Do you tell your birds

[Toy]

I bit my tongue, as I was afraid they wouldn't let me buy her & get her out of there. She rewarded me for saving her .

 

[GreenThing]

I always talk to my birds. To other people I probably sound crazy, lol.
I tell them when I'm leaving and when I'll be back, I tell them I'm leaving plenty of food for the day so they'll be fine. If I leave for a longer time I tell them someone is going to come and take care of them and that she's really nice and will take good care of them.
But I also tell them whenever I'm doing anything in their cage, like cleaning, setting up new toys, giving them their bath, filling up food, etc.
I think hearing me talking to them in a calm voice helps reassure them that everything is okay.

I can't understate how helpful this habit was when Merlin lost his eyesight-- and, now that he's regained a little but not all of it, the fact that he knows words like, "shoulder" and "up, up" have made it so much easier for us to work together.

I think they absolutely know what phrases like, "just me" and "clean paper" mean from repetition and context. If someone came in and started turning lights out and covering the cage without using all of the phrases I use to signal what's happening, I think it would make them really anxious.