Sy Montgomery: "Birdology"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-04-14/sy-montgomery-birdology
A naturalist on her adventures with hummingbirds, hawks and other feathered creatures. Why birds are far stranger, more wondrous – and more like us than we imagine.
Guests
Sy Montgomery
naturalist, author, documentary scriptwriter, radio commentator, and author.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Sy Montgomery is the winner of the 2010 Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award. She will receive her award this Saturday, April 17, in the National Geographic Auditorium at 2pm. The presentation and reception are open to the public. More information is available at www.childrensbookguild.org.
I am listening to your guest and saying "Yes!" my African Grey Sinbad did that! He would whistle for the dog, tell him to go lay down in my father's voice. He then called all dogs "Joe". It was very funny. I could go on and on about how smart this bird was. He answered appropriately and had what I would label as basic conversation with you. And Sinbad loved to dance:)
Lynn,
Brooksville, FL
We have a little lovebird (they are small parrots) whose name is Omelet. One day when we were watching a basketball game we heard him making soft, high-pitched sounds in quick succession and realized he was imitating the squeaking of the players' sneakers on the court--a sound we were unaware of until then. He does it every time.
My father used to tell me, when I was a child, that his grandfather told him that if people were birds not many would be smart enough to be crows.
I watched three blue jays systematically peck the head off of a small snake. Then they left.
i was on the way to work and come to a stop light and saw a starling trying to drag a dead starling off the intersection
When i was a child I visited a zoo. when i approached the raven enclosure a raven approached me and set a small rock outside the bars and then looked at me as if to say it was a gift. when i reached for the rock he tried to eat my finger!! it was a trap!!
My father has become a bird rescuer, by accident.
He and my mom have taken in 3 macaws, a euclyptus, a yellownaped amazon and a cockatoo over the last 2 years.
these were all birds that were rescued from bad situations.
1 of the macaws had been kept in a closet by his owner.
all but one of these birds were bought by people who had not researched parrots and thoght they were "cute" - they had no concept of the time and energy and attention that a parrot needs.
A parrot forum that he is a member of has led him to each of these birds in need of a home.
People need to educate themselves before they make a commitment to a pet that has a 30-50 year lifespan.
OMG Did she say you become your parrot's lover? Am I the only one who has a problem with birds kept in cages with a life option of having a human as a lover?
This is such a wonderful guest and topic- thank you. I just wanted to say the best "pet" I've ever had in my life was a crow. I can't even begin to relate the personality and intelligence of these birds. It was like having a combination of a bird, a dog and a very naughty child :)
I hope there's time to address the problem of the large number of deaths attributed to bird collisions with buildings. It is the responsibility of architects and building owners to recognize the problem and to design buildings and houses to be "bird safe". New York Audubon Society has a wonderful booklet addressing this problem. Thank you.
We have had hummingbirds returning to our yard for many years! When I sit in a lawn chair and water the garden in the evening with a misty setting on my hose, the birds will swoop and play in the misty water.
My husband and I have raised chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys for several years. We were amazed to see the relationships among them. There was a rooster who had a favorite hen. He was a Wyandotte, she was a white Banty. They had a son. Who was brooded by the Banty hen and the turkey hen. This son was equally attached to his rooster dad, his hen mom and his turkey mom. Sadly, all 3 "parents" are now dead. We still have the son, an unusual rooster who looks like fluffy white cotton candy with an overlay of the Wyandotte ticking. The turkey hen also was buddies with a black Cochin hen, and they always hung around together. The turkey hen would often call to the Banty/Wyandotte rooster and the black hen when she found some good food. When the turkey hen died last summer, the black hen stayed with her until we buried her, and the black hen even attended the turkey hen's burial. For about a week after we buried the turkey hen, the black hen would visit her grave. The ducks and geese are another comment!!!
My friend has owned chickens for several years. She loves birds in general, and in the past has owned ducks and geese. She recently took on another chicken due to the fact that the owner couldn't take care of it anymore. The chicken had a companion that died recently and my friend was supposed to take both, but now just has the one. She has kept the rest of her own chickens away from the new one incase it is sick. It seems though that the chicken is attached to sitting next to a window that she can see her own reflection. My friend says that the chicken might think her reflection is her friend that died. Will she be able to socialize with the other chickens? Is there anything that my friend can do to better help the process?
Thank you for this delightful show. Birds do lift our spirits. One evening sitting in my yard after the sun went down over the Wallowa Mountains in Northeast Oregon I looked up to see four ravens engaged in aerial acrobatics, squares collapsing corner to corner as two meet in the middle, tumble and pass--perhaps six or seven patterns, playing in the air. I could hardly believe my eyes. Cultural humility is in order, lifting the veils from our homocentric hearts and vision. Again, thank you.
The caller who mentioned grackles reminded me of this poem by Ogden Nash:
The Grackle
"The grackle’s voice is less than mellow,
His heart is black, his eye is yellow,
He bullies more attractive birds
With hoodlum deeds and vulgar words,
And should a human interfere,
Attacks that human in the rear.
I cannot help but deem the grackle
An ornithological debacle."
*Smiles*
Birds at the windows--a monk I know hangs sheer drapes (cheaply had in second hand stores) on the OUTSIDE of windows--it blocks so little light and view and saves so many traumatic collisions.
As a vegan I do not eat any poultry or eggs because of how smart these animals are. Many people own birds then turn around and eat chicken or duck. I cannot understand how these studies are done with anyone talking about the impact of the meat industry on these wonderful animals. I wish someone would address this issue instead of rant and rave about how smart while eating a chicken sandwich.
I heard only a portion of this program this morning, but I was dismayed to hear the author state the cassowary is only found in New Guinea and parts of Australia. I lived in Indonesia for almost four years and the cassowary is common there. In fact, they use them in a ring around the national zoo in Jakarta as watch dogs. They are penned during the day and turned out at night to roam the perimeter. They look more like a peacock than anything else and I have never seen one taller than a human although I have never been to New Guinea.
My husband and I own two cockatoos (a bare-eyed and goffin's), who are excellent talkers and do hold conversations with us -- to the point that we have to remind ourselves that we are indeed trying to reason with birds. They understand the proper use of pronouns, speak over 300 words, recognize objects and causal relationships (phone rings - they say "hello" when we answer; when we let the phone ring, they will say, "please answer the phone."). The best is when they are bickering back and forth. They are a joy to have in our home.
My husband and I own two cockatoos (a bare-eyed and goffin's), who are excellent talkers and do hold conversations with us -- to the point that we have to remind ourselves that we are indeed trying to reason with birds. They understand the proper use of pronouns, speak over 300 words, recognize objects and causal relationships (phone rings - they say "hello" when we answer; when we let the phone ring, they will say, "please answer the phone."). The best is when they are bickering back and forth. They are a joy to have in our home.
I'm at work and I've been listening to the entire show. It's *so* nice to hear how excited Ms. Montgomery is to talk about birds. I love birds and I'm just beginning my journey to learn about them. I can't wait to read her book. Thank you for your enthusiasm!
One day I was amazed watching from my sitting room window, as two Robins were taking worms from the freshly churned flowerbed and placing them on the scorching summer blacktop, in the center of the driveway. They would then search for more. Upon their return they would eat the ones that were Barbecued on the pavement while cooking the fresh ones... they repeated this for longer than I could sit watching. They like them cooked!
Very much enjoyed this, Sy is interesting and birds are truly awesome. However I found her a little excentric regarding birds being like "people" and a bird actually being a dinosaur-and also her "million year" age of the earth..hhhmmmm.
But I'll buy her book anyway...we have a 12 year old who loves birds and has the potential to be a "Sy"...nice program. We need passionate people like Sy in this world.