Birds as Guard Dogs

Yes, I know it sounds somewhat ridiculous, but it's true. 

Birds, being flock-centric, are very sensitive to outsiders coming near the home territory, and naturally want to warn the entire flock about the intruder.  You never know when your gardener might actually be a predator waiting to sup on Parrot Pie or a Cockatoo Cocktail.  It could happen!  Be on the alert!

Rover, my Umbrella Cockatoo is always on guard, and lets us know QUITE LOUDLY** when anyone comes into our back yard.   You can literally hear him trumpeting from 2 houses away (yes, I tested it) when he's really upset.  He shouts about our gardener, our pool guys (who like to have whistling contests with Dorian - kind of cute!) any of the neighborhood cats, and especially large shadows that may belong to passing Eagles (and often DO). 

** meaning, to the point of ear pain


You should see him when he's in full territorial mode and goes into full display!  By that I mean that he puffs out his feathers, raises the semi-circle of feathers around his head, and spreads out his beautiful wings, the underside of which are snowy white and pale yellow (gee, that sounds like a fairy tale title, doesn't it?).   He's VERY impressive!!  Rover's rather larger than the average cockatoo - probably because, being the insane creature I am, I cut up fruits and vegetables for the birds every day so they're REALLY healthy.  Anyway, Rover's maybe 2 feet long from head to tail, and his wingspan is proportionately large, so when he displays and trumpets, he's quite intimidating.  Also DEAFENING!  I have to admit that hearing him is a very different sort of experience than just looking at him.  My husband Al actually has suffered hearing loss from living with these birds for 20 years!  Yeah.  He has.  Really.  No, I'm not kidding.  Just ask him.  Only speak loudly.  It's one of the reasons you NEVER want to let a bird sit on your shoulder, despite how "Jack Sparrow" it may look, but I'll talk about that in another post.

Anyway, Rover's the best of our 3 birds to be the watch-bird, and he's always on the job.

Polgara, the Orange-Winged Amazon Parrot honestly couldn't care less unless the prospective attacker goes anywhere near her cage.  He'd better count his fingers before leaving, because I guarantee she'll have one or two of them!  She, like most Amazons, is not only very territorial, she's quite aggressive!  She'll defend her own territory (ie her cage) but she really doesn't care what happens to the rest of the world.

Dorian (the African Grey) is a big coward, and has been heard to shriek like a little girl if someone he doesn't know comes near him - especially with a long-handled object, like a broom, in their hand.

Sadly, the reason for the attitudes of Rover and Polgara are a result of abuse by a pet store owner.  Yes, Al and I rescued them, 20 years ago, and our ownership of them has certainly become a prime example of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished."  See, they're a great deal of work, not only in handling them and giving them attention (and make no mistake - birds need as much attention as a child!!) but in housework, because they're horribly messy.  Think about it - their job in nature is to spread seeds around. Yes, they throw food!  Far!  Also, not having hands, they play by using their mouths to chew on everything within reach!

But back to the evil pet store issue - because of that jerk, Polgara will never fully trust a human, and it's only through dedicated time spent with her that Al can handle her at all. She just plain doesn't like me, even though I'm the one who feeds her every day.  Maybe it's because I take away her food and water dishes every morning, and my bringing them back full and clean doesn't make up for that original crime.  I don't know.

Rover's the really sad case, though.  See, normally Cockatoos are very well known to be cuddly, loving, sweet tempered animals.  The abuse Rover underwent really made him into a sort of "special needs child" because everything frightens him.  Taking him out of his cage makes him so excited he forgets how to behave and sort of loses control, and it's taken many years for him to trust us enough to allow us to pet him.  He still won't let anyone hug him, probably because that horrible pet store guy used to put on welding gloves and pick the bird off the perch to force-feed him (yes, we observed him doing this awful thing!!).  So he's a sweet, demented bird who might live to be 80, and may never fully recover his sanity.

Well, they're all covered and asleep at this point - and yes they all put their heads onto their backs to go to sleep for the night.  Naps are taken by fluffing up the feathers and settling down maybe on one foot, but night time is head-on-the-back time.  So I say to you all - goodnight for now.