This video may be comical, but it also may be scientifically significant.
ANIMAL COMMUNICATION
When we saw the "Two Cats Talking" video, we said to ourselves... "Hey! Our birds do the same thing. We have to get ours on video too." But, as many of you who have tried to video animals know, as soon as you pull out the camera, these curious creatures focus on you and the camera and stop their activities. So, it is really a big bonus that when we went to video the flying, we also were able to capture their communication.
Although the Two Cats were clearly in conversation, there wasn't enough proof from their actions as to whether there was meaning in their sounds. It sure looked like it, but wouldn't it be cool if there was some visual confirmation?
The video of our parrots now demonstrates that their birdie sounds do have meaning and were understood by both of them. The most noticeable being the "ready-set-go" dialogue. If they had done it once, it could be considered coincidence. However, after several iterations, it is obvious that their use of sounds were specific to certain actions and that they could understand each other. They were clearly "talking" to each other, and had even invented their own racing game -- apparently with rules as to when it was time to take off.
For this reason, we are providing a duplicate video of the races, without any subtitles, for those who want to observe their communication more closely.
PHYSICAL MOTIVATION FOR FLIGHT
The wings on the Nanday conure (green and black bird), were clipped when we first got her, so she was about a year old when her feathers finally started to grow in. She was barely able to fly as of 4 months before this video was shot.
It is difficult for us to explain to people who have never seen it that the birds will challenge themselves and push themselves to fly -- even just inside our house. We had to capture this on video to demonstrate the intensity of the flying that the parrots do indoors, and that they really can get a good workout.
It's not just the conures -- Bobo, our African Grey will often try to join them, but she didn't have all her flight feathers until about a month or two ago (almost two years old), and she could barely make a turn and land softly until recently. So, she doesn't yet have the strength or endurance to keep going for more than one or two laps. We are hoping to capture her on video doing one of her workouts.
MENTAL MOTIVATION FOR FLIGHT
Most importantly, you can see the joy that these birds get from flying. It hasn't been easy to prove if a companion bird is flying because they like it or just because they can. People with flighted birds are quite convinced they are seeing this kind of enthusiasm for flying because they will observe their birds making random flights and maneuvers just for the sake of flying. However, it isn't usually overt enough for an outside observer to see. The problem is trying to give visual proof that it's the flying, and not the place they are flying to, that is providing the happiness. The parrots in this video are clearly not flying just to get somewhere -- they are flying because it's FUN!!!
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FLIGHT
Please be aware that along with providing the joy of flight, just like with a human child, there comes the responsibility of ensuring safety of exploration. While we have done everything we could to ensure that our birds can fly safely in the home, we were not experienced with the outside environment, and already lost one baby due to an outdoor predator. This video shows why we want to keep our birds flighted in spite of that tragedy. For now, our birds are staying indoors, however, we still support outdoor flight for those who study the proper free flight methods.
Flight isn't always right for all birds and all houses. If you are inspired now to offer flight to your birds, please find an online flight group first and learn how to do recall and behavior training and why that is so important for keeping flighted birds.
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