When the owners of the Yuhung Betel Nut Stand in Kaohsiung's Linyuan Township (林園鄉) made the decision to spend NT$26,000 (US$788) on an African grey parrot for their store, they were looking for a pet that could become like a child to them.
Little did they know, however, that the bird would take such a strong liking to the family business.
Customers don't need to ask the price of a pack of betel nut or a can of beer, as Pika has learned to shout them out as soon as they walk through the door.
He also serves as a watchdog, ruffling his feathers and stamping in circles around his perch to scare off strangers.
But Pika hasn't put all of his unusual intelligence to such productive use.
He is also notorious among customers and neighbors for having learned to swear like a trooper.
He has shown a proclivity for absorbing all the Taiwanese profanity not fit for print that might be overheard at a betel nut stand, so that now customers can expect to get not just betel nuts when they visit the shop, but also a torrent of verbal abuse.
Pika has a special talent for hurling insults and discouragement at people playing the lottery, which has led to the occasional threat by more than one disappointed gambler that he might be delicious if served roasted.
But most people in the community have been able to forgive most of the bird's crude manners and policemen from the local station regularly pass by so that they can wave hello.
Pika has also learned to yell "registered mail" when he sees the mailman approaching on his motorcycle, sometimes from as far as 20m away.
And any sensitive customers who are offended by coarse language had better get used to it or find somewhere else to go for a chew; Pika is only six years old, and African gray parrots can live to more than 50 years of age.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
RSS