He is so smart!

[Cthebird]

My Hahn's macaw clearly understands many commands (except maybe one that he may understand, but just doesn't do when he doesn't want to). However, yesterday he was able to successfully respond to me when I asked him a question.

Very very often I point to myself and say my name. I point to him and say his name. Then (pointing to myself) I say "[My name] loves [his name]". And then pointing at him I say "[His name] loves [my name]." Often I also use sign language for these exchanges. The only American sign language I actually know. Anyway, maybe a few days ago he said my name for the first time. And then again once the second day. Then yesterday I looked at him and said "Who loves [his name]?" which is another question I ask and then answer for him. But this time, he answered my question by saying my name. That was the first time I asked that question that day. I'm impressed!

My guy is only 1 year old.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Very cool, and what fun!

The Rb says various names (including deceased people and pets), so I don't think he is really associating the names... unless he's seeing ghosts, the very thought of which freaks people out.

I loves Hahn's Macaws... their faces are so expressive!

 

[Carl_Power]

Very clever I'm gonna borrow your teaching idea for my Quaker. They are so comical looking the little Macaws. Is he loud? x

 

[Cthebird]

Very clever I'm gonna borrow your teaching idea for my Quaker. They are so comical looking the little Macaws. Is he loud? x

My Hahn's macaw can be loud, but in general he's a pretty quiet boy. He tends to be loud just when my husband is showering and blow drying his hair. He's not loud when I do that. He also sometimes gets loud when he knows that I'm downstairs preparing his fresh fruit/veggie/nut treat bowl. Occasionally he realizes that my husband and I are downstairs eating without inviting him. That's just too bad! We have tried many times to invite him to the dining room to join us for meals. I even create his own dish for those attempts. However, he becomes a severe pest at the dinner table. Severe!

 

[DiscoDuck]

It is uncanny when they repeat something different. while not always perfect repeated responses. My GWM rarely if ever, mimics what I say back to me.. It seems it is quite the opposite.

He will say Hello, I say Hello, he then says "Hi! or how are ya?"
In the morning. I say g'morning, if he hasnt already beat me to saying something. He often responds with "hello!"or some other greeting.
I say "water", he will say "apple"
I say river, he honks like a duck.

It feels like a total role reversal.. what is that saying? Speak when spoken to? I guess he has me trained pretty well!