Chapter 533 Parrot Choir
Yingying asked, "Are they going to have baby peafowl?"
Liu Xueqing replied, "I suppose so."
Yingying expressed her eagerness, "I want to see baby peafowl!"
Bidding farewell to the green peafowl, they saw seven or eight pure white sulphur-crested cockatoos chattering noisily on the treetops, creating a cacophony.
Their round heads had a faint yellow-green hue, with slightly curved crest feathers resembling sprouting garlic bulbs, which looked clumsy but amusing.
When agitated, their crest feathers would fan out, supposedly resembling blooming sunflowers, but Fang Ye always thought 'Garlic Head Cockatoo' would be a more fitting name.
One of the cockatoos perched on a treetop, bent over and pecked at something with its head lowered.
As Liu Xueqing and the others approached, they realized it was a pine cone that had been repurposed.
Inserted between the scales of the pine cone were peanuts and sunflower seeds, making it resemble a blossoming flower.
It took a sunflower seed in its beak, moved its mouth a bit, and promptly cracked open the seed hull, consuming the kernel inside with smooth proficiency.
These parrots could shell sunflower seeds using only their beaks, just as deftly as humans could with their hands.
Yingying's father exclaimed in admiration, "This enrichment is quite interesting indeed!"
Having visited Linhai Zoo many times, they were familiar with the concept of enrichment.
There wasn't just a pine cone feeder on the tree, it was also adorned with various other enrichment toys!
There were feeders made of bamboo, placed both horizontally and vertically, stuffed with small tomatoes, apples, and grapes, which had already been enjoyed by the parrots.
The natural hollow of bamboo is convenient for holding water and food, and since it's readily available in bamboo forests, it's easy to produce and used throughout the zoo.
Having finished their treats, the parrots also used the bamboo as swings, with one currently perched on top, flapping its wings and swinging joyously.
Some greeted passersby on the path in a somewhat slurred speech: "Hello! Hello!"
There were also small square boxes made from Ice Cake sticks, from which parrots were fetching and eating sunflower seeds.
These were not left behind by visitors who ate Ice Cakes but were conscientiously collected by animal keepers for recycling purposes.
Seeing the parrots at play, seemingly happy and active, the bird house's enrichment appeared indeed to be abundant.
Liu Xueqing spotted some white thin sheets combined with a bunch of straw, strung up as an enrichment toy, and asked the animal keeper curiously, "What is that skewer-like thing over there for?"
The animal keeper glanced over and laughed, "Oh, that's made of straw and cuttlebone! Cuttlebone helps parrots to grind their beaks and incidentally provides them with calcium."
Though parrots are very popular with visitors, they also have a strong destructive power, and when bored, they would tear leaves into shreds.
The sulphur-crested cockatoos might look clumsy and cute, but their destructive power is actually among the highest in the parrot family.
The various enrichment toys not only improve the parrots' well-being but also help reduce the rate of plant damage in the exhibit area.
Near the front cliff, visitors seemed to be gathering around something.
When Liu Xueqing and her family approached, they discovered the parrots appeared to be singing in chorus.
Indeed, under the leadership of Jin Martin and Jingwu, the parrots were singing in chorus!
Jin Martin stood on a protruding large rock at the front, head held high and chest out, vigorously flapping his wings.
The other parrots were perched haphazardly on the cliff, most whistling tunes, while some grey parrots and Amazon parrots with a knack for language sang the lyrics.
Getting closer, Liu Xueqing almost burst into laughter!
"This is the final struggle, let's unite till tomorrow
Internationale shall certainly be realized~~"
These parrots were actually singing "The Internationale"!
Jin Martin liked music, and the animal keepers would occasionally play songs for him.
Once it heard "The Internationale," it fell in love with the uplifting melody right away and had its animal keeper play it over and over. Later, it insisted on listening to The Internationale every time music was played.
After mastering the song, it even directed its underlings to sing along with it.
The melody of "The Internationale" is slow, and the lyrics are simple, with many lines repeated, especially "The Internationale shall certainly be realized", which is quite suitable for the parrots to learn.
Jinzhi is now busy with his love life, and the parrot underlings are mixing with Jin Martin, making the scene suddenly turn weird.
The musical talent of parrots is no joke!
These parrots, humming tunes and syncing vocals, had both pitch and rhythm spot on.
A whole flock of parrots humming in unison, no need for background music, they are the speakers, with built-in surround sound.
After singing "The Internationale shall certainly be realized", most of the parrots didn't know the rest, joining the humming melody group, shaking their heads up and down in rhythm.
Jin Martin stomped his feet vigorously and flapped his wings, singing with passion and vigor!
"We've never had any savior, nor do we rely on gods or emperors
To create mankind's happiness, it all depends on ourselves
We must reclaim the fruits of our labor, let thoughts break free from the cage~~"
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The raspy voice singing "The Internationale" made it all the more down-to-earth.
The tourists, watching this spectacle, were momentarily transfixed as if seeing a rock youth holding a mic, shaking his head to the rhythm!
Jingwu hummed the melody on the side, flapping her wings and swaying her body left and right, her dance in sync.
The tourists widened their eyes: "Holy shit, this is awesome!"
"They're so aware, hurry up and get the kid into the party!"
"Damn, I'm feeling quite stirred myself, long live the Internationale! Long live the people!"
"Not gonna lie, their pitch is pretty accurate! I can't even whistle that well!"
"Did the animal keeper teach them this, how did they learn? It's incredible."
"My parrot must be a fake, it can't even learn to say hello... Why such a big gap? I really want to send it here for training."
The tourists discussed among each other, though very quietly!
They were afraid that being too loud would disrupt their singing, this moment was too rare to witness.
Liu Xueqing was stunned: "The parrots have become truly clever!"
Every visit to see these parrots always brought her new surprises.
Yingying's father was a bit shocked at first, but quickly calmed down, after all, the intelligence of Linhai Zoo's parrots was not something he had witnessed just once or twice.
He took out his camera and began recording the video.
Yingying, listening to the tune, couldn't help but join in with her babyish voice, singing: "The Internationale, shall certainly be realized~"
When the parrots finished singing, the tourists started applauding excitedly with a chattering noise!
Jin Martin turned around, wings drawn to his side, raised his head, proudly showing off his red belly, and glanced sideways at the tourists with a smug and silly air!
He waved his wings: "Thank you, thank you!"
Jin Martin had a goal in mind, to train his underlings to do flight performances in sync with the songs in addition to singing.
This was inspired by the Sparkling Girls' music video shoot.
Singing while having parrots fly around would create such a lively and fun scene.
But first, he had to get his underlings to learn "The Internationale" well.