Parrot

I have a charming pet, who calls himself “Nicky boy” in a sugary sweet voice, warbles like an oriole, whistles like a car alarm, loudly demands “Corn” and “Orange” at mealtimes, tears up the papers on my desk and occasionally does his business on my lap.  (Check out this incident…)

Nicky is an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithracus), the most intelligent species of bird known, with the temperament of a six-year-old child.  Grey parrots are variously described as “flying footballs” and “toddlers with axes in the middle of their faces”; he lives up to the description.  Clumsy in flight, prone to taking chunks out of things with that big beak, terrified of strangers, easily bored, demanding large quantities of attention, very messy…

He’s also very, very cuddly and adorable.  He can be scratched, tickled, hugged and petted.  He’s a big bird, likes to run around on the floor and climb on chairs and standing fans.  If he sees someone eating something, he’ll demand a piece with a loud “Nicky want”, and if he doesn’t get it, he’ll make horrible noises.  He’s very tame and doesn’t try to fly off even though all the windows are kept open.  And he can do a funky chicken dance complete with chicken noises!