My wife and I take in homeless and handicapped parrots. We currently have 15 birds, everything from a little budgie and four cockatiels up to two cockatoos and two different types of African grays. Crows are right up there with parrots in intelligence, which is about like a four-year-old child. One of the African grays communicates with us in English and even makes up his own sentences that make sense. One of the cockatoos has a padlock on every opening of his cage because he’s figured out how to undo every latch from the inside and escape. We recently lost a beloved little Goffin’s cockatoo who was scary-smart. When she looked you in the eyes, you could see the wheels of her mind turning as she sized you up and decided how she could get you to do whatever she wanted. It really was like looking into the eyes of another person, and a very bright person at that.
If you don’t believe me, watch the cockatoo in this video. And note how the macaw and the African gray just hang back and let the cockatoo do all the work for them:
Not a bird, but we had a hamster for a few years that would escape her cage, cruise the house, stockpile dog food, and would be asleep in the cage when we would get up in the morning. Because she always went home, it took us awhile. Then we started seeing her scurrying through the house... oh, she is getting out.
That is astonishing. You must get a great kick out of them.
Beautiful birds.
.
You might enjoy this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5NuBk5_Izc
You’d think flying would be fun enough but . . . .