The Wisdom of Birds

One of the critters I'm owned by is a parrot, an African Grey named Vegas.  She's named Vegas because she's 'lucky to be alive'; she came into the world with a very difficult start. 

Vegas is almost 30 years old now, but the night she hatched there was a bad thunderstorm. Her parents, new to parenthood, attacked their babies in fear of the storm, killing her siblings and gravely injuring her. Her breeders rushed her to a vet. She was able to be saved, but ended up severely disabled, with broken hips, feet, missing toes. Her breeders saw in her the will to live, so they did everything they could to save her, and she fought, and survived.  She has difficulty moving around, scooting herself on her butt and her 'ankles', but she's a vibrant and happy soul.

I first met Vegas when I was a child myself, through a job cleaning bird cages and mentoring to learn the ways of parrot training and care.  At the time, Vegas was very shy and took a long time to learn to trust me. She lived in a specially modified cage with a raised bottom grate so she wouldn't fall  (since she couldn't perch normally).  I fell in love with her right away, and asked if I could work with her while I went about my duties.

 I got a yes, and eventually was able to coax her to climb onto a towel and come hang out with me while I was working, her nestled at my side in the comfort of  her towel nest. She slowly warmed up and began providing me with a running commentary about whatever I was doing. She said 'D'oh!' if I dropped something, and told me to be careful if it looked like I was carrying something precariously. 

She laughed when I did and sung along to music on the radio.  She played ball with me, nudging it back if I rolled a little wiffle towards her. I showed the breeder's husband, Bob, how eagerly she'd climb onto a towel to come out of her cage (she was afraid of hands at the time), and he started taking her out to sit on the couch next to him and watch football.

I used to zoom Vegas around on a towel, asking her to 'be an airplane!'; she'd flap her wings and I'd help her 'fly', to get exercise, as part of her physical therapy. We worked with her feet, getting her to grasp objects and lift them, until she was strong enough to be able to perch on her own. I could tell it meant a great deal to her, as she now chooses to balance herself on her perches the majority of the time, only climbing onto her flat grate to sleep. 

Vegas was one of the biggest highlights of my years working for the parrot breeders, and I was incredibly sad to leave her when I moved on to college and away from the area.  I told them if she ever needed a home, she'd always have one with me.  I ended up getting Ara, my sweet Blue & Gold macaw (also disabled, though for genetic reasons) before I left that job, and Vegas went home with a good friend who also worked there. I was really sad for myself, but happy she got a good home. 

I got a call back in 2009 that my friend was moving and wondered if I would I take Vegas.  Without hesitation, my husband and I hopped into a car and drove to Kentucky to pick her up.  I was delighted that after a good ten years since I'd last seen her, she remembered me. When I walked into the room she paused, looked at me, and said 'Hi, Vegas' in my voice. She readily came to me, which brought tears to my eyes. She talked to us the whole car ride home.  She's now been living with me for the last ten years, I can't imagine my home without Vegas anymore.

Vegas is an absolute sweetheart of a bird. She slowly learned to trust people and will now go to anyone and sit with them, letting them gently pet her head. I can tell how hard this is for her, since she shakes a little whenever it's someone new - but she is always given the choice to come out or not (and respected if she's not in the mood) and more often than not, she chooses to come say hi, despite her obvious fears.

One of the most charming things about her is that when she's scared or anxious  she will say,  'You're ok, Vegas'. She says it in the voice of Bob.  He would say it to her when she was nervous when he went to pick her up on the towel, or when she looked scared.  

African greys are notoriously intelligent birds - if you've never heard of Alex the African grey, look it up on youtube and you're in for quite a treat. They don't just mimic words, but often understand them. When it's apple season here, Vegas will ask me for apple, and nudge at her food dish, and she knows exactly what she's requesting. She says goodnight when it looks like we're about to head to bed, and she makes faucet noises if she'd like a refresh on her water.  

When she says 'You're ok, Vegas', she's not just parroting something she's heard before - but she says it specifically when she's showing signs of nervousness or anxiety. I'm not saying she knows exactly what the words mean - like they do to us, in English, but it's clear she's associated them both with her anxious state and the feeling of comfort that the words and reassurance must have meant.  She uses the phrase as a way to self-soothe, and calm - just in a way that we can also hear and understand. She's found a way to make herself feel better, a little ritual that invokes comfort in an unsure situation.

I've found myself at first jokingly, and then more therapeutically, following her lead. When I'm particularly anxious about something I will take a deep breath and say 'You're ok, Vegas'. It makes me smile, and think of her, and it's become soothing for me, too.  Many people who have met Vegas have heard her say it, and have picked it up as well.

If you're so inclined, and you ever find yourself particularly anxious or fearful about something and could use a little soothe, try out, 'You're ok, <your name>'. Or you can probably use Vegas', like I do - I don't think she minds.