Dear Parrots magazine,
My Cockatoo's fine
I read the article about Aggression in Cockatoos. My Moluccan Cockatoo named Max will be 25 years old this summer. I have never seen him act aggressively, and he doesn’t have an assaultive bone in his body. Max is a clown and he constantly does things which he thinks are funny. That picture of the Moluccan, in the article, with his feathers puffed and his wings outstretched, is a prime example. I ask Max “are you a tough guy?” and he assumes that pose and hisses and bounces up and down. He then starts laughing and he puts his face next to my mouth to get a kiss. He then does it all over again.
He hits my knee and leg with his beak in a vigorous, chopping motion. It doesn’t hurt in the slightest. It is not intended to hurt. It’s a game, I am supposed to say ouch, and then he laughs. Then when I am petting him later on, he makes a sound like I hurt him. I say to him “that doesn’t hurt you!” and he laughs.
He makes up games that he thinks are funny. Like when he puts his head between my arm and chest. I say peek-a-boo, he looks up and laughs, and then does it again and again. He can play this game forever it seems. When I stop playing, he gives me a pinch, so I will continue.
Everything with Max is a joke, everything is a game. I have been bitten by countless parrots, and I know what aggression is, and what Max does is not aggression. Cockatoos, in general, are arguably the least aggressive group of parrots and I think Tony Silva knows that. I am sure that an article about aggression in Amazon Parrots would not garner as much interest from readers.
Respectfully submitted.
Dr Allen M Dresher, New York