Parrots are infinitely complex. Humans can’t comprehend the full extent of this. We arrogantly place ourselves at the top of the emotionally intelligent pyramid. The irony of this is that we are so numb to the needs of our fellow creatures that we assume superiority over them. If we placed a human child in solitary confinement for endless hours at a time, we rightly would be in a great deal of trouble. Yet this is perfectly acceptable and indeed normal for how we treat our companion animals. This causes immense suffering. The scale of this across the world is incomprehensible. When will we, as a species, wake up to what we are doing? When will we look to the needs of others rather than to our own? When will we ever learn?
In the wild, if a parrot is alone (a very few species are exceptions to this rule), then its instincts tell it that it is vulnerable, it is unsafe, it is running a high risk of predation. Have you ever felt this yourself? If you have, then you know how that lone parrot sitting in a cage feels. That aside, flock life allows a parrot - who don’t forget, has the intelligence of a nursery or reception aged child, to play, to have contact, to learn, to socialise - to be a parrot. People complain that if they get a second bird, then ‘their’ bird won’t bond with them and interact with them. HOW DARE THEY! ‘Their’ bird is not a toy, an ornament, a baby. ‘Their’ bird has an equal right to emotional, mental and physical well-being as the human does. Don’t live in ignorance and make the assumption you are more important. You really are not. You are equal. Allow your parrot to be who it was always meant to be - a parrot.