An inspiring story of a man and his bird

Any birder can tell you that birds are extremely intelligent animals. We’ve seen zebra finches show thoughtful social behavior and New Caledonian Crows use tools to solve problems.

However, we’ve also seen some birds exhibit the ability to truly hold a complex and meaningful relationship with human beings.

A few weeks ago, a fantastic radio show that offers an array of unique stories about science called Radiolab produced a great piece about a man’s relationship with his pet bird.

Jim Eggers suffered from a crippling case of bipolar disorder with psychotic tendencies and homicidal thoughts. He had a very difficult time calming himself down when his tempers flared.

All that changed when he rescued an African Grey Parrot who he named Sadie. At first, when Jim was trying to relax, he would verbally tell himself to calm down and then Sadie would mimic him. Her pleas, even if they were just imitations, helped him tremendously.

Sadie demonstrated a much higher level of thinking when she told Jim to calm down when she noticed he was getting upset. Sadie now has the ability to detect when Jim is getting really angry and helps him calm down without him telling her to.

According to law, birds cannot be considered “service animals,” despite Sadie’s knack for cooling Jim’s temper. That hasn’t stopped Jim from taking her everywhere.

This is just one example of how birds establish meaningful relationships with people. Birds are tremendously smart and can be taught to respect and even help humans.