What is the strangest or most memorable thing someone has asked/said about your bird?

[Rico_Tiel]

My uncle still tells me you “have to split a bird’s tongue” for it to be able to talk. !!
I pointed out that I’d never split Lucy’s tongue and she could talk very well and even sing a song.
“Well, she would’ve been able to talk better…”

Ack!

“Does he know his name? Does he know what he’s saying? Is he going to get bigger?”
“How much did he cost?” always makes me nervous.

good heavens! he sounds like a... hm... he sounds like a joe, bill, john, or a tyler. my cockatiel can say a few words, his fav being "peekaboo" and its somewhat clear, he also knows how to laugh in the right context (like when i make fun of my older brother after he annoyed the living diarrhea out of me earlier, rico will laugh)and i would never split his tongue. also, tongue splitting is a thing?! there is no way that could EVER be safe.


when people who dont know much or anything about birds talk to me about buying a bird, i panic internally and tell them ALL the cons, how much work birds are, how much time, attention, space, toys, money, and the sort that goes into them, i discuss pricing for adequate care, why wing clipping is bad and why flight and training is much better, etc. it seems to really drive them AWAY from buying the 'parakeet' or the 'rainbow parrot'

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I also get “but budgies aren’t parrots” a lot, so every time I talk about the budgies I start with “fun fact: did you know budgies are parrots?”

Literally everyone says “No I didn’t, that’s interesting.” I’ve never heard a person say “Oh yeah, I knew that.”

omg- WHAT?!?! are people really that dense?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I've never heard such thing, probably because budgie in Polish means literally "wavy parakeet", it's one of not many species which have "parrot/parakeet" in their Polish name. But I've got a question "Is it a budgie or just a parrot?" and it was about a canary 😝

In this context I can understand why my friend said "or just a parrot" because it was on German classes and we had to know how is "parrot" and "budgie" in German, so any other parrot kinds didn't matter... but each time when I hear "just a parrot", it sounds like other species don't exist, they're "just parrots" and nothing more...

ah yes, my favorite parrot species is parrot

 

[HeatherG]

WHAT? that is nutty! thank god my family and family friends will listen to the bird-nerd's facts

good heavens! he sounds like a... hm... he sounds like a joe, bill, john, or a tyler. my cockatiel can say a few words, his fav being "peekaboo" and its somewhat clear, he also knows how to laugh in the right context (like when i make fun of my older brother after he annoyed the living diarrhea out of me earlier, rico will laugh)and i would never split his tongue. also, tongue splitting is a thing?! there is no way that could EVER be safe.


when people who dont know much or anything about birds talk to me about buying a bird, i panic internally and tell them ALL the cons, how much work birds are, how much time, attention, space, toys, money, and the sort that goes into them, i discuss pricing for adequate care, why wing clipping is bad and why flight and training is much better, etc. it seems to really drive them AWAY from buying the 'parakeet' or the 'rainbow parrot'

he can be a good man but also a real knucklehead who doesn’t know when to stop talking.

I just tell him, “the bird WILL bite you so leave it alone!”

 

[Rico_Tiel]

WHAT? that is nutty! thank god my family and family friends will listen to the bird-nerd's facts

he can be a good man but also a real knucklehead who doesn’t know when to stop talking.

I just tell him, “the bird WILL bite you so leave it alone!”

huh, so him and my aunt would be thick as thieves hah

I trained my bird to fly to me only but that also means he only bites me since I don't really let anyone hold him (my mom's an exception. he really seems to like women over men and gets along well with me and gets along alright with my mom) considering I don't trust people and he doesn't like interacting with other people. he's a one-person bird and I'm alright with that. thankfully he is less nippy towards anyone that isn't me. he will only truly bite if his boundaries are pushed.

my extended family NEVER believes me when I say he's a little devil when he's not flying around the living room. they do believe he is a little showoff though hah he shows his recall skills, his ridiculous speed, his swoops, dives, his listening ability, his talking and singing ability, and his love for scritches. everyone believes the little nugget is the sweetest, most well-behaved raptor in a chicken tender sized body haha

 

[Cottonoid]

omg- WHAT?!?! are people really that dense?

I think a lot of people, at least in countries that use naming like the US, don't know how many species are parrots and only associate the bigger birds with the word. I didn't realize for a long time that hookbill always means parrot - I had no idea that cockatiels and budgies were parrots (they were the only small parrots I'd met for a long time).

I don't think people are dumb. I think they aren't aware. Most people say "cockatiel" not "my parrot, a cockatiel" and pet stores also label "cockatiel" not "parrot-cockatiel" so a casual observer wouldn't know.

 

[Rozalka]

I've just reminded one of funny questions. And it was because at the beginning my parents calling our Bourkes as "Czechs" because they were born there. Once time my friend's mother asked me "The pink ones are Czechs, Romek is a budgie and what kind of parrot is Zenek?"

As I said, in Polish most parrot species don't have "parrot/parakeet" in their name (budgie is the only common species to have it) but interestingly I've never heard such confusion like "wait, cockatiel is a parrot?". Instead I had two situations when I said a species name (one was "cockatiel" and another one "African grey parrot") when somebody laughed at me and said "there's no such thing".

But.... I've already got once time "rosella macaw" species. I have no idea how somebody made rosellas being their species... but she did.

Also, once time I was talking with my friend's father who wanted a macaw and he said that there are two types of macaws - blue and red🤦‍♀️. And the red one is more expensive (I guess this part is true if it was supposed to be B&G and GWM/scarlet macaw. But according to him, other macaws don't exist)

 

[Rozalka]

Another funny question: "how do you differentiate budgies from macaws?"
Why are the easiest questions always the hardest to explain? - they are different in everything

 

[BirdyBee]

I get the usual does it bite, does it talk, is it tame, etc., and I really don't mind those questions.

One thing that is annoying(and slightly funny) is when people ask me "Is it a Lovebird?"(referring to my budgies). They look totally different IMO. Maybe it's because I'm a bird person, but even a lot of people who aren't can tell the difference.

Also, "My (friend/family member/random person etc)has a parrot and he bites/talks."(usuallt kids) Not really annoying, but just very uninteresting.

 

[Rozalka]

One thing that is annoying(and slightly funny) is when people ask me "Is it a Lovebird?"(referring to my budgies). They look totally different IMO. Maybe it's because I'm a bird person, but even a lot of people who aren't can tell the difference.

I know this feeling - somebody asked exactly the same thing about my Bourkes. And once time when my mom posted a picture of my with Zenek and two Bourkes, somebody asked "What kind of birds are they? Budgies?'

I can understand because they don't know anything about parrots...

I get "does it talk" too and I'm fine with it too. IMO the weirdest often-asked question is "Is it loud at night?". It's not asked just once time... but many times... I could understand "does it scream in the morning" because birds wake up early but at night they are asleep.

 

[Inko-ai]

Probably the weirdest question I've gotten is, "what's a budgie?" And I've gotten this question quite a few times, from different people. You would think everyone would at least know what a budgie is, considering that every Petco has them, but apparently not.
I've also been asked, "Why did you get budgies? They don't really do anything." which annoys me, because people just never seem to give budgies and other small parrots the credit they deserve. People also never seem to believe me when I tell them about all the tricks I've taught Sprite and Marshmallow to do. They just don't seem to get that small parrots are smart too.
Then of course I also get the usual, "Do they bite?" "Aren't you afraid they're going to fly away?" "Don't they just poop everywhere?" "Are they loud?" "You feed them things other than seeds? Is that healthy?" (referring to pellets and vegetables)"Why is their cage so big?" etc.

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Someone (on the internet) called my amazon a "cockatoo parrot"

I give up.

 

[zERo]

I know this feeling - somebody asked exactly the same thing about my Bourkes. And once time when my mom posted a picture of my with Zenek and two Bourkes, somebody asked "What kind of birds are they? Budgies?'

I can understand because they don't know anything about parrots...

I get "does it talk" too and I'm fine with it too. IMO the weirdest often-asked question is "Is it loud at night?". It's not asked just once time... but many times... I could understand "does it scream in the morning" because birds wake up early but at night they are asleep.

I've gotten the 'how do you sleep?" too! More than once! It's so weird, like, birds have to sleep too!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I think a lot of people, at least in countries that use naming like the US, don't know how many species are parrots and only associate the bigger birds with the word. I didn't realize for a long time that hookbill always means parrot - I had no idea that cockatiels and budgies were parrots (they were the only small parrots I'd met for a long time).

I don't think people are dumb. I think they aren't aware. Most people say "cockatiel" not "my parrot, a cockatiel" and pet stores also label "cockatiel" not "parrot-cockatiel" so a casual observer wouldn't know.

ohh okay, this makes more sense! thank you so much for pointing that out!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I've just reminded one of funny questions. And it was because at the beginning my parents calling our Bourkes as "Czechs" because they were born there. Once time my friend's mother asked me "The pink ones are Czechs, Romek is a budgie and what kind of parrot is Zenek?"

As I said, in Polish most parrot species don't have "parrot/parakeet" in their name (budgie is the only common species to have it) but interestingly I've never heard such confusion like "wait, cockatiel is a parrot?". Instead I had two situations when I said a species name (one was "cockatiel" and another one "African grey parrot") when somebody laughed at me and said "there's no such thing".

But.... I've already got once time "rosella macaw" species. I have no idea how somebody made rosellas being their species... but she did.

Also, once time I was talking with my friend's father who wanted a macaw and he said that there are two types of macaws - blue and red🤦‍♀️. And the red one is more expensive (I guess this part is true if it was supposed to be B&G and GWM/scarlet macaw. But according to him, other macaws don't exist)

omg- this is hilarious

also, yikes! if someone doesnt know much about birds (especially not even knowing the species name) they probs shouldn't get one. show him a pic of a green macaw like a Red Fronted Macaw, Hahn's Macaw, Military Macaw, Severe Macaw, Buffon's Macaw, Blue Headed Macaw, Red Bellied Macaw, Blue Winged Macaw, or Golden Collared Macaw.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Another funny question: "how do you differentiate budgies from macaws?"
Why are the easiest questions always the hardest to explain? - they are different in everything

I typically explain different genera, different physical aspects, climates, and care requirements.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I get the usual does it bite, does it talk, is it tame, etc., and I really don't mind those questions.

One thing that is annoying(and slightly funny) is when people ask me "Is it a Lovebird?"(referring to my budgies). They look totally different IMO. Maybe it's because I'm a bird person, but even a lot of people who aren't can tell the difference.

Also, "My (friend/family member/random person etc)has a parrot and he bites/talks."(usuallt kids) Not really annoying, but just very uninteresting.

yeah, seems everyone w/ a bird gets these questions.
wait, people confuse lovies and budgies?! they look so different!
yeah, whenever i tell any non-bird person that i have a bird, i typically get that response haha its typically 6-12 year olds who say it tbh

 

[HeatherG]

I find lots of people don’t understand genera/ species at all. Or they think you are trying to “science” them…which is sometimes true. Everybody can use more science.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Probably the weirdest question I've gotten is, "what's a budgie?" And I've gotten this question quite a few times, from different people. You would think everyone would at least know what a budgie is, considering that every Petco has them, but apparently not.
I've also been asked, "Why did you get budgies? They don't really do anything." which annoys me, because people just never seem to give budgies and other small parrots the credit they deserve. People also never seem to believe me when I tell them about all the tricks I've taught Sprite and Marshmallow to do. They just don't seem to get that small parrots are smart too.
Then of course I also get the usual, "Do they bite?" "Aren't you afraid they're going to fly away?" "Don't they just poop everywhere?" "Are they loud?" "You feed them things other than seeds? Is that healthy?" (referring to pellets and vegetables)"Why is their cage so big?" etc.

yeah, no one seems to understand the sheer intelligence of budgies. its like automatically, any small animal is dumb to any avg joe. super sad.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I find lots of people don’t understand genera/ species at all. Or they think you are trying to “science” them…which is sometimes true. Everybody can use more science.

huh... people just either are actually interested or pretend they are cause im obviously still a youngin but i pick up on that and explain other aspects lol