Trouble on the Frontier

Owning a bird seems simple. You put food in the food tray and water in the water tray, and the bird sits in its cage and sings, right? Wrong. The truth is, when you get a handfed baby bird, it imprints on you and thinks you should never, ever be out of sight. It thinks that it belongs on your shoulder while you sleep, sweep, cook, clean, talk with friends, and when it gets jealous, it does something drastic so that you will pay attention to it. It longingly watches out of the window while you mow the lawn or shovel the walks. It would rather be with you than eat, sleep, or drink.

Most of us don't even consider the possibility of bonding with a bird because they surround us every day. They poop on our cars, they pick carrion in the middle of the road, and they certainly don't cuddle.

We have two very unique little birds. When you place one beside the other, it becomes very apparent how unique their personalities are. Take for instance a little habit that Kawi has had for years of shredding a single piece of toilet paper into tiny little balls. He is so meticulous and careful that it is really quite impressive how consistent the results turn out:

Now take Penny. She was still a baby when she met Kawi and decided that she, too, should shred toilet paper, however, she does so in a slightly less delicate fashion:

Birds are very sensitive to sound and sight. Every noise you make holds some meaning. That bright red fingernail polish turns beloved fingers into a foreign object.

This past weekend we moved Kawi from the room he has occupied for the past three years. After his first night in this new room, Kawi woke in a terrible fright and thrashed in his cage until C took him out. He must have hurt himself because for the next few days, he was the most tender and loving bird in all of the world, craving at every instance a head scratch, and not biting us to let us know he was finished with our affection.

I know it sounds lovely, but this simply wasn't our Kawi. At last he is starting to come back around and regretfully is back to his old ways. Penny handled the move like a champ, but Kawi is still adapting to us moving him out of the newly designated baby room. Sigh. Can't wait until December...