Chripa Derpa II, a Quaker Parrot. Chirpa enjoys the
following activities: screaming all day long; being aggressive to paper, fingers, a small
plastic bird in her page, and the remote control; taking baths; at times being scratched
on the back of her neck (in a fashion that gently reaches her skin); chewing on my
shoelaces; eating cereal, potatoes, orange juice, and any bread uncontaminated by anything
sticky or saucey; going under my shirt and screaming; hiding under the desk while on my
leg and looking for things to attack; walking on the floor to find things to eat; a very
light but persistent rough housing where I gently touch her wings with my fingers - she
starts screaming and bobbing her head - she lets me know when she's had enough; hanging
upside down on the underside of my left t-shirt sleave and chewing; going inside my
t-shirt and chewing out various areas (no less than 30 t-shirts have been destroyed in
this way); hiding inside my coat when I go on walks; preening my Timneh African Grey Coco;
playing with her paper & plastic toys when I'm playing with her; and being gently
wrapped up in either paper towel or cotton wash cloths or a sock (all dry & clean)
whereupon she screams and attacks the surrounding material.
Chirpa does not like long sticks or stick-like objects, nor balloons, nor dolls.
Above: multiple grey pictures
Coco:
Coco
Coco, a male Timneh African Grey parrot. Coco loved sparing
with Tuci. Now he loves hanging out with Lady when they're out of their cages.
When he's in his cage he's with Gizmo, who he tolerates. The only reason I
haven't moved him in with Lady full time is that I'm still not convinced he
wouldn't hurt her - if he were caged with her full time (when I'm not home).
Coco likes being preened by Chirpa. He also becomes quite animated when he's out
of his cage near a nest box I have set up. If I hand him a wooden tool from his
tool box, he'll bang it up and down on his outside-of-cage on-the-floor nest
box.
Gizmo
Gizmo
Tuci, a Timneh African Grey parrot, died April of 2003
Lady, a Timneh African Grey parrot.
Tuci and Lady
Past observations:
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A
tribute to Tuci
born ~1992 — died April 7, 2003 Tuci was my wildest grey. He loved roaming around, and on warmer days being in his big cage outside. He would occasionally sneak up near me while I was watching TV to see if there was perchance a treat he could obtain, and he would also sometimes venture up a few stairs to see what was happening in the kitchen. Tuci hated being touched, and he would fight when he felt the need. But Tuci was fundamentally a gentle fun loving bird - especially around those of his flock he recognized as fellow birds & friends. During the past 8 years Tuci spent much of time trying to pass on his genes with the help of his female friend Lady. Sadly Lady never produced an egg. But at least Tuci spent his time having as much fun as he could. Tuci did have some emotional pain & baggage, inflicted firstly by either his previous owners, or by his travails to arrive here (if he were wild caught). Some birds are relatively happy in the company of humans, but Tuci would just have assumed to have stayed away. Facades of wildness were provided for Tuci, but they were probably inadequate to his needs. Fundamentally though Tuci didn't deserve the life he got. He just wanted to be away from people & do what he felt inclined to do. Tuci didn’t deserve to be around foolish careless ignorant humans, and tragically his genetic legacy will not be passed on. Tuci certainly didn’t deserve his death, which was most likely caused by either human stupidity or human ignorance. This is a tribute to Tuci. May his death prompt increased diligence on the part of selfish humans who desire to have highly fragile, dynamic, and intelligent fellow creatures in their midst. May this apparently blatant failure prompt others to act more responsibly. Tuci loved being a wild bird. I didn’t deserve him. --- written in 2003 To learn about how Tuci died click here.
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