It has been a long time since I’ve had a pet who hasn’t talked to me!

I sometimes forget the distinction between Phoebe making bird noises — which come in good and bad varieties — and Phoebe genuinely seeming to have a conversation with me and other people. It can be hard to tell the difference. Is he squawking because he’s agitated/wants something or does he actually think he’s part of the conversation?

Yesterday, I was sitting outside the neighborhood cafe with Phoebe and one of our regular friends there, George, was sitting nearby reading. At some point when George and I were talking, Phoebe began vocalizing. He was sort of clucking like a chicken, which is probably the closest he comes to seeming like he’s actually talking.

George, being a good sport, began talking back to Phoebe, which in turn prompted Phoebe to keep clucking.

Now, as someone who’s gotten yelled at by Phoebe on most days for the past six years, I’m a little desensitized to his talking. But I do think it’s cool whenever he finds a willing conversation partner because I remember what it was like to first experience the phenomenon of, “Oh, a bird is talking to me!”

Anecdotally, Phoebe has also gotten more regular about saying “hello” whenever he goes past a person. It doesn’t happen every time, but people respond differently when it does. Some of them say hello back (with or without laughing). Some of them smile without saying anything. Other people don’t react — possibly because it doesn’t register to them that a dinosaur is greeting them. I’m not optimistic that Phoebe will ever learn new words, but that's okay because he can get his feelings across just fine.