A “typical” teen cockatoo loves rocking out to his favourite metal songs.
Edgar, 16, is a bare eyed cockatoo who loves headbanging to Slipknot on a daily basis after he got used to his previous owner playing drums.
Edgar’s current owner, Anne Ryland, 37, adopted him from her mother’s care in 2022 after she’d had him for 12 years.
Anne and her mother are musicians, play instruments and enjoy rock and metal music, and it turned out Edgar loved it too.
Edgar has now perfected his headbanging and has also expanded his music interests beyond metal, to rap, hip-hop and even EDM.
Anne, a social worker from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, said: “Edgar is just your typical teenage boy.
“He loves to watch music videos on the TV in his room and squawk at the dog and cat throughout his day.
“He is a one person bird and will show aggression towards new people.
“Music and his many toys help with this aggression.”
Anne met Edgar in 2010 when he arrived at the pet store she worked at and bonded with both her and her mother.
Edgar was not sold to anyone within three months and store policy stated he should be transferred to another location, but since they had already bonded, Anne and her mother took him in instead.
She said: “While I was completing my college degree, I worked for a large chain pet store that sold an array of animals including both large and smaller birds.
“In 2010 the company transferred Edgar to my store where he become very attached to both me and my mother.
“Edgar did not sell within the three month period and my manager informed all employees that Edgar would be transferred that week.
“My mum and I were devastated at the thought of losing track of Edgar.
“He was already showing an appetite to learn and had many visitors repeatedly coming to interact with him.
“After a day of discussion, my parents purchased Edgar with mom becoming his guardian and caretaker while I finished college and moved into a larger apartment and onto my career.”
Anne’s mother, a college professor in educational psychology, became Edgar’s instructor for linguistics, music appreciation, and dance.
But, when Edgar became a teenager, his behaviour got more aggressive and Anne took over caring full time for the cockatoo in 2022.
She said: “Early on, my mum introduced him to YouTube where he loved watching other birds and music videos.
“He was always eager to learn and perform while he was with her.
“My mum even learned to play the drums while she had Edgar and would take her sticks to a podium near his cage at to drum along to the beat of songs.
“Cockatoos can have a hard time as they go through puberty and can become more aggressive.
“His aggressive stage was more difficult for mum to manage.
“Due to her age, his newer aggressive behaviour, and the fact his cage was in the middle of a noisy family room, we decided it was time for me to take Edgar.
“From that day on, he has had his own room in my home and his aggression has calmed down with the new environment I have provided him.”
Anne plays music with Edgar every day so he can feel stimulated and dance to the beat.
She is personally a metal and punk fan, so that’s the music he’s used to hearing.
Anne said: “Edgar enjoys many genres of music, but prefers rock music.
“We are a musical family, as in we all learned to play instruments and attended many rock concerts.
“I am more of a metal and punk person, which has rubbed off on Edgar the last few years with me.
“He perfected his head banging by watching me and music videos of musicians.”
