INTELLIGENT BIRD

My cousin Emmy is a bird person. She has a talking, whistling bird that travels with her wherever she goes. Its quite a responsibility. The cage, that the bird can open and walk out of whenever he wants to, stands three feet tall and about two feet deep. He doesn't fly.
Even in the house, birds are difficult to photograph. He won't hold still long enough for a decent picture. Above, he is walking around Emmy's face. I never did ask what kind of bird he is, but he has a beak like a parakeet.

This bird instantly learned to mock the sounds of the house. When Marge's phone chirped, the bird immediately learned to immitate the sound. Much of one day, Marge continually answered her phone only to find it was the bird causing it to "ring".

He uses six  different, distinct whistles to communicate. Not that we know what he wants, but Emmy does if she is in the room. He seems to enjoy listening to his own voice.

Their intelligence is pretty amazing.

I love taking pictures of bird houses around the country. Many are clever, but I'm always glad there isn't a bird in them. Emmy's bird, of course, is an exotic creature and wouldn't be caught inhabiting any such house as these.

I'm fighting a cold and still hanging close to the motor home, reading a book. Tonight, we go to a spectacular Las Vegas show.