More than a pretty bird!

[Pajarita]

Indeed they are! I don't agree with EVERYTHING stated on this article but it's a real good one in terms of general information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/scien ... p=cur&_r=0

[liz]

The article is no more amazing than we know our parrots are. A parrot's human is a species all it's own and we know what we know without someone telling us they are smart.

With my cockatiels, when Bubba got loose and finally left after 3 days, a male cardinal had been watching. When Sweetie called for Bubba she got the cardinal instead. He would spend hours sitting on the banister outside the sunroom and talking to Sweetie. She learned his language and they had conversations.

[Pajarita]

Yes, bird people are, indeed, a separate species BUT there are VERY different subspecies within it - some of them that need to become extinct, if you ask me! And this is an example that I put out for your consideration:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... paign=1490

[liz]

It amazes me that people spend real money to mutilate themselves and that plastic surgeons take their money to make them such abominations.

I do not understand how the horns and split tongue are considered in his transformation.

[Wolf]

I thought that generally speaking that the first article was pretty good over all. The second one, I found to be rather amusing. I do not understand the mental drive that causes someone to do such things as this to themselves, but it is his body and he has the right to decorate it in any manner that he chooses and that is about all that I think about it other than it is not something that I would do, I do have a couple of tattoos that I made on me but other than a hole for an earring I have no piercings. It is, I guess all a matter of taste, and as we all know, there is no accounting for taste.

[Viatrixa]

I -LOVED- that article. It popped up in my facebook feed and I had a wonderful time discussing it with my husband.

It's a good piece for "non bird" people too because it calls attention to their extreme intelligence to learning capabilities. I notice that birds are still underestimated this modern day, especially the smaller more "common" pet varieties such as budgies and cockatiels. I once heard a person I know contemplate getting a pet bird and I mentioned budgies. Their immediate response was "budgies are boring and dumb! they're like living decorations." Needless to say I.... well, I got rather vocal about the subject and spoke them out of the idea. Perhaps it's mean spirited of me but someone who reacts like that when a species of bird is mentioned isn't exactly a natural parrot owner. I do love this article, I've passed it around to people too.

As for the 2nd one.... well, I have to speak out now folks.

I'm into body modification myself. I have all sorts of things that most folks here would likely find a little odd - I have gauges in my ears, several facial piercings and tattoos. I'm also bald by choice (not related to religious, philosophical, or activist movements, just like the look) and oftentimes I get judged for it: people have thought I'm a skinhead (by far the most offensive thing ever), had cancer, did it to protest something, you name it. Granted, I am quite ill but none of these reasons affect my looks & style.

I don't look nowhere near as extreme as Mr. Parrot man there, but I have gotten the "why would you do that to yourself" - reactions too. The simple answer is, "because I want to and I like it." I do it for myself and no one else. You may disagree with me, but in a sense what he is doing is just the other side of the coin when it comes to things like plastic surgery and other such procedures. Some women desire bigger / smaller breasts, some people want implants to get a bigger & better looking body part. Acrylic nails, eyelashes, even dying your hair - it's all body modification in a way. Just that the aforementioned are common and socially accepted, while what he does is looked down on because it's "wierd" to most people. It's simply the other side of the coin That having said I myself do understand why such does wierd people out, but I'm just trying to say it's simply just another way the human being wants to mold itself.

NOW, after all that ranting about image (painful topic XD I've been judged so much) I have to agree that he has gone to extremes But he looks cool to me. If he's happy with himself and hurts no one in the process but himself I say GO FOR IT YOU DELIGHTFULLY STRANGE MAN. I actually know a friend who has had his tongue split - reason was simply "I just kinda thought it'd be cool." Man, sorry about going off topic there >_<

But what I said about the first article still stands!

[liz]

The first article did not give enough credit to our little "bird brains".
The second one, I'll bet his momma is so proud. Ha Ha
I guess I was born strange enough that I do not need to add anything.

[Wolf]

I don't think that I really have a lot to add to what I have already said, ie, it is his body and he has the right to decorate it in any manner that he chooses to. Whether I understand it or not or whether I agree with it or not is not really relevant as that is just my tastes and I have no right to put my values onto other people as long as they are not hurting anyone that does not choose that. We all like to think that we are an individual but many of us tend to get a little buggy, so to speak, when someone's individuality is beyond what we tend to think of as normal. Surely there is room enough for people like this Parrotman.

[Viatrixa]

I don't think that I really have a lot to add to what I have already said, ie, it is his body and he has the right to decorate it in any manner that he chooses to. Whether I understand it or not or whether I agree with it or not is not really relevant as that is just my tastes and I have no right to put my values onto other people as long as they are not hurting anyone that does not choose that. We all like to think that we are an individual but many of us tend to get a little buggy, so to speak, when someone's individuality is beyond what we tend to think of as normal. Surely there is room enough for people like this Parrotman.

Plus you gotta admit, he's adorable with his macaw. Not the man himself I mean, but his relationship with his macaws. Well, to be honest if you listen to him he seems to be a sweet old guy (regardless of his mods ) Just hope he spends as much time and care on his parrots as he does on himself.

.... also, if you want a jokey look at it, at least he has no ears which his macaws can chew on.

[Pajarita]

I don't have major issues with a couple of tattoos, a piercing or shaving one's head, the problem I have with people that go to the extremes like this guy has is that in order for anybody to change his looks so radically and in such a way that he no longer resembles a normal human being, there has to be an underlying psychological issue at work there (there is actually a name for it and it's Body Dysmorphic Disorder). I mean, the only reason why you would do such a thing is because you really really don't like yourself because, if you do, you don't feel the need to 'change' anything, right? And, in my personal opinion, if you don't like yourself to that point, the relationship you have with your animals might not be a healthy one because the relationship you have with yourself is not healthy. I like animals A LOT, I actually feel not only sympathy and empathy for them but also love. I think they are, in reality, much better beings than humans and I find them all incredibly beautiful but that doesn't mean that I don't like humans or myself or that I would get surgery to make myself look more like them.