And Remember Charlie, too!

Last night, Alissa and I were down visiting Coco and Charlie. Alissa offered Coco a peanut saying, "Coco,do you want a peanut?" Charlie instantly said, "Coco AND Charlie want a peanut!"

When Coco and Charlie were young, they were in separate cages. Charlie would always say, "Charlie wants a drink of water." or "Charlie wants a peanut!" Then he would go over to Coco's cage and check her dishes, saying, "Coco wants a drink," or "Coco wants a peanut." But we never heard him speak of just himself again after the day that they were put together. Charlie immediately always said, "Coco AND Charlie want a peanut" ...or a drink of water or whatever else. To me this really is evidence of the Amazon's ability to comprehend more complex language forms.

I also see this in their ability to interchange words in phrases that they use frequently. For example, when my sister Peggy came to visit my parents, she taught Coco to say, "I miss Peggy!" and then to cry. When my parents babysat a parrot for a few months, Coco started to say, "I miss Charlie!" and then cried! (This was a different Charlie, not the fine man who would become her mate! Don't tell Charlie, he thinks he's the only guy in her life!)