Parrots have a sense of humor and some--African Grays in particular-- come up with pranks that require them to anticipate our behavior several steps ahead. I once wandered into a pet store in Tacoma, Washington, hoping to find a male canary with a strong, cheerful song.

A couple dozen canaries occupied a large flight cage, and I positioned myself nearby, watching and waiting. The canaries all looked alike; males and females were indistinguishable--unless I actually saw a cock sing. In any event, they were as quiet as a troop of mimes--not a peep out of any of them. After about ten minutes, I decided to throw in the towel and began to walk away.

And then I heard it ... a gorgeous, warbling song delivered with gusto. I swung around, but the serenade stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The canaries sat silently on their perches, beaks closed. Determined to have that talented little songster, I stood by the cage for another ten minutes or so. But it was all in vain ... they might as well have been Trappist monks. Again, I turned to leave.

This time I was maybe fifteen feet away from the birds when the energetic trill reached my ears. Once more, I quickly turned toward the flight cage--but as before, the warbling notes had given way to absolute stillness. The canary beaks were firmly clamped shut, and there was no sign indicating which bird was the soloist.

So for the third and final time, I stood next to the cage, hoping to hear one of them sing. And as you have probably guessed--nada. Discouraged, I turned to leave ... but this time I was thinking ahead. I was prepared to whirl around--hell, I was willing to do a pirouette if necessary.

So when the song began, I did an immediate about-face and finally identified the culprit. The singer wasn't a canary after all--that amazing song was coming from an African Gray in a nearby cage that I had barely noticed. The parrot was looking at me with what I swear was a smug, self-satisfied gaze. It had no doubt played the same game with other canary shoppers. I left the store without a canary, but with a grin on my face.