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All About Cockatoos (2002)

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Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#11

Post by cockatiel_day »

classichasclass wrote: post #6

All this is absolutely true. We had a lot of white cockatoos years ago, including a Moluccan, a medium sulphur-crested, an umbrella and (this species is now critically endangered) a Philippine red-vented. The Moluccan was one in a million: he housebroke himself, put himself to bed at night, didn't squawk, didn't bite, didn't destroy things. He sat with my sister on the couch and watched TV. We never closed the cage d…

Second the cockatiel recommendation!

They are very rewarding pets, if still demanding... you get out what you put in.

Parrots lead active emotional lives. Relationships mean a lot to them, they come with expectations, and they know when they are not being taken seriously.

I think there is a common misconception in the bird owner universe that a cockatiel is some kind of starter parrot, and to get the full experience you need to get a larger cockatoo, a macaw, or some other bird that can live more than 60 years, scream as loud as a jet engine, and take your nose off... it’s not true. Give a cockatiel companionship and respect and they’re every bit as engaging and interesting (and loving) as anything bigger or more exotic.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#12

Post by unixhero »

bradrn wrote: post #2

I live in Australia, in an area where Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos are common. Those things are amazingly intelligent, curious and fearless, traits which serve them well in their continuous hunt for food (preferably ours). Three anecdotes: • In high school, cockatoos always clustered around the lockers (which were outside, of course), so they could eat any food someone had foolishly left unattended. There was a story go…

Sidenote, I also did uni in Australia. The student visa expired and I went home. I really wish I had never left. Aussieland is the worlds best country by far.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#13

Post by xbar »

Great article.

I'm generally anti parrot aviculture for 3 reasons: few birds seem to do fine as pets; acquisition escalation leads to a great many unhappy birds; a minority of people seem as committed to the relationships as the birds.

I advocate education not regulation and this article is spot on.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#14

Post by ehnto »

bradrn wrote: post #2

I live in Australia, in an area where Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos are common. Those things are amazingly intelligent, curious and fearless, traits which serve them well in their continuous hunt for food (preferably ours). Three anecdotes: • In high school, cockatoos always clustered around the lockers (which were outside, of course), so they could eat any food someone had foolishly left unattended. There was a story go…

My childhood freind had a Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo that would follow him to school and just hang out until he was out for lunch. Sometimes he would find his way into the classroom, he was a super smart bird and knew how to get the windows open on some of the rooms.

My mum helps with rescue birds sometimes and now has a Gullah, which for anyone familiar is a pink/white cockatoo very similar to a sulfur-crested cockatoo.

He's so smart, knows tonnes of words. songs and situations, and knows that when the cat shows up he can refer to it as "Pus pus pus".

The YouTube channel MakersMuse 3D printed some puzzles for wild birds to solve on his porch, it's really remarkable to watch them figure it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5YyTHyaNpo

The Australian Magpie is also extremely intelligent, surprisingly they're not part of the Corvus family but they are very, very similar.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#15

Post by jacquesm »

msrenee wrote: post #10
classichasclass wrote: post #6

All this is absolutely true. We had a lot of white cockatoos years ago, including a Moluccan, a medium sulphur-crested, an umbrella and (this species is now critically endangered) a Philippine red-vented. The Moluccan was one in a million: he housebroke himself, put himself to bed at night, didn't squawk, didn't bite, didn't destroy things. He sat with my sister on the couch and watched TV. We never closed the cage d…

My advice to anyone who talks to me about wanting a cockatoo, or any large bird really, is don't. If you're asking me about them, then you don't know what you're getting into. If you don't intend to devote a substantial portion of your life to that animal, it will not work. Personally, I'd never own an animal smarter than a conure. And a conure is really pushing it. If I ever get the cats wrangled well enough and am…

Seconded. I've seen people get them 'because they're so cute' and then after a couple of years reality sinks in and they realize that they're on the hook for the better part of their lives and then sooner rather than later there is the mysterious case of the disappearing bird.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#16

Post by JimTheMan »

I've always thought I strange that we take smart, very social, flying creatures that love to explore and lock them in cages, clip their wings.

Definitely a forced domestication unlike say, wolves to dogs.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#18

Post by bradrn »

ehnto wrote: post #14
bradrn wrote: post #2

I live in Australia, in an area where Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos are common. Those things are amazingly intelligent, curious and fearless, traits which serve them well in their continuous hunt for food (preferably ours). Three anecdotes: • In high school, cockatoos always clustered around the lockers (which were outside, of course), so they could eat any food someone had foolishly left unattended. There was a story go…

My childhood freind had a Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo that would follow him to school and just hang out until he was out for lunch. Sometimes he would find his way into the classroom, he was a super smart bird and knew how to get the windows open on some of the rooms. My mum helps with rescue birds sometimes and now has a Gullah, which for anyone familiar is a pink/white cockatoo very similar to a sulfur-crested cockatoo…

> The Australian Magpie is also extremely intelligent, surprisingly they're not part of the Corvus family but they are very, very similar.

I agree — they’re more intelligent than cockatoos, though it’s not as obvious. At the same university, I once saw two young magpies lying on the ground. Were they hurt? No — they were play-fighting with each other, lying on the ground and using their feet to wrestle. An amazing sight.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#19

Post by bradrn »

fian wrote: post #5
bradrn wrote: post #2

I live in Australia, in an area where Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos are common. Those things are amazingly intelligent, curious and fearless, traits which serve them well in their continuous hunt for food (preferably ours). Three anecdotes: • In high school, cockatoos always clustered around the lockers (which were outside, of course), so they could eat any food someone had foolishly left unattended. There was a story go…

Not cockatoos but I have had my hiking backpack opened by black currawongs in Tasmania: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_currawong#Feeding My hiking buddy and I dropped our packs to climb Mount Ossa off the side of the Overland Track. We had been warned that the currawongs would try to get into our packs. So we zipped everything up tight, pulled the rain covers on and placed them face down (ie strap side to the sk…

Thanks for sharing! I always dismissed the ‘cockatoos opening zips’ thing as a myth… perhaps it was true after all.

Re: All About Cockatoos (2002)

#20

Post by rex_lupi »

JimTheMan wrote: post #16

I've always thought I strange that we take smart, very social, flying creatures that love to explore and lock them in cages, clip their wings. Definitely a forced domestication unlike say, wolves to dogs.

The majority of people do not, or even try to, understand how intelligent animals can be (other than dogs/cats ofc), let alone think they too have emotions. To them a caged parrot in the house is nothing but a nice, funny ornament, that can speak.
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