I have wondered about this question on many occasions. Do they see the humor inherent in life? Do they play practical jokes on each other? On us? I picture them sometimes around a food bowl, or water bowl, their “Cheers”, discussing the funny things in life over a broken bottle of bourbon someone scavenged from a trash can. Based on real life experiences, I envision a couple of hawks, a dog, and an African grey parrot all swapping stories at “the bar”:
Dagwood the Dog: “It’s great being a dog! Those humans can be so gullible! Flash them a cute look, droopy eyes, a little whine, or such and they will bend over backwards for you! The “Power of the Pitiful” is amazing! I once stopped a whole line of traffic! I was trying to get across this busy road, but there were so many cars that I knew a had two chances of getting across alive: slim and none. But I remembered a little trick from a time in the past when I had hurt my foot. I went into the bushes near the road, and when I came back out, I walked three-legged. My “poor” front foot was held up high in the air and I struggled as I loped along in a very stilted manner, barely able to make each step. I limped right up to the road, and you know what?!?!? Those foolish humans all stopped their cars! I hopped across the road, leg in the air, as all the drivers looked pitifully at me. There was almost an audible, collective “Awww, poor thing!” in the air. After I made it across, I looked over my shoulder to be sure I was clear, and put the old front foot down solid and traipsed off on my merry way! I never looked back again!”
Horace the Hawk: “You wanna talk about stupid?!”
Henry the Hawk: “Shut up Horace!”
Horace the Hawk: “Naw man! I gotta share this one!”
Henry the Hawk: “Don’t do it Horace, it’s embarrassing!”
Horace the Hawk: “All the more reason to tell it my boy! You see old Henry here fancies himself a crackpot predator! But his eyesight is going a little bit and so his skills are not what they used to be. One day we were out hunting lunch and Henry saw this furry little brown thing on the ground. It didn’t move when we flew over, but Henry thought it was just trying not to get noticed. Well ole Henry here was gonna show it a thing or two about hiding from the ‘Great Soaring Hunter’! With all his feathered bravado, he swooped down silently, snatched the fuzzball up in his talons and swooped triumphantly over to a field next to this vet clinic. The fuzzball never shrieked in terror, never struggled, it didn’t make a sound. So again Henry here, trying to be the tough guy, landed in the field, looked around to be sure no one was going to try to take his catch, and proceeded to tear into lunch! Imagine his surprise when all he got was a beakful of white fluff!! It seems Henry had managed to disembowel the dreaded ‘Teddy Bear’!!! Oh he was beside himself! He dropped the bear where it was and slowly took off over some houses, trying to ignore the giggles of the people outside the vet clinic!”
Angela the African grey: “I got all of you beat! You should see the stunt I pulled on my owners! I had been living in my Mommy’s house for months, and she recently got married. While they were on their honeymoon, they boarded me at a vet clinic. I didn’t really want to leave home, so I paid them back. While I was at the clinic, when everything would get quiet and the staff was all busy with their daily duties, I would start reciting the noises I had heard many times in my house. First I would start with rhythmic panting or huffing noises. Then I would throw in some well timed moans and grunts. Next I yelled ‘Yes! Yes!’ over and over again, screaming my Daddy’s name. I would make all these noises in my Mommy’s voice. Oh, I forgot to tell you, she kept me in the bedroom! I would do this a couple times a day for the whole week and the staff thought it was the funniest thing! They would laugh and comment, which would of course only encourage me to do it louder! The real kicker was when they came to take me home. They asked the doctor how I did and if I talked much. The entire staff giggled a little under their breath as the doctor explained with as straight a face as he could that I was VERY vocal, and that I enjoyed talking daily, and considering the fact that we African Greys are the best mimics of the human voice in the parrot family, they could tell I was probably more my Mommy’s bird. When my Mommy asked what I had said, the doctor paused a bit before saying that he did not want to repeat it, but that they might want to keep me in a different room in the future. It took a moment, but Mommy figured it out. I didn’t know people could turn that color that fast! I giggled my little feathery butt off the entire way home!”
Yes I was personally involved in or witnessed these stories! Nature is beautiful. Nature is exciting. And sometimes, it is downright funny!
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