Psychic Ability in Companion Birds -- Part 2
© Anne Watkins
The events of September 11 had a drastic effect on my companion birds. Though they were in a room far away from the television set, they sensed that something terrible was happening and each reacted strongly. Their panic began about the time of the first attack, and they refused to be comforted or quieted until late that night.
For me, the morning of 9-11 began just like any other day. Before settling in to work, I poured a cup of coffee, kissed Allen goodbye as he headed off to teach music, and sat down to watch one of the early morning news programs. A short time later, the first bulletin came in. The station I was watching reported that there had been "an explosion of some sort at one of the World Trade Center towers" and that eyewitnesses claimed to have seen a plane hit the building.
I called Allen on his cell phone and told him something had happened to one of the towers. We agreed that it must have been an accident, and I promised to keep him updated. A short time later, I called him back with the devastating news that the other tower had been attacked, and that both buildings had been hit by large passenger planes. Then the plane crashed into the Pentagon and the other went down in Pennsylvania.
About the time of the first crash, both Rio and Pancho began shrieking uncontrollably. This wasn't their usual happy-to-be-alive morning yelling. Instead, it was panicked, horror-stricken screaming. Rio, who usually squawks and yells in short bursts, kept screeching even after I covered his cage. Pancho's cries were bloodcurdling; he was warning his flock to take cover, that danger was near.
Nothing I did quieted them. Not even putting them in a different room, closing the blinds and covering their cages with dark blankets would stop their shrieking. They knew something horrific was happening; they felt it in their souls, and they screamed until long after dark that night.
The next day I kept them close. Both birds were quiet and insisted on being as near to me as possible. I stroked their heads while I prayed, and my hot tears dripped onto their feathers. They were calm that day. Whatever they had felt or thought the day before, their terror had eased.
Over the years, I have read about pet birds that warned their human companions of impending dangers such as earthquakes, fires, burglars, or storms. There are even birds that sense when someone is about to have a seizure, or become ill. How do these birds know to warn their companions? What is the special sense they possess that enables them to know something is going to happen? Or can everything be explained as being simple coincidences?
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