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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Foul-mouthed parrot is ordered ashore by Royal Navy |
| 2005-11-25 |
| A Royal Navy parrot with a reputation for embarrassing top brass with her salty language has been ordered ashore. Avast, ye swabs. Arghhhh. But it was not Sunny's swearing that led to her being taken off the frigate Lancaster. She has been given extended shore leave on medical advice after plucking out her feathers and looking withdrawn. I would rather doubt the average Royal Navy Seaman could use that excuse for Sickcall. Sunny, a six-year-old African grey with the official service number of RN Parrot No 1, has a habit of squawking "arse" and "bollocks" at inappropriate moments. Sounds like a couple of Chiefs I used to know. I dunno what the big deal is. During a visit in 2001 by the First Sea Lord, Sunny was banished to a wardroom broom cupboard but could still be heard uttering expletives. Besides a comprehensive list of oaths, her favourite phrases are "Zulus, thousands of 'em" and "You ain't seen nothing, right?" That's just too funny. Shore leave was ordered when Lancaster returned to its home port, Portsmouth, after tours of duty to the Falklands, Middle East and Africa. Sunny is now recuperating with the family of Lt Mari Duffy, one of the ship's officers, and her feathers are growing again. |
| Posted by:Carl Sagan |
| #4 The first thing any parrot of mine will learn is: "I can talk, can you fly?" You want amazing? Try Alex the African grey: With his vocabulary of 90-plus words, Alex can label items by color, shape and material. He can distinguish quantities of items up to six. When considering two objects, he can tell whether one object is bigger or smaller than another and what attribute is the same or different. And, in his latest amazing accomplishment, Alex is learning to recognize the sounds of some letters of the alphabet and is beginning, when shown these letters together, to sound out words like a child learning to read. Alex has set the entire world of animal intelligence on its collective ear. A most amazing boid. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/9935/alex.html |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-11-25 23:20 |
| #3 "Zulus, thousands of 'em" ROFLMAO!!! |
| Posted by: .com 2005-11-25 16:39 |
| #2 Sunny, a six-year-old African grey with the official service number of RN Parrot No 1, has a habit of squawking "arse" and "bollocks" at inappropriate moments. Rule Britannia. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-11-25 15:28 |
| #1 A Royal Navy parrot with a reputation for embarrassing top brass with her salty language has been ordered ashore. But it was not Sunny's swearing that led to her being taken off the frigate Lancaster. She has been given extended shore leave on medical advice after plucking out her feathers and looking withdrawn. Parrots repeat things they hear frequently, so that should be an indicator of what probably goes on the Lancaster. As for the feather-plucking, there's two likely possibilities - bad diet or psychological stress of some sort. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-11-25 14:13 |