Cockatoo gets surprise lesson while learning to use whistle

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!Show more

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!