Thursday, July 19, 2007

My Bird ( a real one!...)


This is my bird, a much beloved cockatiel. She’s about twelve and a half years old now. (I know for certain it’s a girl because she has laid an impressive number of eggs for the first nine years of her life.)

I remember when we bought her at the pet store, she was the only cockatiel in an aquarium of lovebirds and the lady who sold her to us kissed her on the back before putting her in the little cardboard box for transportation. She is very kissable indeed, to this very day. Her back, especially, is very soft and fluffy, her head also…

She’s never been in a cage her whole life, except at night, and never had her wings clipped. She’s free to fly wherever she wants in our house. You can go about your business for hours, with her stuck to your shoulder.

She is a very good bird, very tame, very spoiled, fairly quiet. She’s a bit grumpy now, in her old age. She likes to be scratched but might bite a clumsy finger, which didn’t do the job quite as she likes it. She likes chocolate, pasta, chicken, pistachios, porridge, chocolate!

She’s like another child in our family, the adopted child of a bird, a real person in our house. She’s a huge part of our heart.

7 comments:

Jon M said...

Very cute looking bird! I keep chickens but they tend not to sit on your shoulder...think of the mess!

Taffiny said...

I like her rouge and her fancy hair.

I am quite fond of birds, but had a bad experience, as a teenager, with a dwarf conure. The seed got infested with little brown moths, and there were maggots crawling everywhere (including my bedroom ceiling) for months and months and months. Two decades later, I still haven't recovered. We got rid of the bird shortly afterward (I know it wasn't his fault, but as I said I am still traumatized).

Hmm, I'm sorry. You shared an affectionate story full of love for a winged family member, and I shared a gross one. I am glad you are having such a wonderful time with yours, minus the occasional nips for inadequate/faulty petting. Well how else, is she to train you?

A friend of mine is having trouble with her beloved dog who is going senile.

Our cat sits next to me while I write. I do believe he has attempted to perch on my shoulder, apparently he has no idea of spacial relationships (too big he is).

Unknown said...

Does the poor thing have a name? She looks like a 'Margaret'.

Vesper said...

Jon, she's a darling, but she too can be messy - sometimes it looks like she comes to sit on your shoulder just to make her mess!!! :-)

Taffiny, why didn't you just get rid of the seed?

Minx, actually her name is Wilson.

S. Kearney said...

Hi there, :)
Congratulations again on your win in the lion circle contest! Now it's time to get a book voucher to you. Could you please send me an email to let me know which Amazon site you would like to redeem the voucher at ie: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, etc. I need your up-to-date email address plus the Amazon site of your choice. The voucher can only be redeemed at the site you choose and this can't be changed afterwards. Send your email to: seamuskearney@gmail.com
You may have already sent these details but please send them again because my normal email account (at caramail) is out of action/unable to be accessed because of an upgrade. Thanks, and congratulations once again, Seamus.

Anonymous said...

Vesper _ Looks like a lovely bird. With a name like Wilson, huh?

I don't know the arithmetic in equating bird years to human years but twelve and a half is pretty old, isn't it?

Vesper said...

GoodThomas, she is very lovely! In fact, Wilson comes from "Home Improvement" - have you ever watched this sitcom? He was Tim Allen's neighbour and his face was always half hidden by the fence between their two yards. When she was laying eggs, she used to hide at the bottom of her cage, behind a napkin she had there, and she looked exactly like Wilson!
I think cockatiels live about 18-20 years. Hopefully we'll still have her for a long time!