Ripley (sort of) painted a picture today (mostly he destroyed a paintbrush while making incidental marks on paper beside him). He did choose the color of food dye we diluted for his paint, even saying “blue” several times while working on his picture destroying the paintbrush.
there’s a popular misconception that parrots are the only birds capable of learning to say human words. that’s not to say parrots aren’t excellent at it – but there’s quite a few other species that can do it too!
birds from the corvid family (crows, ravens, jays) are not only incredibly smart, some can learn to say human words, and evidence points towards them understanding some of what they say, though this isn’t yet proven. here’s a video of “mischief” the raven saying some human words! note how clear his pronunciation is.
another bird that’s great at human speech is mynas (sometimes referred to as mynahs). hill mynas are a member of the starling family and are great at mimicking human speech. the most popular myna in aviculture is the common hill myna, which is the bird most of us associate with the “myna” name. while less popular pets than parrots, mynas are still highly regarded for their great talking ability. here is a video of a common hill myna speaking japanese.
european starlings are awesome at mimicking human speech, and can have surprisingly clear words. though many hate starlings and regard them as pests, it’s hard to deny that they have some downright awesome qualities. here’s a video of a starling listing off facts about its species!
mockingbirds, as their name suggests, are one of the greatest avian mimics, especially considering they mimic unfamiliar sounds of their own accord, not because of any human training. the northern mockingbird has been noted to mimic human words, however, it usually sticks to sounds like car alarms.
the lyrebird, native to australia, is a well-documented mimic who can learn human words. however, they’re a lot less developed and clear than some other talking species.
teflon brand cookware and other nonstick cookware produce fumes when heated than can kill birds in under an hour. this doesn’t apply to just pet parrots, it applies to finches, doves, toucans – ANY bird. it doesn’t matter if your birds are in the kitchen or not; even if they are on a different floor altogether, the fumes can affect them. please get rid of your nonstick cookware if you have birds in the house!
Thus is super important, and also to be honest I’ve found ceramic cookware to be much better quality & longer lasting. Washes better, cooks better and of course safer.
Your bird can still be affected by smoke and things when cooking though, so still be very careful about having your bird in the room when you’re cooking!
A friend of mine lost her parrot due to non-stick cookware. Her parrot was kept in a room upstairs with the door closed while cooking.
teflon brand cookware and other nonstick cookware produce fumes when heated than can kill birds in under an hour. this doesn’t apply to just pet parrots, it applies to finches, doves, toucans – ANY bird. it doesn’t matter if your birds are in the kitchen or not; even if they are on a different floor altogether, the fumes can affect them. please get rid of your nonstick cookware if you have birds in the house!
Thus is super important, and also to be honest I’ve found ceramic cookware to be much better quality & longer lasting. Washes better, cooks better and of course safer.
Your bird can still be affected by smoke and things when cooking though, so still be very careful about having your bird in the room when you’re cooking!
A friend of mine lost her parrot due to non-stick cookware. Her parrot was kept in a room upstairs with the door closed while cooking.
today's bird 