Talk to your pigeon, pigeon answers back

[rallow]

Though our pet pigeon Lucy Liu spends much or her time either flying or walking about our apartment, she actually lives in a in a cage that sits on a table about 3 feet from my favorite chair. Since her favorite perch faces my chair, I will often look at her and talk to her, to which she always responds by cooing and/or clucking. I would like to know if any other members have a pet pigeon who responds when spoken to. Thanks.

[pdpbison]

Hi Rallow,

Oh yes...

And the ones with whom I have had the most interaction, usually we work out the best comunications, or the most detailed...

One of mine, who free roved in here, when I would ask him "Are you thirsty?" if he was not he would just look at me..but if he was interested in a drink of Water, he would stop, lower his head, and imitate drinking, then look at me. Where, I would go get him a drink of Water then.

I think overall, they can know an aweful lot of what we are saying...but only ocassionally do they feel that any of it is interesting to them...or interesting to where all is simple enough for us to understand them.

Lol...

Phil
Las Vegas

[Camrron]

Oh definately yes.

I talk to my little guy constantly. He doesn't have the gift of speech that we humans think of as intelligent but if I keep quiet and just pay attention he does communicate to me in other ways. Head tilting, dipping, cooing, turning circles on his roost and those charming helicopter flights around me. I think it is all about body language for the birds, not so much the actual talking...

I try to give him encouragement when he takes short flights around the apartment. Like clapping and cheering and talking to him. He really responds well to this and often continues flapping around the room in response. If my neighbors were listening in though all they would hear is a one way human type conversation coming from me... they might just wonder about me!

Cameron

[Victor]

On four of my weeknights I get home after midnight, and when I come in thru the back door, Tooters room is in the bedroom adjacent to the kitchen, and many times after I say "Honey I'M HOME!" of course informing my wife I am home if she is up, and he will coo-coo-rook-coooo roooo up a storm until I go in and say good night to him while he is struting back and forth on his perch.

[Trees Gray]

Hi again,

I love the picture!

Oh you bet I do! I usually talk to them and ask each and everyone of them how they are (all 48) and they let me know. I try to be considerate of each and everyone of their feelings.

They may complain about one or another of my birds, or ask for more food, and especially they ask me for peanuts.

I learned a long time ago from the Pet Psychic that animals and birds understand us, and they need to be talked to and told of what important events are coming up in their lives,and such.... just because they don't speak our language doesn't mean they don't understand.

Thanks for sharing with us.

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by Victor

On four of my weeknights I get home after midnight, and when I come in thru the back door, Tooters room is in the bedroom adjacent to the kitchen, and many times after I say "Honey I'M HOME!" of course informing my wife I am home if she is up, and he will coo-coo-rook-coooo roooo up a storm until I go in and say good night to him while he is struting back and forth on his perch.

Victor,

What a wonderful way to be welcomed home, especially at that hour when no one else is stirring. Tooter sounds like a real sweety!

[Trees Gray]

Originally Posted by pdpbison

Oh yes...

And the ones with whom I have had the most interaction, usually we work out the best comunications, or the most detailed...

One of mine, who free roved in here, when I would ask him "Are you thirsty?" if he was not he would just look at me..but if he was interested in a drink of Water, he would stop, lower his head, and imitate drinking, then look at me. Where, I would go get him a drink of Water then.

I think overall, they can know an aweful lot of what we are saying...but only ocassionally do they feel that any of it is interesting to them...or interesting to where all is simple enough for us to understand them.
Lol...
Phil
Las Vegas

LOL Very true, Phil, they usually don't say anything if they don't have anything to complain about or don't need anything! That is why I mostly hear them ask for peanuts!

[rallow]

For Phil Pdpbison,
Does your free rover like Chinese girls? If so I can introduce him to Lucy Liu and maybe their offspring will turn out to be even better communicators!

[pdpbison]

Hi Rallow,

Nice idea...!

But alas, he is no longer with us.

But it would be an interesting experiment to only allow to pair and mate, those Pigeons who are the best communicators, and, in time, to see how far such a thing could go...

Many times too, with recovering ferals here, usually with them some weeks in cages in my Office before I let them free rove pending release...in interacting with them sort of minimally, I will draw two simple images side-by-side on a sheet of paper. One, the likeness of a Pigeon, and one, the likeness of a person. I will then show it to them, holding it close to the cage, and, I will point to the person-image, then to myself...and, point to the Pigeon image, then to them.

They become sometimes very pensive and interested with this, and will look intently at the little drawing, then look at me, and look at the drawing...

If I set the drawing down near them and walk away, I can see them continueing to study it off and on by themselves.

Dogs never seem to have any interest whatever so far as I recall, in such things...! Lol...


Phil
Las Vegas

[rallow]

Lucy Liu doesn't vocalize when she hears us come home, what she does is jump hard from her perch to her cage floor repeatedly making a loud noise until someone goes and talks to her. Only at night when she is sitting quietly in her cage, and I am sitting next to her in my favorite chair can I strike up a conversation.

[andinla]

I coo to him back and fourth we talk, he also bob's his head down and then I bob mine down I have no idea what the bobbing is all about but he seems to enjoy it. He also coo's and circles when I put him back into his cage. I guess I did pretty well learning the pigeon talk (cooing) because he does respond to it.

Andi

[Brownieluv]

Originally Posted by rallow

Though our pet pigeon Lucy Liu spends much or her time either flying or walking about our apartment, she actually lives in a in a cage that sits on a table about 3 feet from my favorite chair. Since her favorite perch faces my chair, I will often look at her and talk to her, to which she always responds by cooing and/or clucking. I would like to know if any other members have a pet pigeon who responds when spoken to. Thanks.

Can't believe I found this thread. I've had Brownie several weeks now. Only heard him vocalize a few times. I talked to him lots but no response.

A few days ago my boyfriend tried cooing and talking "bird talk" to him. Amazing response! He talks to us all the time now, and suddenly is much more affectionate. I mimic the sounds he makes, as well as inventing a few of my own.

For the first time ever he voluntarily jumped into my hand with no food as an enticement. (I fed him by hand for about six months when he was an "outdoor" bird, but since adopting him, even that's been hard to persuade him to do.)

Glad I found this thread, first time I've been in any forum other than pet pigeons. Congratulations on your talkative friend. Isn't it great?

[Pikachu23739]

that is so cute and great or awesome

[mr squeaks]

to much of what has been said about communicating with our pigeons. Slowly I'm learning what Mr. Squeaks means or wants by what he does or the sounds he makes.

-Low moaning means "I want attention, pleeeaseee - scratch my neck and talk to me"
-Low moans escalating into LOUD moans (aka HOLLERING) means "I want attention - NOW!"
-No voice, just serious LOUD stomping around his home when the door is closed means "I want out - NOW!" or "Don't leave! I want out - NOW!"
-What I call the male pigeon "chortle" accompanied by spreading of tail and strutting means "You da mate - I love you!"
-After grabbing his beak, he squats down (sometimes with wing twitching) means "preen my neck, under my wings and down my back - ah yes, right there, more more please" May be followed by spread tail and strutting which takes us back to "I love you."

I also notice that he will make little sounds when I turn the computer on and off and he hears the music that is played. He will also come to me whenever I laugh or sing.

Oh yes, and grunting, especially with the "look" means "back off" or "I don't like that" or "WHO is this stranger? Back off!"

[Brownieluv]

Lucy Liu is as beautiful as her namesake.