Saturday, January 26, 2008

Rose Breasted Cockatoo love!

We are the owners of a Rose Breasted Cockatoo, or 'Galah' as they are called in their native Australia. Ours will be two years old in March and is called 'Pip'...short for 'Pretty in Pink', of course! Anyway, they are a very alert, affectionate and playful breed, demanding constant attention and companionship...which can be a bit much sometime, especially when you've come home after a long day's work and just want to relax. They're not big talkers, unfortunately, but having watched a few videos on Youtube, I was able to train him to say, "scratch" like the bird in this first video. The second one, 'Hello', I'm still working on with him.




4 comments:

SnarkAngel said...

Okay Betty, time to get busy and shoot some video of PIP as you make progress with his training!

val said...

Don't Aussies use this bird as a byfird for stupidity - as in, "You stupid Galah!"?

I love birds, my three are my pleasure and my road to insanity - why MUST they have a screeching match when something really interesting comes on TV?

SnarkAngel said...

Well . . . let's see . . . I KNOW what you watch on TV. Perhaps, like other LOCI/VDO fans, they are debating the pros and cons of Nicole Wallace, thin Bobby or chunky Bobby, Bobby/Alex shipper versus anti-shippers, Bobby with longer, curly hair or Bobby with short hair, whether certain "hand" closeups are Vincent hands or stunt-double hands . . . can't you put a blanket or something over their cages while the show is on? LOL

Boston_Betty said...

Yes, galah has a somewhat less than flattering conotation, because the birds themselves tend to act rather clownish sometimes and have been known to hang from branches and power lines in the middle of a rainstorm screeching hysterically, which they are prone to do when happy. I take mine in the bathroom regularly and splash him down with warm water, which he loves! He'll puff out every feather on his body and squawk loudly enough to almost crack the tile it seems like. I guess in Australia, they are also considered to be somewhat of a nuisance to farmers and are regularly shot by them to control their numbers...which absolutely breaks my heart, knowing firsthand what intelligent, loving creatures they are.