Koki (hatched ) is a

yellow-crested cockatoo The yellow-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua sulphurea'') also known as the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, is a medium-sized (about 34-cm-long) cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile ye ...

that was owned by Yugoslav leader

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

and kept at his coastal retreat on the

Brijuni The Brijuni () or the Brijuni Islands (also known as the Brionian Islands; ) are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea, separated from the west coast of the Istria, Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fa ...

islands, in western

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. From 1949 until his death in 1980, the Brijuni islands served as Tito's official summer residence. In addition to a wide array of world leaders, such as

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

and Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, Tito hosted numerous international celebrities on the islands, including

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

and

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

and

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

. Koki came into Tito's possession in the early 1970s. He belongs to larger species of parrots which are characterized by a crest on their heads and a stocky posture. They can reach up to in height, and have been described as "a very intelligent, social and amiable bird species that likes bathing". Koki quickly became Tito's favourite

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

. He was a regular fixture at the aging Yugoslav leader's private parties, and with time, "began to mimic his master's colorful peasant vocabulary." One of the phrases he is known to utter is ''Volim te, Sophia'' ("I love you, Sophia"), which he presumably learned when Tito was visited by Sophia Loren. In 1977, Tito gifted Koki to his granddaughter

Saša Saša is a South Slavic given name. It is a diminutive of Aleksandar (see Sasha (name), Sasha), but in the South Slavic countries it is often a formal name as well. It may refer to: *Saša Antunović (born 1974), Serbian footballer *Saša Bjelanovi ...

for her ninth birthday. Decades after Tito's death, Koki continues to live what has been described as a "pampered life". He has been known to want to shake guests' hands and has had his picture taken with almost all notable visitors to the islands, including

Princess Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (born 23 January 1957) is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and ...

and the actor

John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...

. Koki has also been known to swear at visitors, as well as to squawk, "Tito! Tito! Tito!" According to his attendant, Koki "usually only talks to women. If men go near his cage, he gets jealous and tries to bite them." A sign on Koki's cage warns visitors that while he may utter "many friendly phrases", he is also in the habit of uttering "those which we kindly ask you not to take personally". "If Koki had a bigger vocabulary," a journalist writing for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' quipped, "he would doubtless enjoy revealing Croatia's darkest state secrets, which he has surely overheard."

References

{{reflist, 30em Cockatoos Individual parrots Josip Broz Tito