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Dancing Senegal Parrot

Kili

Type: Senegal Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: Senegalus
Subspecies: Mesotypus
Sex: Female
Weight: 120 grams
Height: 9 inches
Age: 15 years, 9 months
Caped Cape Parrot

Truman

Type: Cape Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species:Robustus
Subspecies: Fuscicollis
Sex: Male
Weight: 330 grams
Height: 13 inches
Age: 14 years
Blue and Gold Macaw

Rachel

Type: Blue & Gold Macaw
Genus: Ara
Species:ararauna
Sex: Female
Weight: 850 grams
Height: 26 inches
Age: 11 years, 9 months
Trick Training Guides
Taming & Training Guide
Flight Recall
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Bat
Wings
Go through Tube
Turn Around
Flighted Fetch
Slide
Basketball
Play Dead
Piggy Bank
Nod
Bowling
Darts
Climb Rope
Ring Toss
Flip
Puzzle
Additional Top Articles
Stop Parrot Biting
Getting Your First Parrot
Treat Selection
Evolution of Flight
Clipping Wings
How to Put Parrot In Cage
Kili's Stroller Trick
Camping Parrots
Socialization
Truman's Tree
Parrot Wizard Seminar
Kili on David Letterman
Cape Parrot Review
Roudybush Pellets

List of Common Parrots:

Parakeets:
Budgerigar (Budgie)
Alexandrine Parakeet
African Ringneck
Indian Ringneck
Monk Parakeet (Quaker Parrot)

Parrotlets:
Mexican Parrotlet
Green Rumped Parrotlet
Blue Winged Parrotlet
Spectacled Parrotlet
Dusky Billed Parrotlet
Pacific Parrotlet
Yellow Faced Parrotlet

Lovebirds:
Peach Faced Lovebird
Masked Lovebird
Fischer's Lovebird
Lilian's (Nyasa) Lovebird
Black Cheeked Lovebird
Madagascar Lovebird
Abyssinian Lovebird
Red Faced Lovebird
Swindern's Lovebird

Lories and Lorikeets:
Rainbow Lorikeet

Conures:
Sun Conure
Jenday Conure
Cherry Headed Conure
Blue Crowned Conure
Mitred Conure
Patagonian Conure
Green Cheeked Conure
Nanday Conure

Caiques:
Black Headed Caique
White Bellied Caique

Poicephalus Parrots:
Senegal Parrot
Meyer's Parrot
Red Bellied Parrot
Brown Headed Parrot
Jardine's Parrot
Cape Parrot
Ruppell's Parrot

Eclectus:
Eclectus Parrot

African Greys:
Congo African Grey (CAG)
Timneh African Grey (TAG)

Amazons:
Blue Fronted Amazon
Yellow Naped Amazon
Yellow Headed Amazon
Orange Winged Amazon
Yellow Crowned Amazon

Cockatoos:
Cockatiel
Galah (Rose Breasted) Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Umbrella Cockatoo
Moluccan Cockatoo
Bare Eyed Cockatoo
Goffin's Cockatoo

Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw

Glossary of Common Parrot Terms

Kili Performed on the Late Show With David Letterman

Comments (9)

By Michael Sazhin

Tuesday November 13th, 2012

My pet Senegal Parrot Kili performed on the Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday November 13, 2012. She played off her maternal skills by holding her toy baby, pushing her around in a stroller, and then rocking her asleep in her crib. We had a lot of fun and a great time on the show.

Now for my loyal readers I will offer a play by play analysis of how the trick went. Right after coming out I shook Mr Letterman's hand with my right with the bird on it because clicker and treat were tucked in my left hand. I had to keep Kili's foot clamped with my thumb while speaking to the host not because the bird wanted to get loose but because she was dying to do the trick. She was like "would you just shut up already and let me do my thing!? GAH!"

Parrot Letterman Cartoon

Late Show Theater

When David brought up the age thing about the bird outliving me, I didn't feel like getting into the specifics about how Senegal lifespans are closer to 30 years so I just left it at "I hope she doesn't outlive me!" for the folks paying attention. So when David brought up quirks/ticks, they showed Kili up close being all jittery, however it had nothing to do with this and all to do with the fact that she could see her props and was trying to rip herself loose from my hands and do the trick already. At one point I had to cup her against me to distract her and get her to stop seeing her trick. It took no effort to get her to do the trick because by the time all talking was done, all I had to do was let go and like a horse at the start gate of the Kentucky Derby she was off!





Few realize this, but Kili picking up the baby with her foot is a whole trick in itself because parrots don't naturally do this. Normally they pick things up with their beak and then transfer them to their foot if they have to. Kili dropped the baby but quickly picked it back up to continue. Getting Kili to stay in the position and show how she holds the baby is also a challenge because she'd prefer to run along and continue the trick. The table top was a bit slippery but Kili managed to get by and push the stroller all the way across. She didn't realize to stop until she hit the crib though. This was mostly the result of an unfamiliar surface that she didn't get to practice the stroller push much on.

Michael Sazhin

Parrot Performing

Parrot Stroller Trick David Letterman

Parrot Puts Baby to Bed

Late Show Applause

Kili was posed with a major dilemma at the finale of the trick because she pushed the stroller up against the crib. She would not be able to put the baby in from the stroller side as she'd normally be accustomed to. But being the brilliant bird that she is, Kili simply walked around the crib and placed it from the other side! She finished off by rocking the crib a few times and waving goodnight to the baby (however, the camera angle doesn't really show this). She ended the whole thing off by flying back to me and got a sizable piece of almond as a reward.  

I intentionally stayed back away from the table and had Kili fly to/from to show the lack of involvement on my part, keep my hands off, and let Kili show everyone what she can do! After it ended Kili flew back to the table because she was looking for a comfortable place to chew her almond. I wanted to give her a big reward for doing a big job but later regretted it because it took her too long to eat and it was hard to get her to stay on my hand. Finally there was that awkward moment where Letterman was like "oh you're back? There's always the guy who won't leave." That was really a gaffe on the show's part because I was told to walk off stage after shaking the hosts hand at the end but as I walked off the stage manager told me to go back out to watch the instant replay. Thanks a lot guys for playing me the fool when you can't even keep your procedure straight!

Senegal Parrot Eating Grape

After leaving the stage I got a banana and grape from the salad bar to reward Kili. While she was chowing on those I also threw in a load of pellets. She didn't know what to go at first and was thrilled to have everything. She rolled the banana around in the pellet powder and made her own treat out of it! The look on her beak was hysterical as all the pellet powder was sticking to her banana covered beak! I wanted Kili to celebrate her job well done by feeding her as much as she'd like to eat. So unlike the normally moderated portions, here she could eat as much as she want and she did! I left the carrier open but she wouldn't come out because she was so thrilled at her special meal. She porked up 21 grams (nearly 20% of her empty weight) without blinking an eye and might have kept going if I hadn't eventually taken away the leftovers. She was bloated beyond belief and looked like the slightest squeeze of her belly and she would pop. What I found even more astounding was that when we got home (and I went to train Truman, business as usual...), Kili still wanted to train and did a few flight recalls despite the fact that I didn't expect anything at all from her. She recalled to go back in her cage for one final pellet!

Fat Senegal ParrotKili got the greatest meal of her life after nailing her performance on the Late Show

Thanks to everyone for watching and being supportive of the training efforts to date. I hope you enjoyed our performance. If an average guy like me can teach his ordinary parrot all these tricks, then there is little doubt in my mind that any and every parrot owner can develop a simple loving/caring relationship with their parrot. Your parrot doesn't have to be the world champion performer but by applying comparable techniques including positive reinforcement training, taming, socialization, flight, food management, steady schedule, love, and patience you can have the same relationship. The greatest victory of all of this is the relationship that I have with this bird. A few years ago she was becoming a biter and difficult to manage. Now anyone can hold her, I can travel with her, and she is just a wonderful pet. My blog, forum, and store are here to help you so please take advantage. Private consultations are available.

Here is Kili watching herself on TV (we got home in time to see it air):


Part of: Taming & Basic Training, Parrot Trick Training, Poicephalus, Senegal Parrots
Kili Senegal Parrot Trick Letterman TV Michael Sazhin
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Comments

Post Your Response


Eurycerus

Posted on November 13, 2012 11:21PM

I just heard about this through the local parrot rescue :] Have fun and good luck!

pennyandrocky

Posted on November 13, 2012 11:23PM

good i did not want to watch steve harvey,this i'll dvr


Michael

Posted on November 14, 2012 07:07PM

Folks, I reposted a complete article about this under the same URL so please check it out again. Since the old post saying to watch it on TV is no longer relevant, I replaced it with a retrospective article and online videos. Thanks for watching.

mojo

Posted on November 14, 2012 07:35PM

David Letterman was right Michael...you are way too talented with bird training to pursue a computer career. You have a great gift that certainly could be helpful to so many people. Ever consider travelling around the country to do live training sessions or webnairs? BTW, I'm originally from Brooklyn so my heart goes out to you and all my family and friends who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.


yeliabttocs

Posted on November 14, 2012 07:41PM

WTG Michael. I watched last night and hope this opens doors for you. Now for Leno...

purringparrot

Posted on November 14, 2012 07:53PM

That was great! How much fun and Kili did such a great job. Congratulations!

jerdixie

Posted on November 14, 2012 10:14PM

I loved Kili!!! I used to have a blue and white parakeet named Skye. :swaying: She could say "Pretty Bird" and "Skye Bird" and would chase my washcloth up and down the kitchen counter as I cleaned up. She was such a sweet bird. Thanks for sharing Kili's talents with us!! :senegal:

Jessica E

Posted on November 14, 2012 11:40PM

Congrats to you and little Kili. She did a great job. You truly are an amazing trainer, and kili is a cutie. Way to go!

GreenWing

Posted on November 20, 2012 04:37AM

How did I miss this post? What's wrong with me? OMG, Michael! 'Just watched the video, that is AWESOME! You and Kili did great and Kili is as CUTE as ever! Congrats to you both! Maybe next time Dave will let me show off Tiki? Lol! anicing:

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Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
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