CONGER &045; There are pets that give you company, that wag tails or rub against your leg when you walk in the door.

Almost all become an extended family. But there only are few that you can have conversations with.

For Ida Hruza, speaking with her pets is an everyday occurence. She owns four parrots.

&uot;They can say just about anything,&uot; Hruza said, with a bird dancing across her back. &uot;They have the vocabulary of a three-to-five-year-old child.&uot;

Hruza has had birds for the last four years. She has owned many birds, including cockatoos, parrots and even a Macaw.

&uot;The Macaw was 36 inches long,&uot; she said. &uot;It was a little big for my house.&uot;

Hruza’s birds are kept in large cages, some that stand around five to six feet high. When she is around, though, she lets all of them out.

George, Ole, Chip and Buddy caw at each other, nip at each other’s beaks and speak, in English, to each other.

&uot;Ouch,&uot; said Ole as he was being pecked at by Buddy. It is a strange thing to see an animal speaking in your language.

&uot;When I walk in the door George always says, ‘Mom’s home,’&uot; Hruza said. &uot;They talk to one another too. They’re very intelligent.&uot;

Conversations between two aren’t uncommon. Though they might not be the most eloquent and grammatically correct exchanges, they do make sense, Hruza said.

But the birds also enjoy saying bad words every once in a while. &uot;They’ll hear something on the T.V. or the radio and repeat it. If it gets your attention, they’ll keep saying it,&uot; Hruza explained.

They take time to learn language. Two of her birds are still too young to know much, but the other two are proficient speakers. She has special CDs to play for them that teach them words.

The birds are intelligent. Hruza used to have a cockatoo that didn’t like being in a cage. One day she came home to find all the birds out of their cages. Hruza said the cockatoo had taken the screws out of the cages so the birds could get out.

She began getting birds in 1999 when her daughter bought her a parrot from a Rochester flight attendant who couldn’t keep the bird anymore.

Hruza had said she didn’t want a pet that could get run over or require a lot of parenting. Birds were it. She fell in love with having birds and has had many over the past few years.

As Hruza talks, she also plays with each bird. They sit on her shoulders, her head, and chase after one another on her back. They also rub against her head fondly.

&uot;This isn’t my extended family, this is my family,&uot; she said.

These birds do become part of the family. They can live up to 75 years, so they, many times, outlive humans.

&uot;You have to put them in your will,&uot; Hruza explained.

Hruza enjoys showing her birds. Children from the neighborhood come over to look at them.

&uot;It’s great when people enjoy them,&uot; she said. &uot;I’d like to see more people get into birds. They make wonderful pets.&uot;