A female Congo African grey parrot does not like its owner’s ailing father – and mocks the man’s chronic cough by making mimicking sounds.
The rescue parrot’s name is Jack, although it’s a female – and the parrot apparently hates men, SWNS reported.
Jack’s owner, Lorna Webb, has a dad who is suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
He’s 66 and is a former taxi driver.
All three of them lived together in Bedford, Bedfordshire, for 10 years.
The dad was diagnosed with COPD in 2008 and the damage to his lungs is irreversible.
He uses inhalers, steroids, home oxygen and nebulizers to try to manage his illness, according to SWNS, a British-based news service.
Even though the daughter and her parrot moved out five years ago, the parrot continues to copy the dad’s coughing and spluttering, to this day.
Said Lorna Webb, “It’s strange to think that long after my dad has passed, his coughs will still be echoing around in my flat.”
A full-time worker in online customer service, she said that despite the seriousness of her dad’s condition, the family maintains a dark sense of humor about the bird’s behavior.
A video even shows the dad, in jest, flipping the bird at the parrot after watching a video of its relentless mimicry, SWNS reported.
Lorna Webb added, “We find Jack’s mocking of my dad very funny. That type of gallows humor certainly isn’t for everyone, but we all had a really good laugh” about it, she also said.
“It’s funnier because Jack really dislikes my dad, so it’s like she is mocking him dying.”
Jack makes her strong dislike for men known by her behavior toward them, said the bird’s owner.
“Like many African greys, Jack has a very strong gender preference toward women – she hates men, without exception,” said Lorna Webb.
“When Jack and I lived with my dad, she would sneak across the floor silently and attack the back of his ankles. Or she’d fly down and bite the back of his neck.”
Even so, Lorna Webb said her father “loves” the parrot.
“However, he is absolutely terrified of her,” she added – “and with good reason,” SWNS reported.
She also said, “If a man enters Jack’s space, she will go out of her way to bite him.”
The African grey parrot is said to be very bright.
They’re among the smartest birds in the world and the greatest mimic of human speech among the 350 or so known parrot species, according to National Geographic.
Research has shown that the birds possess cognitive skills equal to that of a 5-year-old child, said NatGeo.
“Because of their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech,” these birds “are the most popular pet bird in the world,” said NatGeo on its website.
They are native to the rainforests of Central Africa.
“The birds breed well in captivity,” it also said.
At least 1.3 million of them “have been exported legally from Africa over the past four decades, particularly to countries in the Middle East.”
