It's a commitment. I know dogs are too, but parrots really need lots of attention. They expect to be constant part of the goings on, and will often choose one human as their "mate". They notice everything that is going on - if I'm making a sandwich in the kitchen where he can't really see, he goes "Tasty eh?".

We went for a species that is relatively quiet - some parrots are deafening. The first 2 years he only made his usual sounds. Then one night, as he was out of the cage, he flew towards my wife, and I heard her laughing. "Strange" I thought, why does she laugh? Took us both 3 seconds to realize it was him doing a *perfect* imitation of her laugh. Once the lid was off, he started talking more and more. The names of the dogs, the cat, laughs, coughs, giggles, kisses, "I'm a bit angry", the list goes on. We always talk to him in short sentences, and that's what he uses: not just words, but sentences, in context, with inflection (he knows or seems to know the difference between a statement, a request, and a question).

Sometimes, mostly late at night, you can hear him whispering. When you listen very carefully, he is 'rehearsing' every word and sound he knows.

But we also do call & response games with "his" sounds. I learned his language too, and he loves that. And like cats purr, he grinds his beak very quietly when he's happy & feels safe.

All that said, you have to learn how to "read" them. They can change very quickly, and when angry or startled they will bite, and you will bleed. After all, it's not a domesticated pet, it's a tamed-from-birth one. But in a way that makes them special.

(I'll stop babbling about our zoo after this one )