Welcome to you and Ezra!
There's so much to say, but I'll start with praising you for taking Ezra to the vet to ensure he has a clean bill of health. That relationship and baseline will be valuable going forward, plus it will put your mind at ease that the "screams a lot throughout the day" observation isn't due to a health concern, but likely just the newness of his environment.
Next, I'd encourage you to have patience with Ezra as he gets settled into his new life. At his age, it's likely he has established likes and dislikes, so unless you received a detailed briefing from his previous caregivers, the first part of your relationship will be spent figuring out what makes Ezra tick -- and you've started that process during a time of year that triggers hormonal behaviour for many birds (so don't judge him too harshly).
I've included two photos of my Jericho below which illustrate ways he's been very hormonal this season. You can see him being nesty in my fruit bowl (which is no longer with us), and cavity seeking in my upper cabinets. It doesn't take a determined macaw long to figure out how to get what they want even when the lower cabinets have been secured (upper cabinets are now chained too). Hormones also manifest through increased chasing and aggression toward my other two. Jericho chasing the others is something we work through all year long, but I'd say that hormones
amplify those behaviours. He always likes shredding paper, for example, but this time of year he actively seeks it out (searching my pockets, discovering the paper towel and toilet paper holders, mail pile, etc).
He's also very expressive with his voice and over time I've learned to distinguish what each means. If you've ever seen a toddler in a grocery store throwing a tantrum because their parent won't give them candy... that pathetic wailing sob... yet also clearly not signalling pain or danger... that's one type. The toddler who's pretending to cry while looking out the corner of their eye to see if their parent is paying attention... that's another. The toddler who's hungry or thirsty or tired, yet doesn't know how to convey that they're hungry or thirsty or tired... that's another.
Something just scared me is another yell. Yelling
with the flock is another... yell
at the flock is another... and so on. The point is, you'll figure out the yells -- they're all meaningful if we pay attention.
That last "I want" scream is a delicate one to manoeuvre because we shouldn't reward those outbursts, yet when I hear that at a certain time of day, I
know what Jericho wants, so it becomes a matter of letting him settle and compose himself, and then providing what he was loudly asking for.
It's not all yells though. Jericho laughs when it makes sense to laugh. He uses words in context. He knows what it means when I'm looking at him in a certain way (like your 'read my mind' comment).
He's quite a smarty pants.
Hopefully some of that sounds familiar and is somewhat reassuring as you begin your relationship with Ezra.
