RebeccaStout

Sunny the talking cockatiel is the apple of his owner's eyes. He loves to be the center of attention. This little guy is beloved and he knows it!! He does nearly everything with the family. And if you don't include him, he will find a way to include himself whether they like it or not. One day, Sunny was hanging around with mom as usual while she played on her phone. But when she got too involved on Facebook for Sunny's liking, the jealous little bird jumped into action. His little stunt speaks to the high intelligence parrots have. Sunny is determined to stop mom from giving her attention to the phone. And he has found a solution. Sit right in front of the phone's screen and block her vision. Back and forth he turns his head in sync with his moms' who tries to see around him. The little stinker knows exactly what he is doing. As his mom giggles and tries to ignore him, Sunny comes up with another strategy. Talking with all the cuteness in the world. He chats it up with the phone saying hi to it and telling it what a pretty bird he is. Next thing you know he starts to sing a song that he and mom always sing together. "All of the pretty ferrets sing, la la la". But mom refuses to sing along. The spunky little bird retaliates when his owner gently tries to remove him so she can see the phone. And then we see why she didn't try to remove him in the first place. That cutie has a sharp beak! Way to go Sunny, you win!

Most people think of talking abilities when they think about parrots. But did you know a cockatoo and some other birds can whisper? Onni is a 4 year old baby Umbrella Cockatoo who has been learning to exactly that. He loves nothing more than to whisper sweet nothings to his owner and human mommy, Rebecca Stout. She says it is now one of his favorite activities and ways to communicate with her. Just look at his determination in this video clip! Watch how Onni puts his foot up on his human mommy's mouth to feel how her lips move and to feel her breath in an attempt to figure it all out. Rebecca says that the first time he did this he was very confused, but he was also absolutely fascinated by her whispering. He was relentless in trying to "talk" without using his vocal cords. But he has nearly mastered it now. It seems he has the technique down and all he has to do is learn to enunciate the words better. Can you make out what he is trying to say? The notion that a cockatoo can learn to whisper should be no surprise. Although cockatoo's are not often known for exceptional speaking abilities like some other types of parrots, their intelligence and problem solving abilities surpass that of a 5 year old child. Their emotional intelligence can reach that of a 3 year old and because of that their bond with their owners can be intense. As you can see, regardless if a cockatoo can speak well or not, their desire and ability to communicate is off the charts. A cockatoo's curiosity, stubbornness, and intelligence make them very challenging to live with. They are not for the feint of heart or inexperienced. They require special care and an incredible amount of attention for them to be happy and healthy. Most of all, you need to be ready repay their love and loyalty with a lifetime of commitment. These cuties can live upwards to 80 years old! Onni is an Umbrella Cockatoo. These beautiful birds originate from the rainforests of Indonesia. Because of human encroachment and loss of habitat they are critically endangered. Illegal capture and the sale of these wild birds world wide has also contributed to their decline in the past. Responsible captive breeding has reduced this cruel practice greatly and has even helped increase the population. Even so, Rebecca says that far better to adopt from a bird sanctuary. Cockatoos are one of the most abandoned birds because of their difficulty and long lifespans. There are many sitting in shelters just waiting for love and a home of their own. But be forewarned... who knows what secrets of yours that they will share!

Onni the umbrella cockatoo experiences his first slide down the banister. He has great trepidation at first, but the youngster trusts his owner enough to give it a go. He chatters on and talks to her for reassurance as he learns the fun game. Within no time the bird is having a blast going down the railing and vocalizing with utter glee!

Onni the baby cockatoo has a hilarious reaction to his friends' tongue piercing. He is completely fascinated by it and mimics her as she wags her tongue. But he can't figure out why he can't make the fun clicking noises as the piercing rakes across her teeth. He tries and tries his best, often looking towards his human mother to make sure she is watching. But he is determined and won't give up!!! Onni is a Finnish word that means luck and happiness. He is an umbrella cockatoo. Cockatoos are extremely inquisitive and intelligent. These playful, cuddly birds are nearly extinct in the wild due to human encroachment on their habitat. But Onni lives the life of a prince with his owners. It seems he will go on dreaming of the day he can get his tongue pierced ... but his mom ain't having it!

Many things in the world are new to Onni the four year old umbrella cockatoo. And that includes this ceramic bird caller. His owner, Rebecca Stout, introduced the water whistle to the bird who is considered a small child in both human and cockatoo years. His wonderment over the whistle is absolutely endearing! However he took his owner by surprise when he took things to a whole other level beyond what she ever imagined. He tried to make it work the same way exact way she did! You can just see the intensity of his watchful eyes while his owner prepares and works the whistle. After careful contemplation, he reaches for and holds the whistle in a great effort to blow it like his human companion. When he finds that he can't, he then changes his approach in the most creative way. He attempts to mimic the sound of the whistle instead. But he is not satisfied. And so he makes attempt after attempt to figure out a way to make it work. His determination is mind blowing. But then Onni and his owner are taken by complete surprise by a little helper. A cockatiel, named Sunny, lost patience and stepped in. It wasn't good enough for him to copy the warble of the whistle though. Instead Sunny bursts out into song with a whistle like voice. The first song he belts out is "Nights in White Satin". But when he watches Onni fail at blowing the whistle again, he changes his tune to a more exuberant song, "Would You Like To Swing On A Star". Both birds are brilliant in their own right. Many studies have proven that cockatoos are as intelligent as a 4 to 5 year old human child over all. These sweet and beautiful birds have the emotions of a three year old child. And their creative problem solving and crafting abilities can surpass that of a 7 year old! This is why owning a large cockatoo can be such a challenge. It takes life long commitment to have this species in your life. They should be out of the cage as much as possible for stimulation and enrichment. Not to do so leads to the cockatoo being tragically depressed and neurotic. Rebecca says that her message to people is to "think outside of the cage" to make their lives as happy and healthy as possible. Onni can live well into his seventies, so that leaves his owner with a lot of challenges in her future. But there is always Sunny to help along the way!

Onni the baby cockatoo simply adores face scratches and massages. One of his favorite things to do is sit with his owner and just enjoy each her company!

Sunny is an unusual cockatiel that grasps language and doesn’t only mimic speech. He often gives people and animals commands to do things rather than vice versa, because he likes to be in charge. One of the many things he does is call others over when he wants their company. In this video, Sunny is sitting on a table, interacting with his humans. The cute parrot tries to mimic speech and calls the three-year-old little girl Nina over from across the table. Apparently, he couldn’t resist her cuteness so he calls her over and demands kisses! Can you believe this guy? Listen as this friendly parrot calls Nina to come over by saying ‘come here, come mere, mere, mere’, so that when the little girl approaches him he starts <a href="https://rumble.com/v3s4kl-cute-parrot-loves-kisses.html" target="_blank">making a kissing noise</a>, which means that he wants to receive smooches! How adorable! This overly affectionate cockatiel loves to get kisses and cuddle with owners. This is the most popular pet bird variety in the world, second to the budgie. Maybe they are not known for their ability to learn tricks or to ‘talk’, but it is not totally unheard of for a cockatiel to whistle back to it’s companion. Cockatiels are known as very sociable birds, so they might get depressed if you leave them alone for long periods of time. They may hit it’s head against the cage, pull its feathers, refuse to eat, or become angry. You may not think parrots are very affectionate, but the truth is quite the contrary! This loving <a href="https://rumble.com/v30gb5-kiwi-knows-some-tricks.html" target="_blank">parrot loves kisses</a> and literally wants to shower his owner with kisses and love! How can you say no to this precious bird when you can clearly hear him say ‘Come here, mere’ and proceeds making kissing sounds? Nina, give that bird his kiss already!

Onni the baby cockatoo is frightened when he sees workers taking down the trees at his house. Such a site is pretty terrifying for any animal let alone a bird. The adorable bird dashes to his human "brother" for protection and confort. A few kisses later and Onni is okay.

He can do a trick most of us can't. Eat a Hawaiian ice with only his tongue... We all love our icy cold treats. Whether they be ice cream, popsicle's, frozen drinks, or any of the other forms, most of us eat them in the same way. When we aren't using spoons to scoop them into our mouths and letting them slowly melt into a heavenly bliss, we take our time licking them to savor the awesome goodness. Either way, the frozen goodies always get to the same target... our mouths. Chet Stout loves to do 'tongue tricks' for his friends. And this one is a real doozy of a trick!

Birds are amazing creatures. All bird lovers will agree. But parrots are kind of special. With more than 350 species, all parrots have a few traits in common. For example, to be classified as a parrot, the bird must have a curved nose (beak) and its feet must have four toes, from which two point forward and two that point backward. Take a look at this beautiful cockatoo being terrified from an egg. Hilarious! Onni is a <a href="https://rumble.com/v3zbs9-baby-cockatoo-is-visited-by-a-cardianal.html" target="_blank">baby cockatoo</a>. His name means happiness and luck in Finnish. This happy little bird is experiencing the world for the first time. One of those firsts was seeing an egg! We don't know why he reacted the way he did. Perhaps it was unnatural and scary to see an egg out of a nest and in a human hand. Or maybe it was because he just plain never saw one before. Either way, his reaction was bizarre and totally unexpected to his owners. When the egg is shown to him, he stands tall, puffs up like a giant piece of popcorn and sways back and not even looking at it. He was probably making sure that the unknown "danger" saw that he was bigger than it and so he seemed more threatening. Well, it worked because the egg "disappeared" from view. After that Onni happily cuddled up to his human brother for comfort and refuge. Umbrella cockatoos are often called White Cockatoos and are found in the rainforests of Indonesia. However, due to human encroachment and loss of habitat, it is critically endangered. These types of cockatoos can be found easily in the pet trade because of captive breeding. They are an extremely difficult <a href="https://rumble.com/v4kl51-pet-bird-shakes-newspaper-to-get-owners-attention.html" target="_blank">pet</a> to keep with specialized needs. One of which is they need out of a cage as much as possible and need as much interaction with humans (and or other cockatoos) as possible. They are as intelligent as 3-year-old children and very emotional. This leaves to be very challenging to care for.

Living with a cockatoo is like living with the 3 year old child. Literally. They have the intelligence and emotional intelligence of a human 3 year old child or more. Given the fact that they live up to 80 years, that means you'd be living with a toddler the rest of your life. And all of the challenges you have to deal with raising a human child are the same as with in a large cockatoo. Onni, the 5 year old Umbrella Cockatoo, is bonded to his daddy. Bonding to a single person is a very common thing. When his daddy isn't around, Onni acts like any other kid enjoying his day with toys and time spent with his mom. But when his daddy walks through the door, it's a whole different story! As soon as Onni's daddy walks through the door, he proceeds to tell him all sorts of tales about how hard his day was and how mean mommy is. And his daddy falls for it every time as seen here in this video. But then we see what truly happened during Onni's day. It was filled with playing a toy instrument, with playing games, and enjoying cuddles. Look at the face his daddy gives the camera after Onni tells him how bad his day went because of his mommy. And watch Onni peer at his mommy behind his daddy's back with defiance.

Tika, the Goffin cockatoo loves to sun bath as many birds do. But in her case, she doesn't do so alone. She has a sun buddy, a bearded dragon named Helius, that she spends her sun bathing time with. Their favorite spot to soak up the sun is the window sill in their home where they spend hours together. Bearded dragons spend most of their time in the sun. It is vital to their health. Helius seems very grateful and happy to have the company of his favorite pal while he does what he does best. The two pets share a very unusual and rare friendship. And are forever bonded by the sun rays.

Everything in the world is new to a baby. Including a baby cockatoo named Onni. Although Onni is 2 years old, he is still a baby in cockatoo years as this species lives up to 80 years old! And he still finds things in the world to explore. Here he examines his owners mouth. He discovered an interest in human mouths early on and has always been fascinated with them, but each time is like the first to him. Or is it he just wants to grow up to be a dentist? Time will tell for this inquisitive and beautiful companion. Onni means happiness and luck in Finnish which is exactly what this cheeky bird brings to the world. However he is not from Finland. Onni is an Umbrella Cockatoo. The Umbrella Cockatoo, also known as the White Cockatoo, is from Indonesia. Due to the aggressive encroachment by humans into its only home in the world, it is now critically endangered.

Cockatoos love and need to be included in every day family happenings. They are as intelligent as a small child and need lots of enrichment and to be out of a cage as much as possible. Most often a parrots play is creative. But they are also well known for mimicking sounds and behavior. Onni the cockatoo likes to mimic people as a way to join in on their fun. Which is exactly what the kooky cockatoo does. Onni the cockatoo jumps right in to engage his owner by "chewing gum" with her. Of course the parrot isn't really chewing gum. But the crafty bird has figured a way around that to join in on the fun with mom. He mimics the owners' behavior by "chewing something" as a substitute-- a spitball! Mom blows a bubble for Onni and he is blown away (no pun intended). You can see the wheels turning in his head as he tries to figure out how he can blow a bubble as well. He can't figure it out and chews even more emphatically. All the while the bird keeps whipping his head around and stares right into the camera as if he is saying, "Are you seeing this sorcery?!" The owner opens her mouth to show the bird what she is chewing on. And he is enthralled with the gum in her mouth. He is nonetheless amazed and continues with chewing his gum, er spit, with her!

Onni is a baby 2 year old umbrella cockatoo. So many things are new to this young bird. He takes great joy exploring the world with his family. One of favorite past times is to sit on the window sill to soak in the sun while watching the happenings outside. On this particular day, he found a huge surprise outside... a big black crow. Normally any bird would be terrified of a huge flying bird because typically they that would be a predator such as an owl, hawk or eagle. Birds innately know which animals are predatory fear them even if they've never seen them before or have other birds to teach them. But cockatoos in particular are brilliant animals. Despite the fact that Onni has never seen a huge bird flying around outside other menacing hawk (which he fears and retreats from), he somehow knows this is a different kind of large bird that is not to be feared even though it looks so similar from a great distance. He is elated over seeing the new friend and the first thing out of his mouth is, "HELLO BUDDY". He follows up with some other things such as hi and much more, baby garble included. Can you make out some of the things he is saying in his great excitement? He is disappointed when his friend flies away, but his owner assures him he will be back another day. You can bet this little guy will be on an acute lookout in the future for his new found friend. Onni means luck and happiness in Finnish which is certainly what he has brought into this world.

Onni, a baby cockatoo, seems to want his tongue pierced! Every time he see's his friend, Erin, they play an funny game. His friend waggles her tongue piercing across her teeth and he copies her. The problem? Onni doesn't have a piercing, so he can make the cool sounds she makes with the piercing against her teeth. That's another thing. Birds have no teeth. But this silly cockatoo doesn't care. He won't give up trying to make the same sound with his tongue and beak. After he's done copying his friend with his mouth, he walks over to his mother seemingly to ask for his tongue to be pierced. When his owner firmly says no, he flips his head around walks off in defiance. Onni is a two year old umbrella cockatoo. This type of cockatoo is native to Indonesia. Sadly, they are endangered in the wild due to loss of their environment. However, it's good to know that this species of bird has been captive bred for many generations so that they will live on in spite of human encroachment.

Onni, the 2 year old baby cockatoo has been taught to tap dance. Now, whenever he gets happy and excited he gets happy feet. Sean, his human "brother", taught him how to use his stompy feet and engages in some table play. Onni means luck and happiness in Finnish and he certainly brings that to life.

Onni the baby cockatoo thinks there are monsters under the chair. So his daddy takes a look to make sure there aren't any. Even after he assures the funny baby bird that there are none there, Onni still doesn't believe it and takes off!

Onni the adorable baby cockatoo surprised his owner by helping with the laundry. But then what happened next was not such a welcome surprise.

Argentine tegus are a type of monitor and make wonderful pets for the experienced pet owner. This little girls name is Kaiju which means strange and large creature in Japanese. Godzilla is an example of a Kaiju. His owners son has a unique, a very unique tongue. It is split like Kaiju's. It can be quite a shocking surprise for the unprepared.

My son loves pets of a different variety. Our home houses exotic pets off all different types big and small. The most challenging pet was not a giant lizard or a saucy cockatoo, but instead a tiny rodent. Flower is a captive bred Siberian chipmunk. These chipmunks are not the type you find in North America, but are another species widely sold as pets such as in the UK. As wonderful as this trusting bond seems, Flower, along with many other captive chipmunks didn't turn into the best of pets after she hit puberty. This sweet little thing turned very aggressive and proved to be too much of a handful for domestic life. In the mean time, we sure did enjoy her childhood presence and we hope she enjoyed us. The background music was written and played by my son, Chet who was then just 17 years old.