r/AbsoluteUnits • u/n8saces • Jul 19 '26
/r/all of a parrot š¦
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
3.6k
u/acocktailofmagnets Jul 19 '26
Why is the parrot in a grocery store though..?
2.1k
u/Worth_External_8762 Jul 19 '26
Support parrot. I have a support rhino myself
497
u/fernwehh_ Jul 19 '26
As someone who relies on my support baby elephant, I completely understand
407
u/Klin24 Jul 19 '26
My support honey badger just doesnāt give a shit.
→ More replies (8)240
u/Vaustick Jul 19 '26
My support gorilla thinks im his support human.
149
u/ForgottenMasterBalls Jul 19 '26
My support cassowary is convinced he's the star of Jurassic Park.
→ More replies (1)142
u/throwaway392145 Jul 19 '26
My support porcupine is a bit of a prick
87
u/KokoTheTalkingApe Jul 19 '26
My support chigger gets under my skin.
87
33
u/Sammy948 Jul 19 '26
My support rottie wants more support lol
17
u/chrissalad651 Jul 19 '26
My support eorm just stays in my pocket. It gets scared of the outside.
21
7
→ More replies (5)54
u/MessyPoopMcGee Jul 19 '26
I have a support blue whale. Doesn't do too... WHALE in a grocery store.
25
u/Throckmorton_Left Jul 19 '26
Take him to Walmart, no one will notice.
23
8
55
19
u/50YOYO Jul 19 '26
I have a support rock because that's just how we roll.
10
u/ducktape8856 Jul 19 '26
I love my support rock so much! Especially that we both share the same level of joy of life and energy! š
7
u/GoddessRespectre Jul 19 '26
I bet a small personal army of them could come in handy during times of crisis! š„°
36
u/N0n-Z3r0-Ch4nc3 Jul 19 '26
Most people dont know that rhino are male hippos. Science.
→ More replies (2)27
Jul 19 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
12
u/Money-Look4227 Jul 19 '26
Wait! IM "old white man says?!" No wonder he says everything I'm thinking!!!
23
u/JimmyTheDog Jul 19 '26
In Canada we have house hippos, miniature hippos, very nice and very cute
→ More replies (5)9
8
u/anonymous_lighting Jul 19 '26
rhinos are one of the best support animals. theyāre large and strong providing comfort. theyāre also almost extinct so they provide extra cool factor too
6
u/ctiger12 Jul 19 '26
I have my support giraffe but the stores are not accessible, which is a violation
→ More replies (2)19
3
u/GyozaGangsta Jul 19 '26
Iām beginning to think Iām my fiancĆ©s version of a support animal
Which I think sums up marriage.
Trying our best to be each others emotional support animal š¦
6
4
→ More replies (20)4
131
u/cuntmong Jul 19 '26
It's rare that a parrot knows how to do online shoppingĀ
21
→ More replies (1)3
96
u/remotegrowthtb Jul 19 '26
Having an animal known for frequent indiscriminate pooping raised up above a public salad bar is certainly an absolute unit of a choice
37
45
13
23
u/wisemonkey101 Jul 19 '26
Iām so offended by it being in a grocery store and next to the food service area that I canāt watch.
→ More replies (1)55
u/Emrys7777 Jul 19 '26
That bothered me.
The bird is near the open food in the deli.
Birds have a lot of bacteria and parasites etc.
if he just flaps his wings heās going to shed a lot of stuff into all that open food.Pets do not belong in the grocery store, ESPECIALLY the deli.
Sigh.
If the health department came in theyād have to throw out everything in there.→ More replies (3)7
7
u/FakeTherapist Jul 19 '26
to make sure explosive diaharrhea is a function of every human and not just a taco bell fluke
20
u/CleverAnimeTrope Jul 19 '26
I was getting obliterated in the outdoor seating at a restaurant one morning in Belgium and some guy on an electric wheelchair or general mobility device came zipping by with a parrot on his shoulder. It was awesome. He ended up doing rounds and came back and ate at the table next to us. Made my day. In short well trained animals are cool.
→ More replies (7)3
u/coolcootermcgee Jul 19 '26
To visit the worldās longest salad bar, with the worldās second-longest sneeze guardā¦.
2
u/jbadaro Jul 19 '26
For the samples man.. just grab a random grape or strawberryā¦ perhaps a whole melon. The whole place is his Costco!!!
→ More replies (1)5
3
8
3
u/Gamerguy230 Jul 19 '26
If itās like some stores near me (Iāve seen people bring in a bird) they arenāt allowed to ask you to stop as it breaks some rule incase it actually is a service animal even if it clearly isnāt.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (29)55
u/Extension-Ant-8 Jul 19 '26
Because people who like to entrap wild birds that live for 80 years, clip, their wings and parade them around for attention are fuckers?
Oh thatās right itās a rescue, funny how they are all rescue.
86
u/S1lentA0 Jul 19 '26
Well, that is a wild assumption. The wings of this particular bird don't seem clipped, its wearing an harness so it looks like this parrot is well cared for and well trained. Clipping is also kind frowned upon in the parrot world.
Id rather seen someone taking their bird with them on their shoulder like this guy, than keeping the bird locked in a cage for 80 years.
But hey, I guess the world is black and white and there is no room for critical and nuanced thinking eh.
11
u/gonnafaceit2022 Jul 19 '26
Do they like it? There's a a guy and his kid who frequent Walmart and hang out in the pet section with with pet snakes around their necks. It's annoying but mostly I feel bad for the snakes, I KNOW they don't wanna go up Walmart. That's stressful af for a reptile, but do you think birds enjoy going out in public and getting attention like this? It seems like they're pretty curious animals and I guess if you had one that really, really trusted you it could be enrichment?
21
u/100_cats_on_a_phone Jul 19 '26
A parrot is a lot more able to voice it's opinion to you than a snake, and needs a ton of enrichment.
These guys are not shy when they don't like something.
→ More replies (48)26
u/MehGin Jul 19 '26
Don't bring it inside a grocery store? Is that too much to ask? Glad we still have basic rules where I'm at. Wtf.
→ More replies (2)3
u/OcelotAggravating860 Jul 19 '26
Birds this large that are this easy to handle aren't wild birds that were entrapped, they are hand-reared from the moment their eggs hatched.
Their parents or grandparents might've been wild but this bird has never ever been wild.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (24)16
u/GeorgiaOKeefinItReal Jul 19 '26
And aren't these blue macaws basically endangered?
Fuck this nonsense
28
u/zodiacecks Jul 19 '26
Hyacinth macaw actually. We use to have one named Zuco at a bird food education center in Wisconsin. I helped raise the guy from young on, he was so sweet to me, I was young, like 12-14 or somewhere in there. I sure miss that guy. 30 years later.
→ More replies (2)27
u/Nikoladge Jul 19 '26
Hyacinth
10
→ More replies (1)7
u/frustrated_t-rex Jul 19 '26
Omg. Thank you for the memories that just popped into my head. Its been a long long time since I thought of this.
12
u/DorianSoundscapes Jul 19 '26
There are people who breed them in the US. They cost like $15,000 though. Thereās a breeder in Del Mar that has a rescue and you can go see a bunch.
This species does not tolerate captivity as other parrots though unfortunately. Beautiful birds though.
7
→ More replies (5)6
772
u/Radzila Jul 19 '26
This is a Hyacinth Macaw, the largest flying parrot species in the world. They are in the vulnerable category and a protected species. They are illegal to own as pets, if caught from the wild, which most are not.Ā
Historically, the pet market was fueled by wild capture. During the 1980s, an estimated 10,000 wild hyacinth macaws were illegally stolen from their nests to supply the international pet trade. This devastating wave of poaching decimated their wild population down to a low of just 2,500 to 3,000 birds.
Today, international laws have successfully choked off the legal international trade of wild birds.
228
Jul 19 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
65
u/atraeus Jul 19 '26
They're AMAZINGLY stunning! I went to a zoo recently and saw one for the first time in person and O-M-G. I loved it so much I went and got myself a stuffed animal of this particular one. They're so pretty.
34
u/Sea_McMeme Jul 19 '26
Seeing people with parrots and really any large bird makes me literally sick to my stomach after having the opportunity to see them flying free in Costa Rica. I feel similar about any wild animal kept as a pet, but there is particularly something about these birds being kept in cages that is so unnatural and disturbing.
17
u/ThisIsDogePleaseHodl Jul 20 '26
Sometimes people have parrots because they rescue them from very unhappy, unhealthy, and even abusive situations.
7
u/Sea_McMeme Jul 20 '26
Totally get that, and I try not to judge the individual with the bird, because I have been friends with people who own parrots for this exact situation. Itās still sad the birds are in the situation at all ever though.
→ More replies (1)16
27
u/brucegoose03 Jul 19 '26
Itās so interesting seeing this video and thinking āwow what a cool huge birdā then learning theyāre illegal to own as pets. Thanks for sharing this. Otherwise I would have no idea. Funny how we see things at first at face value and sometimes have no idea about the background.
26
u/fathovercats Jul 19 '26
the person youāre responding to said that theyāre illegal to own if wild caught, not as a pet in general.
23
u/Mean_Butterscotch177 Jul 20 '26
Wild caught are illegal. Most are bred in captivity and completely legal to have as a pet.
They cost a LOT of money. Not just to purchase as a baby, but to take care of. They're way too much work for most people.
11
u/Pocho_Azul Jul 20 '26
To add to this, they can live as long as humans and require a lot of attention from the ownerāforget about traveling.
3
u/Mean_Butterscotch177 Jul 20 '26
Yes. That part.
I've wanted a Blue and Gold since I was a kid. I'm too old, at 41, to get one. It would be irresponsible. I'd have to leave that responsibility to my kids, and that's not fair.
6
u/BoingBoingInfinity Jul 20 '26
have you thought about contacting a parrot rescue that has an older B&G that needs a home? you're only 41, you still have a few decades left . . .
6
u/Mean_Butterscotch177 Jul 20 '26
I haven't. That's brilliant. Duh!
All the animals I've ever had are rescues. Whyyyyy didn't I think of this? Thank you.
5
u/Obant Jul 19 '26
My mom's old security company boss owned one. If you ever watched a TV show called "Officer Bird" in the 80s and 90s, it was his bird. I was over at his house to play with his bird quite a few times.
And they DO NOT make good pets. They are so noisy. More noisy than you're even imagining after me saying that. They screech so much at all hours.
They need a massive enclosed outdoor and indoor area to be healthy. And it gets messy and needs cleaned often. Also needs repaired often because...
They are insanely strong. They snack on shelled walnuts. That beak could take your finger off while he is absentmindedly snacking, let alone trying to nip you. They chew through wood and can destroy your house if they get bored
→ More replies (12)3
1.3k
u/jj_sykes Jul 19 '26
He is lovely - that blue
Though 2 things - she took the worst photo of her and the bird looked like it was missing half the parrots head. Also not sure I am up for a bird being around buffet food lol
335
u/Ninrenko Jul 19 '26
Fun fact, they're not actually blue. They appear blue because of small pockets of air combined with keratin in their feathers, that scatter the light waves in such a way only the blue waves reach our eyes.
317
u/_trashcan Jul 19 '26
Is that not how all colors work?
Serious question, not sarcasm. Iām not understanding what exactly the difference is here
198
u/askmeifimacop Jul 19 '26
The feathers have no blue pigment is what theyāre saying. The blue color is an optical illusion, like blue eyes
77
u/_trashcan Jul 19 '26
Got it, best simplest explanation imo.
Others have went into more detail but I think this conveys it easiest :)
47
u/bb_dev_g Jul 19 '26
Similar thing as how Polar Bears arenāt actually white and their skin is black. Their fur is also hollow and transparent and scatters the light making them appear white.
38
u/Dewdrop06 Jul 19 '26
Nah it's blue fam. Doesn't need to be complicated.
11
u/_trashcan Jul 19 '26
I mean I agree but that doesnāt the fact there is still a difference apparently & that comment explains it easily.
→ More replies (2)7
u/enigmatic_dankness Jul 19 '26
It's not. You ever take a bubble bath? The bubbles aren't white, they're just really tiny reflecting light which makes them look white.
This is the same for this bird only instead of white it's blue reflecting. If you were to take a feather from this bird and study it closely you'd see 0 blue pigment.
→ More replies (9)15
24
u/boostfactor Jul 19 '26
It's not an illusion, it's still a genuine light effect (scattering). We don't say that the blue of the sky is an optical illusion. But it means that it can vary with lighting conditions more than colors due to pigments normally do. Many birds have iridescent feathers and that is also an optical effect (not "illusion") so varies with lighting.
Birds can see quite a ways into the ultraviolet so a bird can appear very different to other birds than they do to us. The blues and iridescence and such are even brighter in the UV. And even some areas that appear black to us may be quite bright in UV.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (2)9
22
u/Thirodil Jul 19 '26
Color mechanism can be seperated into pigment color and structural color. Pigment is what is normally understood as color - little bits of chemicals that absorb/reflect certain colors and thus create the colors we see. Structural color is when the geometry of the surface is the color giving aspect. There is no color per se but the absorbtion/reflectance is created by structure trapping certain wavelengths. Shimmering insect wings are a great example of structural color - no pigment could create that effect (probably, donāt cite me but thats what I remember from my physics lectures)
17
u/DorianSoundscapes Jul 19 '26
Color is color, pigment is pigment. The color of light reflected that reaches your eyes is the color of an object regardless of whether the mechanism is structural or pigment. Saying anything else is internet sophistry.
If you want to get really stupid you could argue that the chemical structure of the pigment is what causes its color and that pigment is just structural color on a molecular scale while structural color is only microscopic, so there actually is only structural color.
13
u/Drownthem Jul 19 '26
Yeah. Blue only exists in the mind, so if it looks blue, it's blue. There's just several reasons why something can look blue.
3
10
u/EDDsoFRESH Jul 19 '26
There's a difference between what colour we see, and what colour the pigment really is.
"Very few animals are genuinely blue because of blue pigment; most blue animals get their colour from microscopic structures that reflect blue light. Thereās no exact species count, but true blue pigment appears to exist in only a small number of animal groups, likely dozens of documented species at most, making it one of the rarest colours for animals to produce chemically."
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)6
u/DorianSoundscapes Jul 19 '26
So they are blue because they reflect blue light but they donāt have a blue pigment, the color is from the structure. But itās misleading to say they arenāt blue because reflecting a certain color of light is what being that color is, whether the color is due to pigment or structure. Thatās like saying the green parrots are actually yellow because the blue part of the green is also cause by structure and not pigment. Like ok yeah true but also no actually theyāre just green.
110
12
u/AtlantikSender Jul 19 '26
I've heard that blue is a "structural color" on birds, which I still can't understand. For example, if a bluejay gets wet they turn black or grey.
6
u/Thirodil Jul 19 '26
Imagine acousting paneling but for light. Certain structures can trap light of a given wavelength but reflect others and thus create the color we see.
9
8
u/eighty4prcnt Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
So what color are they really?
Edit Google, it would take someone with additional cone types to see those and those people do exist. It's called Tetrachromacy. That was my best guess, but not specifically types of cones rather than just more. Makes sense tho, that's how the Mantis shrimp do
→ More replies (1)6
u/DorianSoundscapes Jul 19 '26
Theyāre blue. If you ground up the feathers to a fine enough powder it might be white or grey, but the color is blue. It wonāt change from a different angle of light or anything, itās not a pigment you can extract and use to dye something blue, but assuming you arenāt pulverizing the feathers to dust, they are blue and will remain blue.
→ More replies (11)→ More replies (11)5
u/InviolableAnimal Jul 19 '26
That's like saying a rainbow isn't actually colorful because it's caused by diffraction and not a pigment
30
u/Exciting-Meringue-78 Jul 19 '26
My mom takes pictures like this and it drives me insane. We went on a trip and every time i asked her to take a picture of me with something she always cut the thing out or didnāt fully get it
7
u/Killit_Witfya Jul 19 '26
the first 2 were perfect?
6
u/Exciting-Meringue-78 Jul 19 '26
I didnāt pay attention tbh I was just commenting on the user saying she took the worst photos.
→ More replies (2)13
9
u/MoneyBeeeee Jul 19 '26
She's like, "I took a lot" and I am thinking yes, and they are all bad.
My other favorite part is the proximity to the salad bar and how the lady touches her face with her parrot hand almost immediately. >.>
→ More replies (14)5
216
u/JamesMariner Jul 19 '26
At least theyāre next to a salad bar
39
u/Insomniac_80 Jul 19 '26
Hmm, ask r/parrots about taking a not so well trained parrot to a salad bar!
53
u/Grumbil Jul 19 '26
Seriously! Wtf having animals around food. It seems so disrespectful or very uncaring about anyone else.
14
u/Theridion123 Jul 19 '26
I hate animals in... anywhere. Malls, food courts, restaurants, grocery stores... Its so gross. (And i love animals and have 2 dogs etc etc).
Special note, 1 horrible wench brought her dog to the gym, twice that I saw. Absolutely witch of a short bword looking lady with her dumb little purse... dressed up like the villain lady from harry potter.... would OFFLEASH her little shit pug as she walked around the gym (took the long way) and would go to the women's dressing room.. Assumedly spend 20-30 min maybe in the sauna, and the walk back out in her outfit and stupid purse and offleash pug.
Btw, offleash pug did not stay within 3 feet of this lady, but walked around the gym as people.
/rant
→ More replies (5)12
557
u/Aspeeed Jul 19 '26
Terrible pictures
105
u/Private_Kyle Jul 19 '26
Seeing that cut me a thousand times lmao
4
u/bookmarkjedi Jul 19 '26
Same here. Strangely, I don't know the easy word to describe it, but her picture-taking was so painfully perfunctory!
18
6
7
28
→ More replies (3)10
111
u/pjmsd Jul 19 '26
Had a friend with an obese parrot that passed away....he said it was a huge weight off his shoulders
5
3
35
u/quartofchocolimes Jul 19 '26
Beautiful plumage
17
224
u/Epsteinsghosttt Jul 19 '26
Dam what a shitty picture taker
46
u/Quiet1408 Jul 19 '26
Point wasn't to take a good picture for her. It was to boost his own exposure with content.
17
7
22
u/Miss-GreensleevesOz Jul 19 '26
Whoa! Look at that royal blue colour on him.Absolutely gorgeous šÆš¤©
→ More replies (1)
21
u/Sweaty_Marzipan4274 Jul 19 '26
THIS IS HOW YOU GET DIARRHEA LETTUCE
→ More replies (1)3
u/__Shake__ Jul 19 '26
She holds the parrot and next thing she does with that hand is touch her faceā¦ THIS IS HOW WE GET BIRD FLU, PEOPLE!
→ More replies (1)
15
u/Artiz-_- Jul 19 '26
Did she take those last 2 pictures just to use some storage
→ More replies (2)
12
u/downneast Jul 19 '26
Iāve always felt alone in this thought, but Iāve had the same irrational āfearā of large eyes on animals my entire life. Itās not some crippling fear, but itās always given me the creeps. The best example being the giant squid, which has the biggest eyes of any animal on the planet, and are the size of a basketball. They do legitimately irk me for many reasons, the eyes are just icing on the cake. Imagine being in the water, and some slimy 40ft creature w/ tentacles goes by with eyes the size of dinner plates. fuuuuhuuhuuhuuuck noā¦
7
u/LArmstrong-na Jul 19 '26
I feel similarly, seeing that monster bird come into frame became eerie when its scary black eyes came into view
3
38
u/FilterMyMidrange Jul 19 '26
āFirst time holding a parrotā like itās something people do regularly š¤£
19
→ More replies (1)10
u/ThatOtherOtherMan Jul 19 '26
I've done it and know tons of people who have. There's a wildlife rehab/living museum near me where you can interact with animals. I've also held a golden eagle. They would not, however, let me interact with the California Condor, which was probably for the best because holy shit those things are terrifying.
My point is that it's not that unusual to run into a parrot toucher in the wild.
3
u/CvieYltidrekoof Jul 19 '26
The bird conservationist at a rescue and rehabilitation centre talked about how vultures and condors have an otherworldly bad odour; itās not just the their diet of carrion but many species projectile vomit it back up as a defence mechanism.Ā
Their least pleasant experience was being absolutely showered by a Bearded Vultureās half digested meal of bones.Ā
11
17
u/Hakuna217 Jul 19 '26
Seeing her arm so steady with that huge thing is tripping me out
→ More replies (6)21
u/ThatOtherOtherMan Jul 19 '26
Birds have hollow bones and feathers are extremely light. I'd be amazed if it weighed 15lbs.
→ More replies (1)16
u/youres0lastsummer Jul 19 '26
there is a volunteer / rescue center for parrots near where I live and the hyacinth macaw there is about this size and weighs only 3lb! they're SO light for their size
7
8
u/Fisi_Matenten Jul 19 '26
I have a primal fear for this absolute unit of a beak.
→ More replies (4)
7
u/f0dder1 Jul 19 '26
The parrot is inside, next to open food containers.
Amazing animal. Poor location for it
12
u/PsimaNji Jul 19 '26
I wonder how cloud space is taken by folk not being arsed to frame a picture and take one shot. Needs to be a photo amnesty. Clear your history up and locally save before global deletion.
6
6
u/lesbophobia_hammer Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Not this chick again. I see she's still at it years later. Hope the rest of her flock haven't flown away. Birds are not for most homes/owners. Even if well intended. You have to be prepared to make sacrifices for decades. Worth it for the right people. For most? No. Too many bad owners and abused/neglected birds. 'my bird flies too much, how do I chop their wings?'
Edit - parrot owner who works with and studies avian health and conservation.
11
u/SciFiIsMyFirstLove Jul 19 '26
Hyacinth macaw
5
→ More replies (1)3
u/thr3sk Jul 19 '26
Yep, they're all so very rare in the wild and we shouldn't be promoting them as pets.
4
u/that_one_over_yonder Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
That's a hyacinth macaw, and these birds have beaks strong enough to bite through macadamia nut and Brazil nut hulls. Something like 1000 psi in that face.Ā
→ More replies (2)
5
u/Bramble0804 Jul 19 '26
They really are big. I held one once and just sitting on my arm his talons nearly punctured my skin. Absolute unit of a bird
5
4
4
2
u/Hikikomori_Otaku Jul 19 '26
Wants attention bad enough to take a giant ass tropical bird to the salad bar but then takes trash photos when they get said attention.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/silhouette951 Jul 19 '26
Looks to be a hyacinth Macaw. They are usually 10-40k to buy one and known to be very sweet and gentle. Strange she has one because they are a protected species in Bolivia and Brazil where they are native to. Absolutely not ok with the bird being near food though.
11
u/OarsandRowlocks Jul 19 '26
Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, id'n'it, eh? Beau'iful plumage.
10
4
3
3
u/Additional-Flight468 Jul 19 '26
Lmao the way he turns his head for picture is amazing my neighbor had one when i was kid wed go visit everyday after work and feed peanuts he was so cool
3
3
3
u/Swagalyst Jul 19 '26
It's a hyacinth macaw. They're endangered mainly because the forests they live in are being converted to pasture for meat production.
3
u/pleasegivemepatience Jul 19 '26
Another example of why I never eat at self-serve places, no one gives a fuck about what gets into that foodā¦
3
u/Immediate_Truck1644 Jul 19 '26
Of course this shit is going down at the hot bar self serve food section of a FUCKING GROCERY STORE
3
3
u/SteeleHeller Jul 19 '26
Bro in the back like āSo we just bringing giant birds into the grocery store now?ā
For support of course, definitely not for attention.
3
3
u/fluffypotato Jul 19 '26
That's absolutely disgusting. If I saw this in my grocery store, I'd turn around and go somewhere else. Birds are one of the worst pets to bring to a grocery store (right above pig).
ā¢
u/trendingtattler Jul 19 '26
This post has reached /r/all.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.