Victor was like a little person with wings, who listened carefully to everthing I said. At the time I didn't know he was storing every word in that tiny little brain of his.
I often wondered if he thought I should listen and remember everything he said to me in the same way?
Teaching Him To Understand Context
When I talked to Victor I tried to speak to him as a person instead of a bird. I did this by explaining things to him. Sometimes I would even use a story to try and make him understand. He clearly understood the concept of story telling and would even ask me to explain something or tell him one. Often he would think about what I said for a day or so, and then make comments about it later. Some of these comments were "I thought you said, or remember you said." This is unique among parrots. Many scientist don't believe they can relate to things in the same way people do. Especially when it comes to understanding the difference between the past and present.
Victor was so unique he shattered all the known rules when it came to communicating with people. Even Alex the African Grey parrot could not stand up to his intelligence level. Victor clearly proved what he said was not just mimicries, but straight from his own mind. He also proved he definately had a concious and sentient understanding of what was happening around him.
From the start Victor was a joy to work with. He would come to me and sit on my shoulder and watch me carefully as I pronounced words and sentences. He liked to hear me talk so much that he would get upset when I stopped and nip at my lips so I would talk more. Before he was a year old he could say the alphabet, several nursery rhymes and many words and phrases. He could usually learn to say a five or six word sentence in less than three days. Once I started to notice that he was starting to understand me, I began giving him lessons and recording him. My early training sessions focused on trying to teach him to make less of a mess on the floor, for him to talk louder, so he could be understood easier and for him to ask more questions when he wanted to know something. I also tried to teach him to respond consistently to questions, as it seemed he only responded when he wanted to. After each session and within days there was a noticable improvement, especially in his ability to put his thoughts into words. I explained to him that he should try to stick to one subject at a time, instead of changing constantly back and fourth. After about two weeks of coaxing and recording him he began to put longer sentences together and within a few more weeks, he started telling his own stories. It was truly incredible to see how quickly he adapted and learned once he understood the rules. .
Copyright © April, 2001 Ryan Reynolds
