Bitten by birdie-love

Sometimes I start writing a heavy deep post, and I mostly finish it, and by the time it needs editing I'm too tired. Which happened again tonight. This stuff is all piling up in Drafts.

So how about some pics instead?

This is Philea the African Grey. My parents' first bird was a lovebird named Agape, but she passed on a couple years ago. There's a third, but we'll look at her later.

Philea is a very smart, determined, excitable little parrot.

This is her cave, on the counter. You can't leave a glass on this counter cause she'll throw it on the floor. Actually you can't use glasses in general, she attacks them. Mugs are ok.

 Blurred head because she's dancing. She likes to dance.

 

Step-mommy dancing and singing with her.

She loves hot water but is only allowed 4 sips or else she'll vomit it.

Often when I make my tea she reasonably expects me to put the tap on for her.

Pregnant with bird.

My first Philea bite. I was alone with her and was slowly giving her time to get off a cupboard I was closing (long story) and she leapt! onto my thumb and dug her beak in real deep. I've now learned that when I want to distract her from something naughty, I put some milk in a spoon and tempt her away. (She likes to drink the milk from one's cereal. Coconut, rice, soy, any kind.)

This is the Father's lap. She is crazy about him. Likes to sit on his leg under the table and chill.

Playing Hide the Bird.

Playing on the stairs with Chara Timio (to be featured next time.)

She's dragged talking-Cookie-monster to her cave and is beating the crap out of him.

Scratches on the ruff of the neck.  She looks like an angel, and not like the bird who bit my ear the other week. (I was deciding which cereal to eat and she flew on my shoulder and, well, I guess she didn't approve my choice. She's been behaving since, though. Getting used to me.)

 

NOTE: Parrots are lovely, but they should NOT be kept as companion animals. The birds breeders use originate from the illegal trafficking in birds. 

They're used to living in large, noisy flocks, not little homes. They can live 60 + years (as African Greys do), they're ear-splittingly loud, they need a lot of attention, they need toys and stimulation and play, they do not poop in a litter box, they often destroy your home (if a beak can open a nut, imagine what else it can do!) they're messy eaters, and they have sharp beaks which some species are not afraid to use which makes it hard to leave them with a sitter. (See these posters here.)

For all these reasons, dozens of parrots end up in the local parrot refuge every year, many sick, injured, poorly cared for, lonely. They can be happy in captivity as my parents' birds are, but it takes WORK. And really the breeding and capturing of them should be stopped.