Poll, the 'cuteness' of parrots?

[JaydeParrot]

Just so everyone knowd, this is NOT a serious poll (infact it's about as unserious as it could get), I just wanted to see whether I was the only one who sees parrots like this:

Basically I'm often giving my Sennies strokes and hugs and telling them how cute they are but most of my family and visitors pull a face and ask how I could possibly view them as cute because they have talons and a hooked face.

I talked to one family friend who looked at my sennie sat on my shoulder and said he couldn't see why I would want to spend so much time with a 'big beaked budgie', I shrugged off the comment and told him it was because I found them cute and cuddly and then turned my head to the bird and kissed it on top of the beak. The family friend looked disgusted, shivered and made a noise of disgust.

I don't really get why parrots aren't viewed as cute as puppies, some dog aren't nearly as cute as parrots, take the apple head chihuaha for example (sorry if anyone has one... But you gotta admit they do kinda look like aliens).

Yesterday when I took my bird for a twenty minute walk in a field (with a harness), he got bored of shoulder riding after 5, crawled under my open jacket and poked his head out occasionally while we walked- I personally though that was just the cutest thing ever.

-I just want to know why people wouldn't think of them as cute?

So basically my poll is:

Parrots, would you describe them as cute and why?

[Kakariki]

Of Course they are cute ! Not just cute, but adorable, beautiful, elegant and graceful, not to mention interesting, entertaining, endearing.... I could go on.

Jasper with his sweet little red britches and the way he rubs his cheek on mine and bobs his head and STRUTS ! then laughs ! He bob-dances when I do in front of him and ask him to, or sing 'do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight .....'
Kiwi, (no kakariki bird to insert here) He is Gorgeous and I love his eyes !
again, I could go on, but have an appointment....

[Wolf]

Of course they are cute, wonderful adorable beautiful and fascinating, just to get things started off. But you do have to realize that these qualities only exist for the one who sees them.

[Saerphe]

I think they're super adorable! My brother on the other hand, having been bitten by Akimi a few too many times, refers to birds as "Sentient Daggers of the Wind".

My mom thinks Akimi is very pretty to look at, but neither of my parents want to handle her (I can't blame them... she wasn't well socialized and I'm not totally sure how to go about getting her used to being handled by other people with how hard she bites), and they both think it's gross when she preens my face. It's not like she's slobbery or anything.

Of course, we're not the most unbiased people to ask. I'm sure we probably all think birds are super cute.

[shiraartain]

I think all our family's birds are visually ugly. It's their mannerisms and personalities that make each one adorable to me. Fajr's little hops away from our hands and run for the under the dining table when he knows he's in trouble or it's bedtime (it becomes harder to get him there), his excitement when our Dad comes home (flies straight to shelf next to door, yelling "mitthu's here! Mitthu! Mitthu, come here!"") , and his requests for petting.

Other people are unable to interact with our birds in the same way. I have many friends who are fans of Fajr's...from a distance. The cutest of his behaviours aren't displayed when there are guests, when he escapes whoever is giving him attention upstairs, he sees other people as attention-takers who must be punished. He:s definitely not about to roll over and play with his toys.

Also, building on what Wolf said, we're the ones who have a bond with our birds where we can read their body language. To other people, our bird is just...being a bird. Not much special about it.

I will say I'm surprised though. On many social networking sites, you will find scores of people fascinated and charmed by birds. Parrots, crows, chickens, etc. Does everyone really react that negatively?

[liz]

Years ago I never thought of loving a bird. My first cockatiel was beautiful and showed her personality. I could not resist.

My first Amazon was Rambo and you all have to admit to his/her beauty. Even his personality shows in the picture. I knew of him before I got him and just thought that he was interesting. At the end of his first day in my home I was absolutely in love with him.

[Pajarita]

Well, you can't go by me because I think that spiders, flies and even worms are cute but the reason why people don't think of birds as cute is because the 'cuteness factor' arises from neotenic features which birds don't really have. These features elicit a hormonal response in us (part of the survival of the species 'portfolio' as it ensures we will take care of the babies) that makes us want to love and nurture. This is the reason why most of the lap dog breeds are brachycephalic, they were bred that way to make them resemble human babies.

But, I have also found that, when it comes to parrots and people who are not into them, it's not a dislike that is set in stone and they can become an acquired taste with familiarity (this opinion is based on my family reaction which might not be the best example taking into consideration that it is MY family and I love birds so much)

[Navre]

I know there is something about the eyes of some birds that freaks some people out. I posted a picture of me holding Harley, a 20+ year-old CAG in my Facebook page, and many people commented that her eyes made her look angry. A Senegal has even more striking eyes.

[Navre]

Who could call this adorable bird, "angry?"

[liz]

To me a grey looks blank. Other parrots look like they are always thinking of what they can get into next.