We spent the weekend in the city, took the birds with us and turned the heating off here (no point in heating an empty house). We came back Sunday night just about the time George and Laka normally go to bed. It was 9C both outside and inside the house (nippy by anybody's standards). We hustled the birds in from the car and took them straight up to their bed cages, moved George's bed cage into Laka's room (actually - a guest bathroom, but where we usually have Laka's bed cage) and turned on the heater we have on the wall.
After unloading the rest of the things from the car, I went in quietly to make sure the room was getting warmer. As I backed out of the room, from George's cage came his tinny voice - loud and clear:
"Are you COLD? HmmmMMM?"
"Yes, George," I replied, "but the heating is on and it will be warm again soon. I promise."
The heater did its job and just a few minutes later I could hear the sound of two not-so-little beaks grinding contentedly in the darkened room.
(Side note: George doesn't regularly communicate in English that clearly - but both he and Laka are capable of it and, when it suits them, this is the kind of exchange we get. It's not "parroting" or "mimicry" - George and Laka are both able to use "language" appropriately. I've lived with parrots long enough that I expect it.)
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