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What's Henry saying now?
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What
did Henry say?
Place your mouse over the
picture below to find out.
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| Find
out More: Ask Henrythebird at aol.com! |
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| 6/24/08 12:32 |
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What
type of bird is he?
He's a small parrot-- a Half Moon conure (also known as an Orange-fronted
conure) hatched in April, 2001. He measures less
than nine inches from head to tail. The Half Moon
conure is similar in appearance to the Peach
Front conure but it is slightly smaller in size
and has a horn colored top beak (both the top and
bottom of the Peach Front conure's beak is black
in color).
While not rare (I got Henry from a
pet store) you may not find Half Moons to
be as commonly available as some other types of
conures. They nest in hollow termite mounds
in the wild and don't seem to be prolific
breeders in captivity. But according to
everything I've read they make great pets--
intelligent and playful-- and bond deeply to
their owners.
Henry is definitely male. Or female.
Without DNA or blood analysis, I can't
tell.
Does he talk?
Yes-- he's an enthusiastic (if not always
understandable) chatterbox. Henry was 7 months
old when I bought him and though he seemed to
mumble now and then, he didn't say anything
really recognizable until he had been with me for
about four months. His recent progress has been
fairly amazing-- he seems to pick up the words
and phrases I've used in talking to him so
readily that I've stopped trying to 'teach' him
to talk. Maybe that's the key-- I always talk to
him as if I expect him to understand what I'm
saying.
He usually uses the words
and phrases he knows in the proper context.
To believe this you only have to observe him
saying "want some water?" and, after
drinking it, saying "It's good." One
day I gave him a toasted almond as a treat for
the first time; he immediately dropped it without
tasting it in his treat cup. Several minutes
later while in another room I heard his little
voice say "it's good". Sure enough he
had eaten (and apparently enjoyed) the nut.
I've also been able to teach him to
recognize and repeat a distinctive call (a two
note whistle) which he will respond to with a
very loud double cheep when I'm within earshot
but out of sight. He likes to use this very often--
when I'm outside mowing the lawn, he'll watch me
going around in circles through the window as he
sits on his perch. With every pass I make under
his window, I'll hear him call me with a loud
bell-ringing 'CHEEP CHEEP' that's audible over
the noise of the mower! He waits for me to
acknowledge him with a whistle, and then calls
back with great enthusiasm.
It may be a stretch (though not a big one) to
say that he can converse, but he can certainly ask relevant questions.
Let him catch you staring intently at something, and he'll likely
say "What do you see?" Take the time to point out some of
the things he knows the name of (like sky, trees, snow, TV,
computer) and he'll acknowledge each one with a quick "I see!"
(which he will *not* do if its something he hasn't learned the name of).
If he's startled by something (usually a bird flying past his window) he'll
exclaim "What was that? What was that? What do you see?", eyes pinning wildly.
If I'm in an adjoining room, he'll call me by name, and if I don't respond
he'll repeat it, often adding "What do you see? I see sky" just to get the
conversation started!
See "Henry's Diary" link at
lower left for a summary of his current
vocabulary.
Does he listen?
He sure seems to be listening, and
understanding! The first word I knew he knew
was 'treat'-- after I had him about a
month, one day when I asked him if he would
like a treat he gave a loud acknowledgment
'CHEEP' that had my ears ringing. While not
notorious for their noise level (as conures go,
anyway), half moons have no problem making
themselves heard across great distances!
He also understands (and energetically
responds to) 'night night' at bedtime, 'want a bath' (evidently unlike most half moons, he
loves bath time), and 'do you want to feed the
fish?' which signals the beginning of the
morning ritual..
Can he do tricks?
He enjoys 'playing catch' by picking up a
miniature tennis ball and tossing it towards me.
He's developed quite a toss, for a bird!
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