Budgie Enjoys Cross-Stitching

So different from some of the many woven bird nests I've seen? Surely that must require "threading" twigs between each other?

The source is The Sun....not exactly the most trustworthy news organization.

Crazy old ladies.....same ones that think their animals are human...

I thought I had one of the smartest parakeets ever. She used to pull a wet toothbrush around on the floor, and then actually drag it underneath a doorway netting meant to keep her on one side. Too bad this activity was completely useless compared to something like cross-stitching.

I've had a lot of pet birds, and I'm a bit borderling on believing this. I've seen my birds do a lot of things you'd never think they'd be able to do, including opening their own cages to let themselves out. We started using twistie ties to keep the door shut, but it figured out how to undo those too.

Eventually we just decided that it's going to come and go as it pleases and left the door open, and low to the ground (it's wings were clipped) so it could climb back in when it decided to go home. Aside from random mutes (poo) laying around, it worked out well - the bird was happy to be free and I occasionally got a friendly wakeup call from my budgie.

Anyway, reminiscing aside, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this were for real. Holding a needle in its beak, pushing it into the cloth, then pulling it out the other side is not something that is beyond a budgie's physical capacity. And based on the interactions I've had with pet birds it seems plausible that a budgie could pick up the basic idea of cross stitching.

No, the bird couldnt have done it. He didnt offer Alex any money.

If the bird actually cross-stitches, I'll eat my hat. If the bird cross-stitches anything that looks remotely like a shape or design, I'll eat my umbrella, too.

The bird Holds a needle in its beak, pushes it into the cloth, then pulls it out the other side?

How does it pull it back?

Anyone who thinks it can produce a coherent design should shoot themselves.

Certain species of birds (not sure about budgies) are very good at weaving--look at their nests. Plus, certain pet birds are talented at imitation (such as learning to eat with a spoon after watching their "humans" do it). I can believe a bird could weave a needle through cloth, although I'm not sure how it would pull the thread tight or keep it from getting tangled. Of course, there's no way this bird could even be thinking about following a pattern.

Whoops, meant to put those quotes around "their." I'm not implying bird owners are aliens. lol

True Greg, I'm still abit perturbed at that sell-out.

I agree with peter, but maybe one of the humans holds the cross stich vertically or something.

my god you guy's are just freaking whacked (craig & greg)....sorry, I guess maybe I shouldn't use this forum for personal attacks but I can't help it, feel free to delete this comment but I had to voice my opinion.

Can a bird pull on a piece of thread? Of course.

Would a bird deliberately cross-stitch thread into a human-recognizable pattern?

Not on this planet, cupcake.

I don't see how a bird could really do the cross-stiching all by itself all that easily with the fabric sitting like it is in the picture, since it would have to keep switching sides to push the needle back and forth through the fabric. But I suppose it could do it if the fabric was held vertically like Razela said. It would certainly be able to stick a needle into the fabric or pull one through (although I'd like to see it try to thread the needle!).

I don't really know much about budgies; does anyone suppose you could train one to follow a line that was drawn on the fabric?

Interesting. "Sandra Battye" is the name of the seamstress who does actual needlework in Terry Pratchett's book "Night Watch". It's possible, of course, that the parakeet woman is in fact the Sandra Battye for whom someone purchased the right to have her name appear in a Discworld book.

Or it could be that she's a complete fake.

Good catch, Ledasmom. I googled "Cross-stitcher magazine Young Cross-stitcher of the Year" and got a bunch of news articles, but not an article from the magazine itself. I don't know how much they put online, though.

I'm sure I've seen a video of a budgie doing this - if only I could remember where!

I don't think it was stitching patterns though - just straight lines, and I don't think they were particularly tight as someone just appeared to have lumped a big pile of cloth on the floor for the budgie to have a go at.

Budgies like to push and pull things, they like shiny things, they like string, they like to mimic, and they also like to play.

I'm not saying Spike can actually follow a pattern but if the owner prepped the needle? I can totally see her pushing and pulling a shiny needle attached to some string {perhaps even giving some good tugs to pull it tight) after she watched her owner playing with them.

I agree with T.Mck .

YES WELL I MUST ADMIT I HAD MY DOUBTS WHEN I FIRST READ THIS STORY IN MY CROSS STITCHER MAG, BUT THEN AGAIN I THOUGHT WELL WHY NOT. I MEAN BUDGIES ARE REALLY INTELLIGENT BIRDIES... SO WHY NOT HAVE A BUDGIE THAT CAN CROSS STITCH? THOUGH MIND YOU TO HAVE IT FOLLOW A PATTERN IS A BIT DOUBTFUL ADMITIDELY...AND AS FOR THE STATMENT THAT 'I DON'T THINK A BUDGIE COULD FOLLOW A PATTERN'... WELL DOES THE LADY IN THE ARTICLE SAY THAT SPIKE CAN FOLLOW A PATTERN... NO I DON'T THINK SHE DOES, SHE DOES SAY HOWEVER IS THAT 'SHE FINDS IT HARD TO FOLLOW A PATTERN'

AND THE FACT THAT I'VE GOT 2 BUDGIES AS WELL ISN'T HERE OR THERE, BECAUSE I LOVE MY VERY NOISY
BIRDIES, EVEN IF THEY DO CAUSE HAVOC IN MY HOME. CHEWING ON THE CURTAINS AND CHEWING THE WOODWORK... OKAY :gulp:

I just wanted to write and tell you that I think the book is WONDERFUL! I am loving it