Kobie is a year-old African Red Belly (Poicephalus rubiventris) parrot. He was very warm and loving as a fledgling, but for some unknown reason when he was about six months old, he became flighty, frightened of everything and would not let me even approach him as I did before. Gradually I have gotten him to trust me and today he sat on my shoulder for quite awhile before freaking out and taking off. He can't fly far because his wings are clipped (for his safety as well as mine) but he does get airborne enough to fly to the ground. During last summer, he absolutely knew when he was going to be transferred to his outside cage and he always came to the cage door and flapped his way into the outside cage for his day outside. I am trying this year to get him to "step up" on my hand so we can make the transfer with less craziness.
His bird 'buddy' is my 11-yr. old African Grey (Psittacus erithacus) "Tabou," named after a village in Africa on the Gold Coast that I hope to visit someday. Tabou has a lengthy vocabulary and the ability to imitate the Nextel phone sound, confusing people who call me and wonder if I have another call to answer. Kobie has learned to say Tabou's name, followed by "good bird!" and vice versa... nice that they share... wonder what they say when I'm not around. This is my inside 'zoo.'
No comments:
Post a Comment