Though on my first day I had gotten to interact with many birds through the cages, feeding and some talking as well, the best interaction came from the birds that Phoebe kept inside the house. Nikki and another purple and red parrot were two of the six that she had me get to know. The purple and red parrot was very friendly and curious. She allowed me to act as her perch, it was unsettling at first as I did not know if i was about to get snapped at. Pheobe had told me that Nikki was very prone to snap at strangers The parrot I was holding however had not ever bitten someone. It was interesting feeling the weight of the bird on my hand, it was very delicate where its feet are clamping down, yet the weight of the bird makes it very different than any animal I have ever held. I finally learned to relax and got used to having the parrot on my hand.
Eventually, I went into the kitchen and Phoebe showed me what Nikki likes to do, she takes various objects, picks them up then throws them on the floor. She loves it. I would pick them up and Nikki would snap them back up and throw them back down. She seemed to like it when I grabbed what she threw and gave it back to her. I interacted with her for quite some time. At one point I took the object and threw it down, she seems to like the sound of the impact the object makes when it hits the floor. I did my best to experiment with these interactions and tried to make it fun for Nikki to try and earn trust, so I might be able to hold her without getting snapped.
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04/22/10 00:12:52 - Potential Collaboration Ideas...I want to see it it is possible to form a play connection with some of the parrots, I believe Nikki would be the most interesting challenge as she does seem more than happy to "play" yet she in no way will allow someone to hold her unless she absolutely approves.
This would make for an interesting situation as I would have to effectively earn her trust to be allowed to hold her. I would love to be able to hold one of the massive macaws as they are truly the most epic birds I have ever seen, their power is truly something to appreciate.
I really want to try and avoid the collaboration being dependent on food, this is why I find Nikki to be such an ideal candidate for collaboration, she is willing to play but not to directly interact... something I will document and try to work on. Since she likes to carve, perhaps I could give her a piece of wood to make another carving or make my own and give it to her to work on. Lots of possibilities.
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