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i woudlnt say so....
actualy id say the WORST temper tantrums ive seen were form a sun conure and a parrotlet lol.
the smaller the bird the bigger the "attitude" lol!
honestly id say the BIGGER the bird the more "stable" they are, WHEN they have a tantrum they do more damage...BUT generally id trust a giant hyacinth macaw MORE than id trust a tiny parrotlet lol. i think its also because body language is alot easier to read in a larger bird than a little one
a macaw is like having a 2 yr old...a conure is like having a 2 yr old with ADHD LOL!
the smaller the bird the bigger the "attitude" lol!
And in that respect, birds and dogs are the same.
I would not call it a matter of intelligence. It's a matter of mood and attitude.
Birds are more expressive and easier to understand (through vocalization) than 4-leggeds. It gives the impression of 'more' intelligence. I have had dogs and cats learn and figure out some tricky stuff all on their own.
I've had dogs and birds become depressed, but never a cat. My big dog mourned the death of his sister for months and 'experts' say they can only recall specifics for three weeks (or something like that).
I've had cats and birds get exceptionally cranky, but never a dog.
I've never seen a 'mad' dog, but my AG parrot can get nasty.
She does not like drunk people, especially when they are trying to talk to her.
Although I can't stand it cuz it hurts our ears, it makes me laugh because her way of dealing with a drunk person is the sound a smoke detector makes when you test the batteries, and she amplifies it even.
its realy difficult to explain unless youve been owned by a parrot...
i thing parrots are more "human" than dogs or cats in their emotions...
with a dog if you forget to give him a cookie...he gets over it...
with a parrot, hell tell you you forgot, an then hell DEMAND you fix the situation and if you dont, he WILL get angry!
A parrot KNOWS what it wants, and doesnt understand why WE as humans just arnt listening!
for example...my macaw jack jack...he got mad at me last night because i refused to give him a peice of my toast...now my dogs would stare at me and drool and when told "your not having any" eventually get bored and move on...
my cats would stare at me and glare, and when told your not having any, give "the look" and move on...
but my macaw TELLS me he wants it, and if i dont give it him he tells me off, and if i still dont give it to me he throws a temper tantrum, gets nippy and screamy and generally has to be put in a time out untill he remembers that im the one with opposable thumbs!
its just a different type of emotion, and communication....
a dog is like having a dog, it has needs and wants and desires, but accepts you as the human are incharge of that resource
a parrot however is like having a feathery human...they dont understand why your in charge of the resource, if they want it they want it now and if you dont give it to them there going to have a tantrum.
That's a good description. In my experience, parrots see themselves more as equals and are not as compliant as dogs if their "demands" are not met (I've never had a cat so I can't comment on them). They also seem to have longer memories than dogs and sometimes you can see the results of past interactions days later. For example, the first time I clipped my GCC's nails I think she saw it as highly invasive on my part. She is very loving and cuddly, but the next day, the first thing she did when she came out of her cage was to climb up my shoulder and bite my ear so as to draw blood. It was very calculated ... and she was satisfied having visited her retribution on me. Nothing about her mood or temperament changed ... she just wanted to let me know her displeasure.
see ive never seen a dog "use tools" (they play with things and they "figure things out" (ie turning a stick a certain dirction to fit it through a doorway) but they dont "use tools"
my macaw constantly displays this cognative adaptive inteligence that my dogs simply DONT have.
my dogs are SMART...
my macaw is INTELIGENT...
he knows that his plastic cup holds water...he knows if he fills his cup with water he can carry that water form his water dish on one side of the cage to a different area of the cage, he has now learnt that bathing is much easier if instead of trying to fit his head in his water dish he simply fills his cup and pours it over himself (at which point he also likes to announce "taking a bath" "oooo pretty jack jack" i didnt TEACH him this use of a cup...he figured it out by himself...he MADE a tool...
dogs are smart, they can learn anything your willing to put the time into teaching them...they can also learn things on their own and problem solve...
but birds, birds take that problem solving to a whole new level...its that ability to take learning combine it with cognitive function and make and use toold that set the inteligence of a bird (or ape or octopus) apart form a dog or cat.
the next step in inteligence is "language" a dog has language between it and others, it can learn and understand aspects of our own, however it cannot COMMUNICATE in OUR language...
The more inteligent birds however CAN...they are capable of not only learning and repeating HUMAN language, but using it in context. i have spent NO time teaching my brid words and yet he has no problem forming fully understandable sentences when he puts thought into it...
just like apes and dolphins being ablt to communicate to us in our own human language (sign language yes, BUT its actual cognitive reconignition of words rather than association of words.)
Im NOT saying dogs and cats arnt inteligent...
just that parrots have a differnt level and TYPE of inteligence.
That's a good description. In my experience, parrots see themselves more as equals and are not as compliant as dogs if their "demands" are not met (I've never had a cat so I can't comment on them). They also seem to have longer memories than dogs and sometimes you can see the results of past interactions days later. For example, the first time I clipped my GCC's nails I think she saw it as highly invasive on my part. She is very loving and cuddly, but the next day, the first thing she did when she came out of her cage was to climb up my shoulder and bite my ear so as to draw blood. It was very calculated ... and she was satisfied having visited her retribution on me. Nothing about her mood or temperament changed ... she just wanted to let me know her displeasure.
As a matter of fact, when I yell "NO" at my Senegal Parrot she gets mad, poops instantly, and then turns around and stares at it as if to say "That is what I think of you yelling at me"
Another story I have is that my one parrakeets mate died three years ago, the bird stopped tweeting, didn't eat as much, and started plucking feathers for a good month or so. There was another bird in the cage, but it wasn't "his" mate. They definately do have an emotional capacity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunset2000
Toward humans, like dogs do. Not toward another bird.
I don't think you read blue's post right. The parakeet was "mourning" the death of it's mate, not a human. If a bird has a mate, it will be more emotionally attatched to the other bird than to a human.
My Senegal has no mate so he's totally attatched to me. He'd like to be surgically attached! I need to call home every night when I am away overnight.
I didn't think cats cared one way or the other about their people but I found out I was wrong, at least about my male orange tiger! I came home after a week away and he started sleeping on my arm when I got home. Never did that before. He missed me!!!
Of course my dog misses me every time I go out the door. He misses his "Daddy" too. Hubby was taken by ambulance out of the house and Mickey had to be put in the bathroom so he wouldn't run out and Mick never saw Daddy again. He was so depressed for months along with me. I don't use the word "Daddy" anymore because that would only cause Mick to go searching again. That is really heartbreaking to know my pet is just as unhappy as I am but has no way of "knowing" what and why Daddy left. Mick now howls when I go out. He never did that before. He feels abandoned by Daddy I guess.
As a matter of fact, when I yell "NO" at my Senegal Parrot she gets mad, poops instantly, and then turns around and stares at it as if to say "That is what I think of you yelling at me"
Another story I have is that my one parrakeets mate died three years ago, the bird stopped tweeting, didn't eat as much, and started plucking feathers for a good month or so. There was another bird in the cage, but it wasn't "his" mate. They definately do have an emotional capacity.
I got my sister a whitefaced cockatiel who's about four years old. For about two and a half of those years, he had a mate who laid multiple clutches; the previous owner said that he adored her, would follow her around, sing to her, and that they were constantly snuggling and cuddling. She became eggbound and died, and after that, he rejected every other female bird that they tried to pair him with. He stopped singing, stopped letting people handle him, and started plucking.
He's definitely much better now, but we nicknamed him "Ian Curtis" after the lead singer of Joy Division
Actually I think some birds are smarter than dogs. I remember a co-worker telling a story of her parrot. The dog was old and became blind and the parrot would call the dogs name and the dog would walk over the to the voice that spoke his name and into some piece of furniture. The Parrot always thought it was the funniest thing. I've also seen videos where the birds were able to work out simple puzzles and count as high as 7.
They certianly have long memories. No one who saw our reunion would doubt that my Cockatoo remembered me after seperation of 12 years. His reaction was not all that favorable, but he clearly remembered me and he was mad!
After a few months and a cup or so of lost blood, I think he may have forgiven me or figured we are even. I guess i will know in another few months or a year.
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I've also seen videos where the birds were able to work out simple puzzles and count as high as 7.
