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Playing with a Blind Bird

Luna, just like most birds, enjoys play of different types. She likes to be kept busy, as long as she's feeling safe and secure. Here are some of the things we do to keep her busy.

Toys

Although I've heard that most blind birds tend to like toys that make noise or that have a lot of texture to them, Luna's preference seems to be for things that she can destroy. One of her all-time favorite toys (other than her gym) is an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll. She takes great pleasure in turning them into tiny cardboard crumbs.

Outside Time

One of Luna's favorite activities is to spend time on the ground. Our other two birds prefer to be up high, and though they like outside time, they don't want to be placed on the ground. Luna, however, is practically fearless and really enjoys being taken outside and turned loose on the grass. She'll put her beak down on the ground like a blind person uses a cane, and then she'll run around on the lawn and the driveway. Since she obviously enjoys this so much, we don't use pesticides or toxic fertilizers in our yard. We live with the weeds, and when we need to fertilize, we use fish emulsion which stinks but isn't toxic. Luna sometimes uses her outside time as an opportunity to hunt ants, which is fun to watch. When she's out, we are of course always vigilant to make sure that she's safe from wandering cats, and that she doesn't bump into something dangerous.

Hand Wrestling

One game that Luna especially seems to enjoy is hand wrestling. When she's in the mood, she'll lay on her side and grab my hand with her talons and bite me in mock attack. I'll wiggle my fingers like I'm trapped, and give her my mock growl back. She'll wrestle like this until she's tired out, and then she'll lay on me and rest until she's ready for another round.

"Talking" Games

Although Severe Macaws have a reputation for being pretty good talkers, Luna herself isn't very chatty. Her vocabulary consists of one word: "hello." Even my Cockatoo, which have a reputation for being poor talkers, has a wider vocabulary. However, despite Luna's lack of verbal skills, she does enjoy playing certain imitation games. She'll sit on my shoulder, make a growl, or a purr, or some other noise, and I'll copy it. Then she'll pick another noise (or sometimes the same one) and I'll copy again. I can also initiate the game, and then usually she'll copy the sounds I make, as long as I pick something that's within her vocabulary of sounds.

Music

Although Luna does enjoy listening to pre-recorded music, one of her favorite things is to sit on me while I'm singing and/or playing guitar. Often she'll swing her head around in circles, looking very much like a macaw-version of Stevie Wonder. Sometimes, if she's really into what I'm playing, she'll purr in time to the music. She especially loves to sit on my shoulder while I'm playing guitar, though she does have a rather annoying habit of trying to punch holes in my guitar strap! I guess I should just buy some really cheap ones and let her punch away...