The keet is constantly communicating with me through chirping - from the moment I say good morning to it, till the time the sun goes down. I have come to recognise some of its keet language and here are a few sounds I think I have managed to translate:
1. The sound it makes most often of all is quick "who-teh-teh-teh, who-teh-teh-teh-teh...", which it makes while it is foraging. This is its, "...here, here, and here, here, here..." talk.
(Maybe the Guinea Fowl version of a seagull's "...mine, mine, mine..."?)
2. Then there is its "we-who" sound which I understand as, "Just checking in with you - no worries".
3. Next is its short "who" sound for, "I'm sort-of okay, but I'm feeling unsure. Please will you look."
4. The sound I listen out for the most is one that stands for, "I see something scary! Should I panic?". It kind-of sounds like a buzzing "Beeeeeauw!"
This is sometimes followed by...
5. "I'm a panicking! ...and hiding", which is accompanied by the sound of a single pair of galloping Guinea Fowl feet heading for the door into the house.
The keet makes these last two chirps when it sees aeroplanes, and since we live under the beginning stages of the main landing flight path into Cape Town International Airport, this happens often during the day. But the important reason I listen out for these chirps is because of the many Pied crows in our area, which hunt keets (the most I counted since having the keet here, that flew overhead the house in one murder, was 17 crows, but they usually hunt in pairs lower to the ground). It took a while, but I eventually managed to teach the keet to fear crows far more than aeroplanes by running for cover myself each time I heard a crow squawk.
6. It also has a sort-of "scream" for when, on the very few occasions, it accidentally got hurt, which obviously translates to, "Ouch!"
7. Of course there has to be a very quick "pip" chirp, which translates to, "I've just made a poop."
8. The sound it makes which I love the most, is one that I have mentioned before. It is higher pitched than the keet's normal chirping and it has a slight vibration to it. It sort of goes like "whoweeeee". It does this only when I am petting it and I take it to mean "bliss".
9. Then there is the "Geeeeeeeee!!!" ...which I have come to adore because it makes me laugh every time I hear it. It makes this sound when I do something that it is unhappy about and it is protesting... vehemently! This is usually followed by a short sulk with a look of disdain. If I have to translate I would say it to mean, "How dare you do that to me!!!"
10. It also makes a "quik, quik, quik!" sound when I am trying to stop it from doing something it shouldn't be doing and it is being stubborn about it. I translate it to mean, "Stop bothering me. I am determined to do this, unless you drag me away." which I inevitable have to do. I am almost sure I have never met a more single minded creature.
And then... well... then there is the sound of silence, which I have come to understand as that it is up to no good, and which usually means it is time to go rescue my strawberry plants from scratching keet claws. Although today there was a strong scent of peppermint in the air when I went outside - it has discovered my potted peppermint plants. ***sigh***
There are probably a few more sounds that I can not recall at present, but if you know of any that I have left out, please let me know. And I would love to hear your translations of any keet noises, so please share.
1. The sound it makes most often of all is quick "who-teh-teh-teh, who-teh-teh-teh-teh...", which it makes while it is foraging. This is its, "...here, here, and here, here, here..." talk.
(Maybe the Guinea Fowl version of a seagull's "...mine, mine, mine..."?)
2. Then there is its "we-who" sound which I understand as, "Just checking in with you - no worries".
3. Next is its short "who" sound for, "I'm sort-of okay, but I'm feeling unsure. Please will you look."
4. The sound I listen out for the most is one that stands for, "I see something scary! Should I panic?". It kind-of sounds like a buzzing "Beeeeeauw!"
This is sometimes followed by...
5. "I'm a panicking! ...and hiding", which is accompanied by the sound of a single pair of galloping Guinea Fowl feet heading for the door into the house.
The keet makes these last two chirps when it sees aeroplanes, and since we live under the beginning stages of the main landing flight path into Cape Town International Airport, this happens often during the day. But the important reason I listen out for these chirps is because of the many Pied crows in our area, which hunt keets (the most I counted since having the keet here, that flew overhead the house in one murder, was 17 crows, but they usually hunt in pairs lower to the ground). It took a while, but I eventually managed to teach the keet to fear crows far more than aeroplanes by running for cover myself each time I heard a crow squawk.
6. It also has a sort-of "scream" for when, on the very few occasions, it accidentally got hurt, which obviously translates to, "Ouch!"
7. Of course there has to be a very quick "pip" chirp, which translates to, "I've just made a poop."
8. The sound it makes which I love the most, is one that I have mentioned before. It is higher pitched than the keet's normal chirping and it has a slight vibration to it. It sort of goes like "whoweeeee". It does this only when I am petting it and I take it to mean "bliss".
9. Then there is the "Geeeeeeeee!!!" ...which I have come to adore because it makes me laugh every time I hear it. It makes this sound when I do something that it is unhappy about and it is protesting... vehemently! This is usually followed by a short sulk with a look of disdain. If I have to translate I would say it to mean, "How dare you do that to me!!!"
10. It also makes a "quik, quik, quik!" sound when I am trying to stop it from doing something it shouldn't be doing and it is being stubborn about it. I translate it to mean, "Stop bothering me. I am determined to do this, unless you drag me away." which I inevitable have to do. I am almost sure I have never met a more single minded creature.
And then... well... then there is the sound of silence, which I have come to understand as that it is up to no good, and which usually means it is time to go rescue my strawberry plants from scratching keet claws. Although today there was a strong scent of peppermint in the air when I went outside - it has discovered my potted peppermint plants. ***sigh***
There are probably a few more sounds that I can not recall at present, but if you know of any that I have left out, please let me know. And I would love to hear your translations of any keet noises, so please share.
Mmmm. Mine, not yours. This is good!”
