Thirston Howell The Bird is a Congo African Grey parrot born August 14th, 2005. He was hand raised from an egg and because of this he thinks I'm his mom. Thirston makes only human sounds and can speak over 1000 words, phrases and sounds. He can express very specific wants or needs for food items by name. When he is sleepy he’ll say, "I want to go nite nite" or if he wants music he will say, “I want some music" when he wants me to turn on the stereo. Parrots are the smartest and most intuitive birds on the planet. So many are adopted and then surrendered due to their special need for both attention and food. He’s very loving and helps play with rescue kittens and cats to give them lots of love until they find their furrever homes.
Clipped and mutilated? His wings are not clipped. He has free range of flight and flys around the whole house. Watch some of the other videos, you’ll see he has full wingspan.
This is such a weird comment. Cosmo is great at communication, we all love Cosmo, but what a strange flex to dump on another bird because what, it's not as chatty?
@@thirstonhowellthebird Raised my Congo from a just-weaned baby. Had him 18 years. He was bonded to my husband. When husband died, he "turned against me". Found him a good forever home and adopted a rescue Tinmeh, 17 years old. She loves me!
@@earthlingjohn I should’ve thought of that myself! Great names! I don’t know why I did not do that. If I bring in anybody else to keep, I will totally name the whole crew after my favorite show in the whole world growing up.
You think that is bad, our African Grey claims our bathroom. Only lets me in, attacks my husbands feet while doing he is doing his business. Wears high top shoes now. Then he started laying eggs in there. Behind the toilet. His name has changed now.
@@brandonvanevery5878 I feel the exact same way. I love my boy, even though he can be a demon sometimes I would never want him to change or for it through discipline.
My wife’s aunt had a parrot that would make sounds of steps, creaking floors and doors at night. I think it was just having fun with my wife, because they didn’t like each other haha. He’d tell her she was bad.
Maybe it's a ghost 👻 or the sound of the litter box or he knows that you're going to run to see him and get attention but I don't think it's the latter, especially if he's been around the litter box before?
Yes, it’s very strange. He hasn’t made that sound in years. I think he did it for attention because when I went in there both times nothing was wrong. Thank you for watching and commenting :-)
Do NOT put the parrot with the cats. You will end up with a dead bird. The parrot is already scared of the cats. The cats are not going to play nice with your bird and you are delusional to think they will. Your bird seems very nice and deserves your protection from the cats. Very upsetting video!
I’m so sorry the video was upsetting but if you watch a lot of the earlier videos, you’ll see that Thirston and the kitties are all very close. He has free flight so he can go anywhere he wants all day, any day and they would never hurt him. He will be 19 years old in August and he has been with these kitties, these rescue kitties for over six years. Two of the kitties that aren’t in the video he’s been with for 10. Please, please watch some of the earlier videos and you’ll see that nature is absolutely incredible and that animals can truly love each other, even though they are different species and it might be unexpected. They can have great respect and love for each other. Thank you for watching. If you’re new to the channel, Thirston is very smart and he plays on my heartstrings and tricks me on a daily basis. He was fine and just wanted me to come in there. It was all for attention that’s how smart he is.
You'd be surprised how cats can learn (just like dogs) what can be attacked and what cannot. My mother in law has 8 cats, and she has 4 fan tailed doves living free in her veranda. They wander around on the floor all the time and none of the cats ever touch them. I will admit i found it surprising, but she has rabbits and guinea pigs roaming the garden too with no issue. They know.
Hello! I just subscribed! We have cats and birds too! African Grey, Blue Quaker, and a little Cockatiel. All are rescues and all are very much loved! Cute video! Thirston Howell the Bird!😅😅
Pretty Bird, i wish you much love and respect training him. Much pationts is required. Love that the cats and all the birds are so comferterble together. Good luck. Keep up with the good work!. 👍✌️🤘🦜⚘️ i love all pets of all kinds bless thier little hearts. Be safe to all.
He gets lots of almonds and foods with calcium and even supplements but he really likes milk. I trust his avian Doctor who says it’s ok in small amounts. Plus, he begs and I’m weak. He can pretty much get me to do anything he wants. Sometimes he just wants a few sips. You know how they are. It’s so hard to say no to those cute little faces.
Birds are lactose intolerant! 🫣 Oh please don’t give him dairy products. They cannot digest it. It’s fatal. My CAG never gets anything close to being dairy. No tap water, either. It should always be spring water. No peanuts in the shells due to mold. No candles, don’t use any non-stick cooking pans. Oh my heart is beating so fast. 🙈😫😖
Thank you for caring enough to make a comment. People don’t understand how special these birds are and how they need to be carefully treated and fed even though they are hearty. There are so many foods that are really bad for them like avocados and chocolate. Huge no no’s. Not to worry. What you saw him drink is all he gets about once a month. Just a few sips so that he won’t get low on calcium and because he does like it. He has a very good vet and he’s been doing this for going on 19 years. His 19th birthday is August 5 this year.❤
He love's cat food lol awww bless him i wasn't expecting that. Loved it when you said "the vet said it's ok but not all the time" lol I'd give in and let him have it 😄😆😚💙
Omg me too! They have such strong individual personalities. When he’s mad at me or if he’s done something bad, he will literally turn away from me and not look at me. There’s another video from a few weeks ago titled, “Adorable parrot throws temper tantrum” where he’s caught after chewing up so many books and he won’t even look at me in that video. It’s so funny. I’m so glad you liked the video.❤
As a person who has had parrots, and Greys in particular, for three decades, I can confirm that there are, of course, ZERO temper tantrums involved here. The actual culprit is in the mirror. Parrots are hardwired to break things apart since in the wild this is how they spend the entire day foraging for food. Even when they are well fed this is the activity they are programmed to enjoy. You MUST give them stuff to break up or they will find it for themselves. It depends on the bird’s individual tastes to some degree, but cheap and entertaining alternatives are telephone books, paper bags, and cardboard boxes. It can be a paradox, especially if you tend to anthropomorphize, that an animal that is SO smart, and capable of such nuanced social interactions, can be entertained for hours on end by slowly turning a telephone book into confetti, but that is the REAL Mother Nature for you. They can be taught to do amazing things, but they can never be taught to distinguish between the things you think are special and/or valuable, and their personal toys. If you haven’t learned this beforehand they will teach you the hard way.
His reaction though is priceless like he totally knows he wasn’t supposed to do that and ignores me and won’t look at me as if I don’t exist. They are the best birds on the planet.
I know I wish I had. I debated whether to post it because of all the trash bags but it all happened so fast that I thought, “Oh well I’ll just post a dirty house with a cute bird.”❤️
@@thirstonhowellthebird you have no need to apologise or explain why to someone so rude. Your home is fine it's lived in its happy and that's all that matters the cleaning can wait F it. Sod the git's 🤗😚😊💙
I'm not sure if anyone has time to clean when they're caring for a bird that's like a permanent toddler. That's also why I don't think these birds should be pets. Hard to meet their needs, and if they do you're dedicating your life to them probably at quite a cost. She should hire a maid.
I came across this video watching a different one, and I'm glad I did! I also own an African Grey parrot, he was abandoned and I jumped at the chance to rescue him from the horrible conditions he was stuck in. I cant FATHOM how ANYONE would just leave a bird locked in its cage with NO food or water! By the time I got him, he had plucked out all his chest feathers. I was SO angry! 😢 Anyway, I can VISUALLY tell that your Grey LOVES u by the way his eyes look when u talk to him. Mine does the same thing, except he also makes a low sigh (I don't know how to acurately describe it) when I greet him and he showers me with love and affection. He will preen my hair, kiss my nose, my cheeks, try to regurgitate(I dont provoke it), bob his head, hang upside down and swing, meow like a cat, etc. Hes come a long way and I'm trying to get him to talk. He watches Einstein the Grey from Texas(he has his own RU-vid channel)and has learned new things from him. Thank u for your video, I have learned some new things about this intricate and intelligent bird, I'm always trying to learn all I can to help him be happier and live his best life! If u have any suggestions for me, I'd gladly take them!!! Thank you and God bless!!!🦜💖🌹🤗🙏🏻
Oh my goodness! I love your story, especially the rescue part. People have no idea how brilliant and sensitive these beautiful birds truly are. My boy is like having a roommate and a child and a best friend all rolled up in one 24/7. I absolutely love him so very much. I’m going to find your RU-vid channel and funny you mentioned teaching yours to talk. My Thirston learned how to do everything from the true Einstein parrot where the girl is making the rounds on the different talk shows. I played them for Thirston on a loop and he learned every single one. I had it on my computer screen, which was right by his cage. The real Einstein was on lots of TV shows. Give me one second to go find it and I’ll come back in and attach it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7rfGEtALHYs.htmlsi=ZpV1mk2wU4rY1jA2 This is a link for the video on RU-vid. The title is Einstein the famous talking African grey parrot. There’s a book about Einstein as well that is incredible. He was truly the smartest bird in the world when he was living and I was devastated when he died. I followed her work and him, even when he was at a sanctuary. Thirston was raised from an egg so he hasn’t had any trauma or exposure to other parrots who squawk or make loud noises so he only makes human sounds which is wonderful. You did such a beautiful thing to rescue your baby. Oh my gosh my heart breaks thinking of any of these birds under stress when they pull out their feathers and they are so depressed. Thirston is never in his cage except at night when he goes to sleep. He demands to be in his cage and also that it be covered. You know how they get really antsy and pushy and absolutely restlessly, uncontrollable and demanding lol when they want something specific and it’s odd that he knows he wants his cage covered and to be alone. In the morning his cage door is opened and he is fully flighted so he can go anywhere he wants throughout the house. My poor books have all suffered from his freedom lol as you can see in the video titled Adorable parrot throws temper tantrum lol. Books are his favorite thing to chew. Thank you for your comment. I’d love to stay in touch if you ever want to send your email. Pugomabalach@aol.com
