Intuitive?

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Hmmm – I just read the last line of yesterday’s post and a thought struck me – I wonder if that’s why most of the birds prefer me over Mark. There are times when it’s obvious to me that Mark is doing something to intimidate the birds, but he doesn’t see it. I think women are much more intuitive than men (although Mark is getting better at it, probably in his own defense); maybe that’s why he gets bit more often than I do.

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I’m not saying Mark does anything bad to the birds. He isn’t one of those sadistic people that enjoy torturing pets. Sometimes it’s just his deep voice, or the bird may see his proximity as a threat. When a bird is nervous you can see it in their eyes and the way they hold their body – there’s a change in the vibe they give off. I’ve seen the same thing in dogs – it’s almost a stiffening of the body – subtle, but it’s there; definitely a warning that needs to be heeded. If you’re paying attention you can spot it.

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Mark has been slowly building a relationship with Emelio. He’s always been able to talk to the bird, just not touch him or get too close. In fact, Emelio speaks mostly in Mark’s voice and Mark teaches him to whistle songs all the time. After the birds moved upstairs Emelio decided he wanted out of his cage during the morning feeding. He let us know this by obstinately plinking the bars of his cage until the noise was about to drive us mad. In desperation we let him out, which was exactly what he wanted. At first I would have to put him back in the cage, but after a while Mark learned that if he put a piece of cracker in Emelio’s bowl the bird would happily enter the cage on his own. (Emelio says: “Where’s the cracker Mister? Cracker’s in the bowl.”)
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Mark reports that he gets a morning kiss from Emelio (now that I’m retired I certainly don’t get up early enough to see that!). At night after Mark changes the paper, he washes his hands. Emelio is always on the counter then, and rushes to the sink to watch – even if he and I are playing! He leans his body as far over the sink as possible, then kind of jumps up and down when Mark shakes the water off his hands. Before going to bed Emelio insists on Mark’s attention; Mark has to kiss him once before I carry him to his cage, then again before he actually goes inside. This isn’t to say that sometimes Mark doesn’t get bitten, he does. He may have moved too fast, or done some other small thing that intimidated Emelio – you never know until it happens. Mark insists that I hold the bird far enough away and down so that Emelio has to stretch his neck up and out as far as he can; that way if there’s a bite coming, Emelio can’t really strike out and get a good hold on him.
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Cathy