll stand on the bowl in the early morning light and squeak at me while eating pellets-- it creates the exact impression of someone sitting on a stool a foot away from your bed and making sustained eye contact while munching their bowl of cereal and occasionally shouting "HEY!" with their mouth full.
Percy is a simple, sweet (not so) little guy who doesn't want to be involved in this nonsense, so his cute moments are much more understated.
