Rattle the Cage, from my sister in law’s pet Blue & Gold Macaw tail feathers
Three and a half million pet birds live in the USA.* These are mostly caged birds like parrots in homes, not chickens and ducks. The numbers are slightly less than 20 years ago but about 3 in every 100 households have a bird or two. Practically all these birds are bred in captivity, not from the wild. People get them from pet shop, friends, and rescue centers.
Like keeping dogs as pets, owners love them. But birds have wings, so everyone wants to see them be able to fly and they mostly can’t in captivity. So there is an element of sadness as in, Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?
My friend caught a baby starling and fed it by hand until it grew up in its cage by the front door. It learned to talk and imitate interesting noises. It could fake her voice. Her husband was occasionally fooled when the bird imitated the door opening and voiced “Hello honey!”
*2017 Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook by the American Veterinary Medical Association.