Smart Animals

Cockatiel Concerto W.J. (BILL) FORREST

Dachi was the name of my pet cockatiel. His name comes from the second half of the Japanese word tomodachi, which means friend.

For the six years that we had him, he rode on my shoulder everywhere in the house. Often he would sneakily fly up onto my shoulder without me noticing.

I taught Dachi to whistle two songs, ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow’ and ‘Happy Birthday to You’. Though his repertoire was small, his confidence never lagged, and he would frequently wish me a happy birthday when it wasn’t – which could be embarrassing.

When Dachi had been with us for three or four years, I think I may have become a bit too confident with him. One day, I walked out of the house and didn’t realise that he was still sitting on my shoulder until the door behind me shut loudly. He took fright and flew away.

After I placed an advertisement in the local paper, nine days passed before I received a phone call from a woman. “I think I have your bird,” she said. “My husband found him sitting in the middle of the street.”

I was so relieved to hear this news that I immediately drove the few short streets to her house. When I arrived, she told me that he was out in the back in a cage with her other birds and suggested that I come through to see whether he was mine.

I had a better idea to identify Dachi and began to whistle the opening bars of the third movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, which I had also taught him. The lady stopped me, saying, “He is yours alright – he’s been whistling that all week.”

So Dachi came home in the car sitting on my shoulder, whistling. You could earn cash by telling us about the antics of unique pets or wildlife. Turn to page 5 for details on how to contribute.

Pecking Order LAYMA FAROOQ

Our mother always reprimanded us for walking around our farmhouse in bare feet as she believed that there was always a little dirt left on the floor after cleaning.

But that didn’t stop us until some time in 2014, when my younger brother got a pet robin called Nugget. Nugget would roam around the house and only retire to her cage at dusk. She was a keen observer and detected the sharpness in Mama’s voice and our quick response to it by putting on our slippers. Soon enough, this particularly smart robin sided with Mama, carrying out her instructions to completion by gently pecking at our bare feet until we put on our slippers.

Nugget only ever pecks at a culprit’s bare feet, and she is as gentle as can be at all other times. Now that’s a true motherly bird.

Tommy, the Barista MUSKAN FATIMA

Three years ago, I had a ginger tabby named Tommy, who was probably one of the laziest cats you’ll ever meet. He wouldn’t even get up to greet me in the morning.

However, he was very observant and would take in everything with his delicate, dark green eyes. One chilly autumn morning, during my final-year exams, I was extremely worried about an exam I had later that day. For the first time ever, I forgot to turn on my coffee-making machine. I was already running late for school, so even if I had remembered, I wouldn’t have had time to enjoy it.

While I was grabbing my books, hurrying to catch my bus, I heard my coffee machine start up. I dropped everything, and ran to the kitchen wondering, Who or what is in my house? As I entered the kitchen, to my surprise, I saw Tommy sitting on the kitchen counter right in front of the coffee machine. He had turned it on for me. He must have noticed that I forgot my morning coffee. So, I gave him a pat and drank coffee with him sitting on my lap, totally ignoring the fact that I was late.