Amazing software that can translate animal sounds into English words. What are they saying?

I was experimenting with Voice Recognition software trying to "train" it to my voice when all of a sudden it started wildly typing text on my screen that I had not said. Confused, until I realized it was picking up and translating the voice of my 8 yr old Modena Pigeon, Simon, who was in the room with me cooing with vigor .

This is what it actually typed
"and move and moo moo moo move the Moon and moo move and move move moo in and move and move move the move the move and move move move and moo move moon if in to move moon to moo moo
move the the move and move the Moon and the move and the the Moon and the Moon and the Moon and the Moon and move moo moo and move in and…" etc. - - - .
Now if I could just get him to express his thoughts a little more clearly…

Henry loves Simon and vise versa.

Henry loves Simon and vise versa.
Henry is good-natured, always happy and cheerful.
Simon can be a real grouch sometimes (but sweet, lovable and affectionate).

Henry is visiting for the day... Getting to know the birds.

Henry is visiting for the day... Getting to know the birds. . . . . I coudn't decide which pictures I liked the best (all of them). Which do YOU like the best.

Add caption

Henry and Mini Dove

Henry retrieved the egg from the nest, now wants it to hatch.

Henry and Jet Dove

After a day outside in the snow, Simon warms his feet.

He wanted out, walked to the patio door, I opened the door, he saw the snow, headed for the fireplace.

Simon, 10 year old Modena Pigeon... sometimes lives outside. Has a heated nest but often sleeps outside his nest even at minus 20F.
   He seems to have become a House Pigeon now... rather spoiled, prefers to live in here with us. Simon and Tuna cat always sleep on my chest while we watch TV together.

Where ever I go, Simon does NOT want to be left behind.

CHICKEN HELPER

This is my Chicken Helper, in charge of the Skill saw. Truffles,.. a 3 yr old Polish Buff Lace.  She prefers human company. She is constantly underfoot.. I have to keep lifting her aside and be careful when I walk. She thinks she's a human.  Loves to ride in the car and sing.  ----->   Truffles sings Opera    Her voice is raspy and squawky (and loud).

I was laying down working on something and she hops on top of me... I stand up and she tries to stay on me... fluttering while I'm standing up and she is then on my shoulder.

. . .
One of my Pigeons, Velcro... can also often be found climbing on my bench and tools... in my way.

Picture Perfect - Favourites - OPERA (not).

One of my favorite things is when she sings in the car..
Except when she sings OPERA....... .and SOOooooo loud and enthusiastically.

This is Truffles, a 3 year old Polish Buff Lace, singing "La Traviata", by Verdi (Her favorite).

At Stop signs, people stare and ask... "Why does she sing off-key so badly?".... but then sometimes people applaud and cry out "Bravo... Bravo...., Encore". 

Amazing software that can translate animal sounds into English words. What are they saying?

I was experimenting with Voice Recognition software trying to "train" it to my voice when all of a sudden it started wildly typing text on my screen that I had not said. Confused, until I realized it was picking up and translating the voice of my 8 yr old Modena Pigeon, Simon, who was in the room with me cooing with vigor .
Here’s what Simon said.  

This is what it actually typed
"and move and moo moo moo move the Moon and moo move and move move moo in and move and move move the move the move and move move move and moo move moon if in to move moon to moo moo
move the the move and move the Moon and the move and the the Moon and the Moon and the Moon and the Moon and move moo moo and move in and…" etc. - - - .
Now if I could just get him to express his thoughts a little more clearly…
 











This is the same fellow who likes to ride around on my dashboard (Video below).

It was 30 degrees outside today but it was 109.7 degrees inside.

Houses should be build like this....well, kinda.  Free heat, lots of it.  Yet in summer it will be as cool as under the shade of a tree (Reflective insulated covering).  Inside, the coop will be even cooler with free "air conditioning".               (30F = -1C,... 109.7F = 43C)

This is the first winter for my new aviary addition. The Chickens and Pigeons love it. It's safe, dry and warm. They love to take dirt baths and they lounge around laying in the warm sun like tourists on a beach. They're free to go outside, but prefer inside.

Whenever the aviary is over 50 degrees a thermostat turns on a fan to draw surplus heat inside to the insulated coop to warm it so the coop will remain warm all night long (free). The pigeon nests near the top are the warmest...the sand floor (about 85F degrees, 30C ) acts a bit like a heat sync during the day so at night the aviary is always about 10-15 degrees warmer than ambient, the inside coop remains well above freezing. It's all free heat. Even on cloudy days it's about 15-20 degrees above ambient.  On those minus 40 degree nights a tiny elec heater (40w hair curler) keeps the coop above freezing. The elec bill for all winter is less than $5. 

  
For more information click on Coop Design (temporarily disabled)

Picture Perfect - Three - Birds

Practicing to be Nursing home therapy birds (soon).
This is Mary at a seniors apartment where my Mother lives. She was delighted with the birds and still talks about them. I gave Mary a copy of this and she has it framed and proudly displays it on her wall.
I took my German Shepherd therapy dog, Diesel, to nursing homes to cheer up the residents until he himself became too old..... now it's the birds turn. Seems they are off to a good start.  It's a good feeling to see the residents smile and that makes me smile too.
(A Silky Chicken and two Ringneck Doves)

July 7, 2005 - March 1, 2011 R.I.P. Betty

They were the same age... Betty and Bert. When I came home I found Bert huddling over her trying to keep her warm.  Bert would not leave her side.   All the others had gone into the warm coop like they always do, but Bert and Betty had stayed behind in the Chicken shelter...it was dark and freezing cold.. But it was too late. Betty had just died a very short time before I found them.
 I took her inside because it seemed she may still be breathing, but...too late. She was special... she would come to me for affection. She loved to be held in my arms. She would close her eyes while I petted her.
     Betty at 3 months.
She had not been well for several weeks. I've kept her inside and I've been giving her antibiotics daily. She seemed to be getting better. Today was the first day she seemed more perky. It was warmer today (40+) so I put her outside...I hope she enjoyed her last day.



Betty just a few days ago staying warm by the fireplace.

And she doesn't need batteries.

Just look at that smile...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Looks like a kids battery operated toy...?             Tuna actually likes her.

She prefers to sit on my hand...all the time. She goes everywhere with me. We go for walks, shopping, events, ... People stare (They think she's a puppet, "Is that real?").  Her name is "Shmoo" (the Al Capp cartoon) = Al Capp- Shmoo  

"The Shmoo believed that the only way to happiness was to bring happiness to others." 

Are you talking to ME ? ?

 

She's a "Silky" or "Silkie", about 2 months old, just 1.5 pounds but will not get much bigger. She has black skin (dark dark blue) and black bones, (but tastes like Chicken?) and very bright blue ear lobes.  Marco Polo wrote of this furry chicken during his travels in Asia in 13th century.

Ridiculously tame, cuddly, and lovable.

I love her gentle contented chortling.  Her sisters won first place and ribbons at the County Fair.

Don’t you wish you could do this? Do what she does and you can.

Getting off the ground seems to be the hard part (Isn’t that true for all of us?) but once underway with forward speed it seems easier. . . . . . . But it still makes flying look like a lot of work.
Velcro makes a "clapping" noise while flying and I’ve always wondered why (seems inefficient), so with slow motion video I studied her flight. Now I can see why.  It’s going to be very difficult to teach her not to do that (wastes energy). I tried to tell her but she doesn’t listen.
First in Slow Motion, then regular speed. 

 

Picture Perfect - Inseparably entwined - Velcro and 2.5

I have never seen two creatures (including humans) more in LOVE than these two...Inseparably entwined.  My friends and companions are 2.5 and Velcro (2.5 is a Homer, Velcro is a Voorburg Shield Cropper, and "sticks" to me).

If separated, they are desperate to get back together again. They "cry", pace, flit about... etc... and are not content until reunited.  It's a joy to see the extreme love they have for each other.  

                            

 

Velcro has had several near-death experiences and during that time, 2.5 was a basket case... extremely depressed and despondent, even lost weight. 

2.5 even saved Velcro's life a few times.  Bird rescues another bird.

And when Velcro was MISSING,

For a more touching stories on this love relationship - - - > Velcro

(Warning, Some could make you cry)

She was weak, may not have survived (injured wild mourning dove)

When I walked near, she didn't move. I threw some seeds, she didn't move. Threw more, they hit her, she didn't move.  After a bit she walked down the driveway, then she started walking down the street. Tried to fly but couldn't, so I herded her into my yard, caught her with a fish net.

Then I discovered what was wrong. Just a baby, badly injured and weak. Her breast had been torn open exposing her innards. I got her to drink some water, Very thirsty, extremely thirsty, dehydrated, she perked up immediately but wouldn't eat. She was still bleeding a bit. I cleaned her up and she seemed like she'll survive. Should have stitches, but I will watch her, should be ok?

Doing pretty good now, as soon as she's old enough to fly, then in a few days when healed enough, I'll let her go. Good luck little bird. Come back and visit someday.  

 
SEE UPDATE - She'sssss Back..? (Link Disabled)

My Pet Fox wrapped around my neck, we'd watch TV together

When I actually lived on my farm there was lots of wildlife.  Fox would dig burrows in my fields (Interesting design, see below).  One time Mamma fox thought I was plowing too close so I watched as she carried her babies to the woods nearby.  She left one behind, my pet.

A WILD animal, a great pet (most of the time), just like a dog or cat but very independent. I often let Sly into the house to spend the day. While watching TV she'd climb up on my shoulders, wrap herself around my neck and sleep. Sometimes she'd sleep on my lap and would want to be petted.

BUT

Occasionally, for no apparent reason she would bite me viciously and draw lots of blood. Then just minutes later, it's back on my lap for more petting. I was glad she wasn't a pet wolf. Sly lived in the front yard in a dog house. I always had 6-10 dogs loose and they all got along.

My all time favorite pet was a seagull (Diddy, future blog, a fascinating extremely intelligent pet). She got along well will all the animals too, but ... Seagull was boss (Picture, about to attack cat). Seagull don't get their adult feathers until about 4 yrs old.

Diddy was 6 months old in the picture.

When I fed Sly (fox) her dish of cat food, Diddy Seagull would zoom over to the fox while it was eating, Peck Sly on the head then proceed to eat all the foxes food while Sly would stand back and watch.
My dog Martha, and the seagull were friends.

 

 One day Sly just disappeared, never saw her again. Found a mate? an accident? Got pecked on the head too often? Dunno.

Fox burrow design.

It was a 50 foot triangle in the field about 1 foot below the surface with an emergency exit at each corner (I dug it up just to see the layout).  Midway between two of the points there was another burrow heading directly to the center of the triangle. That's where the den was, where the young were raised.

A fun pet... but not a sensible one. Too dangerous for kids and people.

She was hanging upside down by her leg for more than 2 hours.

6/6/2010 - See Update at the bottom of this post, and more recent updates in the comments.
I was sure she was dead.... eyes closed, she looked so very dead.  

It was a bit later than usual when I went out to close up the Chickens, in the thunder, lightning, and pouring rain. Everyone was there except for my sweet Velcro Pigeon. She would never stay out on purpose so I feared the worst. This is my prize pigeon, my friend, my companion, my treasure…we’ve been thru a lot together... she has nine lives it seems (she's used up 4).  With flashlight I looked everywhere, several times, no sign of her. I was about to give up and hoped she might return the next morning. Then, for no good reason, I shined the light at the top vent in back of the aviary and to my amazement, there she was, hanging upside down by her leg, looking so very very dead, I was sure she was dead.
I grabbed a ladder and with the light in one hand and rain pouring down… then I saw her blink so I knew she had a chance to live but a short time longer and she would have died. I lifted her body and was attempting to free her foot when the ladder started to sink and tip over in the wet soil. I was afraid if I dropped her, her leg would twist and break. The hole was small and I could not reach past her to free her leg. The ladder kept tilting further so I quickly pushed her back into the vent without freeing her leg and hoped for the best. Success, when she fell inside (just a 4" drop to the nest roof) her leg was freed.
I ran inside and she was laying on the nest roof, exhausted and not moving. Her leg did not appear to be broken but she was nearly unconscious. I held her in my arms on the couch and she promptly fell sound asleep. I held her for hours, hoping she’d survive.

WHY? Did she go out the vent ? It seemed strange, she never had before and the door was wide open anyway. But the next night, our Tuna cat desperately wanted to go outside, so we let him. It was because there was a neighborhood cat returned to the scene of the crime. Tuna promptly chased him away. Tuna pays no attention to the pigeons, chickens, or Doves, ignores them, but doesn’t like stray cats.
The next morning Velcro’s leg was swollen and getting worse so I took her to the vet. The Vet said she would likely lose her leg, it was limp and no sensation. But she gave Velcro an exam and an x-ray. There were no fractures so then the vet said there was a 75% chance of losing her leg. By then I was so upset, the vet hugged me to comfort me. 

The next day Velcro showed signs of being able to control her leg a bit, but not her toes (dangling) so there was a bit of hope. When she walked she’d fall on her face. By that evening she was able to use her leg just a little bit for support and could limp with difficulty. By the third day her leg had much improved and she seemed to be able to control her front toes just a bit. By evening, she could sorta walk but with a very severe limp, no pressure on her toes and foot. While recovering, she spent many hours sleeping in my arms.

Her life partner, 2.5 the Homer pigeon, was so very upset, frantic, and desperate to see Velcro… didn’t know what to do, cooing loudly and pacing. She seemed to know that Velcro was in trouble. When I put Velcro’s cage on the deck, 2.5 immediately flew up from the aviary to be with Velcro. Later I put Velcro in the house and before I could close the door, 2.5 had flown in to be near Velcro. The bond between those 2 birds is so amazing, so complete…. They truly love each other so very much.

The forth day Velcro was doing so much better I decided she could be free inside the aviary to be with her lover 2.5. For the entire day, they hugged and kissed and coo’ed and coo’ed.   

The 5^th day she still limped badly, but it seemed she would be able to be free and lead a mostly normal life so I let them both outside. It was a pleasure to see their happiness. They were jubilant to be together again, much hugging and kissing. They flew around the neighborhood so happy to be reunited and free to fly. Velcro was still limping but otherwise seemed in pretty good shape.
This is such a sweet video.
 
BUT THEN late in the day, I noticed the large pool of blood. Velcro was laying on the aviary platform instead of up high by the nest. She seemed to be bleeding to death and hadn’t the strength to get up to the nest. She was covered in blood and I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I finally discovered that she had NO control of her back toe and had been walking with her toe folded under her foot all day and the knuckle was bleeding badly. I cleaned her up some and got the bleeding to stop. . We taped a cotton ball on her foot to restrict movement and protect the wound. Afraid it may start bleeding again, I held her in my arms for many hours again and she slept. I was hoping she hadn’t lost too much blood, and that it wasn’t too late.
The next morning we made a splint… a cast… of styrofoam and gauze patches, to keep all her toes in place.



Still covered in dried blood.

I’m hoping that when we remove it tomorrow (Fri) that her back toe stays in the right position… then maybe… a day in the aviary and if that’s successful, then Saturday she and 2.5 can be free to fly together again. I’m hoping.
 
 = = = = = = =    UPDATE 6/4/10 9:30pm. The day started out great. Removed the splint and Velcro was in good spirits and walking pretty good with all her toes where they should be. I let her loose in the aviary and watched her close for many hours and it looked very promising. Her back toe was always straight behind her... all day long. She doesn't have perfect control of her leg yet so stumbles occasionally but overall, doing quite nicely.
BUT by evening, she was walking with her back toe under her foot again so we immediately put the splint back on and confined her to a cage. Will check again in a few days, but I fear it means she cannot control it at all? ? ? then her back toe may have to be amputated ???
...Another potential problem. Her leg is still quite swollen and feels hot to the touch, she gets daily medication for it.  I was hoping it would be normal by now. Also her digestive system is not right. Pigeon droppings should contain no liquid, but hers does, quite a lot. That means all is not well, but maybe that's to be expected under the circumstances... lots of stress. Otherwise, she seems healthy, alert and happy.
UPDATE 6/11/2010 12 noon, Doing well except that she still has almost no control of her toes. The problem is that her rear toe folds under her foot then she walks on it and it bleeds. The splint prevents that but if she's to get control back, her toes need exercise. I'm taking her back to the vet this afternoon for some advice and more pain medication. I'm still keeping her confined in my office. She just now managed to land on my arm.
GOOD NEWS update 7/9/2010 - Success, looks like she'll be ok. 
More Good news update 5/1/2012 - She's fully functional, back to normal.
Terrible news 5/20/2014. Today a hawk killed her as she was flying to the deck to visit me. http://bertthemensachicken.blogspot.com/2014/09/this-is-not-sunset-picture.html