Hi Janis,

Believe it or not, I actually read the little status updates on the left side of Forum posts. (I use mine as a blog, or at least as close to one as I'm ever going to write.)

Two dogs and a parrot!, you've got me interested....

I've got two dogs, and I'm sure many others here do too. But the parrot? Are you minding it for a pirate friend?

I once lived half a block from a pet shop that had a gray parrot - the most foul-mouthed bird that probably ever lived. I really, really wanted to make him a part of my life, but he (I think it was a he) cost about 2 months wages and I just couldn't manage it.

He was, according to the shop owner, about 60 years old then. I'm almost 60 now myself. I'm old and he is still young, or at least middle aged.

Best,
Melody

Hi Melody,
I'm "holiday sitting" my little menagerie for a neighbour and my big sister Shelia.
The dogs are two lovely Border Collies. I've looked after them before and they're quite at ease with me, (and me with them).
As to the parrot.
It's an African Grey and as I said previously it belongs to my sister Shelia who can be a bit mean at times but she's definitely not a pirate.
It used to belong to my Mother and before that to an elderly woman who lived next door to her. I know then it's definitely 32yrs old but I suspect it's much older.
Like all good parrots it has a rich vocabulary of profanities. It also sometimes seems to mutter what sound like strings of words which nobody can make out. The voice of a long dead owner perhaps?
It once escaped for over three weeks, and was returned in answer to an advert in the local paper in perfect health. I often wonder what the local bird population thought of this exotic stranger in their midst.

I have a customer who has a gray parrot. I don't know enough about them to know what kind or where it came from but apparently they are not cheap. I can't say I heard any profanities from this one, but the owner has it trained to say "Hey sexy."
Hugs,
Marsha

Hi Janis,

No offense meant to your sister. Just got through rereading Treasure Island (as an e-book) and Long John Silver's parrot, Captain Flint, was on my mind. I was thinking back 35 years or so to the parrot in the pet shop when I saw your status. Come to think of it, I do now recall you mentioning your sister's bird a while back, but talking birds weren't on my mind at the time...

Best,
Melody

"PIECES OF EIGHT!"

You mean it's not a Norwegian Blue that's pining for the fiords..................? How disappointing!


Lynn H.

Of course your quite correct Lynn.
How can you possibly have a thread about parrots without mentioning the Norwegian Blue?

Hi Lynn,

Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, isn't it, eh? Beautiful plumage!

Best,
Melody

...bereft of ship he rests in Dundee THIS IS AN EX-PIRATE.

Don't know much about birds (the feathered kind) but I was told once that owls live a very, very long life.
eh ! (just thought I'd contribute)
hugs
Gracie

the girl who decked the school bully for picking on me in 5th grade signed my 7th grade yearbook "to a tadpole, from a bird"

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie is for sale

I must take a trip to California
And leave my poor sweetheart alone
If he has a dog, he won't be lonesome
And the doggie will have a good home

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie is for sale

I read in the papers, there are robbers
With flash lights that shine in the dark
My love needs a doggie to protect him
And scare them away with one bark

I don't want a bunny or a kitty
I don't want a parrot that talks
I don't want a bowl of little fishies
You can't take a goldfish for walks

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie is for sale

Best,
Melody

Hi Melody,

don't forget it's unique habit of nailing itself to its perch!

Lynn H.

I have a c0ckatiel called Basil, I should of named him Poo Bag, because thats all he is good for! lol

I love the way you've gotten round "c0ckatiel"
I once had to do a presentation about the re-introduction of wildlife into the Scottish highlands and every time I entered the word "beaver" it was rejected!

Could have been worse-what about c0ckatoos and beavers in S****horpe or F0cking (Austria)......................?!

ciao

Lynn H.

love is wonderful

A parrot or cuckoo would do,
A canary or c*ckatoo, too.
I’m planning to buy
A new cageling to try
Out the coop that my birdie just flew.
- Chris Doyle


Best,
Melody

And of course there's always the dyslexic pirate who carried a carrot on his shoulder.

And one from the poor parrot's viewpoint:

My Pirate lies over the ocean
My Pirate lies over the sea
My Pirate lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my Pirate to me

Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Pirate to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Pirate to me

The winds will blow over the ocean
The winds will blow over the sea
The winds will blow over the ocean
To bring back my Pirate to me

Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Pirate to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Pirate to me

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my Pirate to me

Best,
Melody

There are wild Macaws living in parks in London who were famously supposed to have been released by Jimi Hendrix.