My giant puppy dog of a bird Jake is my pride and joy and a faithful best friend. He is just a sweetheart of a bird. Jake is a 30 year old yellow-naped amazon and it may be rare for them to be this large. His funky name comes from his pirate lifestyle, complete with his favorite mug with pirate flags from St Martin. He likes the 'Ayye' and 'Irdl!' sounds and repeats them sometimes and flutters his wings when he lands or when you get him wet.
Jake is finicky in what he eats but when he finds something he likes he does indulge. He is a charmer, and if anyone around raises their voice he jumps right in like an expert driver merging into fast traffic. Jake loves showers, and is okay for some reason when I flip him upside down without fear but taps with his beak when he has had enough. He was born in the wild in Brazil, then brought to America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-naped_amazon
Jake is as gentle as they come, just overflowing with a soft sincere personality seeking to be noticed and played with. He has bit people before but rarely ever will bite me. You get a soft grasp as a warning usually when you really annoy him. A great communicator, he is quite capable of expressing what he likes and doesn't with body language.
He speaks mostly when he is excited, when he flies and lands, when he is being talked to by children and women, and when he is around running water. When I rinse him off he is the most talkative. When he hears sounds he determines if its from someone he knows, then will often call out to them by name. He says my wives name repeatedly when she is gone or walks away. He will always call to me when I get home and then I pick him up and he is happy. I have two alternate perches for him so I can bring him out. He likes to be amongst the family.
Jake is a music aficionado. He will vote up or down songs he likes and ones he doesn't. If I'm playing piano with him on my shoulder and he likes the song he moves his head forwards and looks me close in the eye then gently grooms me. If he isn't digging the music, he will give a soft peck.
I had a Quaker parrot for 6 years who was very tame, being trained every day and had learned over a hundred words from me. He was a bit mean and didn't like any strangers. He learned to bite people beside me and then laugh aloud after he got them. He was very predictable outside and had even toured the lake with me without leaving shoulder. I lost him outside one summer when he decided to go native. I hadn't trimmed his wings and tail enough and I underestimated his curiosity and longing to be with other birds. I tried to bring him back, and he would come visit top of a tree over our home and perch up there and speak and chirp. That lasted two months and he teased me and I was never able to bring him back down. He'd call too from across our lake and I could hear him. In fall he migrated south and I didn't see him again. I understand the breed has done that on nearly every continent so I don't feel bad about it anymore. When I met and adopted Jake, he healed my broken heart.
Jake is curious calm and loves strangers but I am always careful with him since if he gets excited and his eyes start pinning, and if he is talking aloud a lot with someone, he gets over excited and he has been known to do a Mike Tyson and nip the ear after speaking loudly on someone's shoulder. It is a bit of a flirting instinct it seems to me. I have a pretty good feeling for when is close to that point and I can get him to calm down to where he is really docile so it hasn't happened more than once.
Jake is pretty destructive with his beak and has fully customized his large custom cage carving out a portal for himself, very similar to holes in trees you see pictures of where amazons are native. He has been known to snap through centimeter sticks and has been a good slayer of day old wooden toys.
Jake is social with other animals and knows his animal sounds. He can bark, meow, neigh, and he has learned to respond the chickadees, cardinals, red wing blackbirds, wood ducks and Canadian geese with their own favorite calls. He also can do a variety of clicking noises and his body language, how he bows and moves his wings express how he is feeling. He licks his chops a lot with the tongue these birds are known uniquely for genetically in the animal kingdom, and he gives kisses when he is calm and happy.
He can do some surprising tricks like lifting a large can partly filled with water (16-24 ounce cans) with one foot then taking a sip. His future in marketing may be bright. He has a remote control understanding and likes the remote that turns lights on or off. The TV remote his has less respect for and decided one day to just remove all the numbered buttons. I've also come home before mid day and found that he leaves the cage, plays on the bookshelf a bit then returns home.
I've read a lot about his diet and what is really good and potentially bad for him. He is interested in seeing or sampling whatever I am having and will shake his head when its not what he wants. I'm interested in comparing notes with experts on what they can (and love to) eat. His ears are also really sensitive and he will shake his head if it goes quickly from quiet to words. I'm very interested in what that means or if anyone else sees their yellow nape do the same.
--Aaron