COMFORT CALLS

Most parrots have their own way to ask for comfort. Some call this their "contact calls" and suggest returning a "contact call" whenever you hear it. I notice that these calls seem to solicit comfort. My Grey, Buster, has developed a way for us to communicate wherever I am in the house. He sings "La la" and I answer, "La la la" (One, two...One two two) It is a sing songy way to let him know all is well. He'll do this when he knows that I am nearby. Every parrot has their own comfort call request. (Some have a comfort request behavior such as leaning forward and fluttering their wings or lifting their foot.) Kilgore, the beautiful grey in the photo, sends a big smacking kissing sound. He wants to communicate and this is his way of asking, "Is everything okay?" With their extreme intelligence, it is important to be sympathetic to their emotional needs. Even when we can't drop everything and go play with them, they can get a huge lift by hearing our return reply.