Saturday, November 15, 2008

A bird brain isn't what we think it is

I heard on the news the other day that a bird. Yes, a bird. Saved a child's life. You can read about it here.

A one-year-old Quaker parrot saved a two-year-old's life by shouting "Mama baby! Mama baby!" when that sweet little bird noticed the little girl was choking. The babysitter came out of the bathroom and noticed the little girl was blue in the face and she performed the Heimlich maneuver which stopped her choking.


I instantly thought of Alex the bird.

Have you heard of him? He was an African Grey parrot who passed away last year.

I once saw him on an evening news show and he was talking to his trainer and it appeared evident to me that he wasn't simply mimicking words.

In the report, he asked for a nut and the trainer said she would give him a nut afterwards. Alex then said, "I wanna go back." (to his cage). She wanted him to perform in front of the camera and the bird wasn't in the mood. The trainer said to Alex, "C'mon!" but Alex just wasn't in the mood to perform and he said, "I'm sorry."


His last words to his trainer as she put in his cage on the last night of his life, Alex looked up at her and said, "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you."

He died of natural causes. He was much too young. He was just 31.

Experts say he had the brain of a 5-year-old and the emotions of a 2-year-old.

You can view a video of him here. I hope you do. It will make your heart swell.

4 comments:

Doodlestreet said...

Oh my goshhhhh...that was incredibly endearing, I teared up. That was so so touching. It really makes you think about those beautiful little creatures we have in our lives. Like Mollie and Pup...and that makes me also want to get back to work right this very second on my little Sniff Sniff book that I am writing as a tribute to my little "pup".

so sweet...thank you for posting that. It DID touch my heart and soul.

danny said...

That's an amazing story! yeah birds can be extremely smart, and keen observers. I read a story about a parrot that mimicked the phone ringing, and when the owner walked in, he'd go "hahahahaha!"

doodlegirl said...

Aww. That makes me happy, you got inspired to write more on your little Sniff Sniff book! I can't wait to read it!

And danny! A bird with a sense of humor! That just tickled me! Thanks for that delightful story!

platitudinal said...

After crying my eyes out for the Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I really need to hear a sweeter story. Thanks, Shawn.