A Great Joy - Part Two
There are those who’d shout me down about birds having “feelings.” Others would stand with me. So, it's just another unprovable anecdotal theory that science dismisses due to the inability to prove or disprove it.
Is there a lab test for “love?” Can you observe and document scientifically what “happy” is composed of? Any clinical trial that will prove or disprove what “playful” is, scientifically?
Then, take those sketchy results, translate and quantify them with relevance and accuracy regarding a species OTHER than man!
Whoops! Cry foul. That’s a show stopper, fer sure! A biological impossibility presents itself. We simply cannot…CAN NOT…comprehend, in ANY way, HOW the mind of another species operates. Not one of us can say, “Been there, done that.” Not since time began.
Conjecture is all we’ve got. Therefore, I can believe that my birds DO display what I, for lack of a better term, do call “feelings.” Some think that “odd,” or even “whacko” might come to mind for others. Frankly, I don’t care. To paraphrase Popeye, “I believes what I believes.”
I find their expressions of feelings to be appropriate a LOT of the time. Again, at about a 3 year old level. Example…Caribe doesn’t like certain things sometimes. Sometimes he does. A Brazil nut, given one time, will be taken and turned into nut dust before he’s done. Another time, I offer the Brazil, and he’ll strike my hand as though to bite me. “NOT interested, and how dare you assume,” he “says.” They say a lot with their beaks.
Which makes sense. Pretty prominent part of their “being.” Always right out there in front, that’s for sure. Hard to miss an apparatus that can shatter that same Brazil nut shell like we pop open a peanut. “Respect” is a big part of the “feelings” I have for my guys.
And they’re tolerant of much, like to play, can be quick to anger, and easy with forgiveness. They share and they fight, like siblings. They’ll feed each other now, and later one will smack the other in defense of the food bowl. They are selfish, like most toddlers, wanting what they want when they want it, just because they want it.
Not big on logic and reasoning. Not met many three-year olds who were. They’re messy and not potty trained. They scatter food from my plate and seem to have fun doing it. They laugh in my voice, by the way. They don’t tolerate much “messing.” Don’t like having their tails touched. Neither one cares for me breaking up feather shafts, but they do groom each other, so my help generally isn’t needed.
Birds are big on bluff and bluster, too. The so-called “macaw lunge” is something virtually every macaw owner has seen, and something to watch for when sharing a big bird with a “civilian.”
It’s definitely scary to see this large bird with a powerful and imposing beak literally lunge at your face! Beak wide open, feathers standing on end, the head lookin' twice it’s normal size and maybe even a loud squawk to go along with the lunge.
It’s mostly for show. Mostly. Oh, if you’re really slow, he might hit you with his beak, but the “lunge” isn’t designed to hurt you. It’s intended to find out how well you can be dominated. Is that a feeling?
If you jump back in fright or surprise, that says, “easy pickin’s.” This person can be "had" and that tells a bird a great deal. Sets the stage, so to speak, for the relationship. The bird already knows who’s in charge…and it’s NOT you!
Took me a while to get past that lunge. Until you’ve actually experienced it, up close and VERY personal, it’s just stories people tell. Once you've been punked, you can’t help but appreciate the psychology of the macaw lunge.
An almost instant test of your basic ability to handle big birds. Until you master your reaction to that lunge, you don’t stand a chance of being “in charge” of the relationship.
Now that I know what a bit of bluff it is, I rarely react. And, have to admit, I’ve gotten a bit quicker in my reactions. Macaws do telegraph their feelings, but you have to know what you’re looking for. Some signs are easy to see, some are more intuition than observation.
Next time: Moods and emotions. Yeah, that's different than "feelings."
Once writ, hit send.....Web Ryder