I seem to be afflicted with that habit lately, too… 
Used to have a beautiful Sun Conure named Oscar, and a Quaker named Pogo. Pogo had this interesting habit of standing on the top of his cage – er… that’s from inside the cage, so most of his little birdy body would be upside down. He would just crane his head around to be the only right-side up part.
I had a Quaker who did that, too.
Yep, Tupac’s a gorgeous bird, when he’s not aiming his ass at the cat. 
And you used to have birds too? No wonder you seem so damn cool. Good taste all the way around.
I was a bird owner until yesterday 
I found my little Bird Bird the parakeet dead when I got home from work. He was blue and white, and didn’t talk yet. I only had him a few months, and his bracelet said he was born in 2002 so I’m not sure why he died.
Poor little thing
When I was a kid, I had an English Budgie named Rocky who was the smartest bird I’ve ever seen. He could say over 150 different phrases and words, and had a wonderful personality. My mom bought him from a home breeder, and he was hand raised. He would have dinner with us every night, and go from plate to plate tasting and making small talk. He loved Coca Cola, and if we weren’t careful he’d try to bathe in it.
We had him a good 12 years when he passed away. I miss that little bird, I doubt I’ll ever find one as smart and friendly.
See, that’s the thing, I’d been a member of an Amazon Grey mailing list and the topic of longevity came up. Everybody agreed they’d heard the bird could live from 60 to 90 years, but noone could come up with an example from personal eperience.
Iian’s about 4 now, and we had children just so we could will him to someone.*
*= Well, we had OTHER reasons, but this is the best one to tell people with no sence of humor. 
I have 2 Nanday conures and 2 Quakers. Sorry no pix but I’ll be glad to brag a bit
Mandy (nanday conure #1) is an evil little s**t…but still a fun bird. My father in law is the only one who can handle her without loosing parts of the body so he get the joy of taking care of that cage. But she loves anyone to talk to her, just keep out of striking distance and all is well. Mandy loves to fling crackers like frisbies, is my best talker and likes to pretend shes sick caughs, sneezes sways her head and says Mandys sick caugh caugh its cute. Mandy (like all my birds) was a rescue. When we got her 5 years ago she was 7 and had lived in 15 differant homes, so no matter what she is with us for the rest of her life.
Peanut (nanday #2) is such a sweet bird, she can’t talk but is a great imatater of sounds expecally the sounds that are un-nerving. For example the fan/light combo in the dinning room (always on low) has this fob that will tink aginst the light globes if not slung over the little screw that holdes the globe on anyhow this sound drives me NUTS so of course Peanut imitates it perfictly!! She loves to sit on my chest with her beak holding my finger (very gently…it was a little scarry at first didn’t know if she would clamp down that a powerful and very sharp beak she sports) then she takes her left foot and like scratches herself slowly under the chin and falls asleep.
Koko (Quaker #1) is such a love, she is the sweetest gentelest bird I have ever seen. The poor dear had had most of the tips of her toes bit off by a larger bird before we got her so she has a hard time holding on. I have never seen a more lady-like animal in my life, even her face looks female. Except when you make her mad: she’ll go to the bottom of her cage throw stuff sway her head mutter to her self and make this strange growl/cherp sound. The only problem I have with her is my nose piercing, she thinks it is a koko play toy…OUCH!
Willow (Quaker #2) she is the one with the most out going personality when she wants attention or to play she won’t wate for you to come for her she finds you…ever see a bird climb the steps? It cute to watch. She plays on the floor alot, loves to play “tag” if she wants loving she will seek you out climb up your pant leg and shirt to get to your sholder to give you a kiss and heaven forbid someone/thing is in her path on the floor, she’ll try to move it and if she can’t she’ll climb over it (including the dog…who will just look up to see who is walking on her now and go back to sleep) Willow was DNA sexed as a boy but lays eggs by the dozen…and nests them, she would make a very good mom…but she won’t let other birds near her…why should she she is not a bird just a little green featherd person (or so she thinks)
Each bird has its own cage, toys, cage top gyms but we don’t lock them in the cage unless they are in time out, there are people over who are afraid of them or in times when they need locked up for safty sake…I truly love my birds and would never give them up but to be honist if I knew before what i know now I would have not gotten so many so fast…oyvay :smack: the racket they can make!
Wicked Blue-- sorry about the little one.
While we are on the subject of sudden unexpected deaths (this is like the STD warning inserted into all the sex threads ):
TEFLON-COATED COOKWARE-- BAD! VERY VERY VERY BAD!
SCENTED CANDLES-- BAD!
PLUG-IN-AIR FRESHENERS-- BAD!
ZINC! BAD!
coffee beans, philodendrons, chocolate, avocado also bad.
I think I might have shared this anecdote at another point, but. . . we went up to visit my sister who has two cats-- one harmless fuzzball and one semi-feral catty cat’s cat, who had recently begun bring dead sparrows in as presents, so we were a bit worried for Murphy’s well-being. The first day we were there we were keeping a careful eye out for Sabu (we actually just call him Pazuzu) and had Murphy with us up on the couch sitting around.
Suddenly Pazuzu jumps up onto the couch for petting, landing right next to Murphy. We are still surprised and unable to act quickly enough and Pazuzu and Murphy are looking at each other for a minute. . . and Murphy says in a loud, authoritative voice “NOOoooo! STOP!” at the cat, who BOLTS outside and doesn’t come back in for the rest of the weekend.
I’ll agree with your warnings, with a small modification: Teflon cookware is NOT bad. Overheated teflon cookware IS. Be a good cook, never leave ANYTHING unattended.
A week or so after I got Iian, he was futzing around with me on the floor. Bleu (our blue burmese fatkat) wandered over, curious to see what this new loud grey thing was.
As he got closer, Iian got interested too and they started walking towards each other.
Curious cats smell what they’re curious about, curious birds reach out with their beak to play with what they’re curious about.
Iian’s beak is sharp - Bleu’s nose is soft and pink. It was just a LITTLE poke, but Bleu won’t go NEAR the bird anymore.
I had a red-lored, too - Bird E. Bird, who was the best escape artist I ever saw. Unfortunately, I bought him a new cage, didn’t realize he could bend the bars, and he trapped his neck in it. He was a rescue, and I’d stopped leaving him out during the day because I could never find him when I got home and I was afraid he’d get into something dangerous. I will miss him forever, and feel guilty forever about what happened to him. I used to leave Discovery on for him during the day, and he learned to say, “Next on Discovery…” freakishly well. He whistled, he said “Bad Bird!” but only when you tried to bathe him. He bit anybody that moved except me, my ex-husband, and our little kid. He was so gentle with the baby - I had the bird first and was scared to keep him around my son, but he loved him. My best memory is when my son was 10 months and learning to walk, and he and the bird screaming at each other until Austin fell on his baby butt, and then Bird E. would laugh like a human. It was funny!
Now I have MEAN Lovebirds who think they are eagles, Itchy and Scratchy. They are rescues, too, and have never been handled. Nor do they WANT to be, despite more than a year of coaxing. I’m getting to be fine with that. They love each other, and they love chasing me away from the cage. And they are beautiful, so they can live with me - until I move, sadly, but my ex-husband will keep them and they know and like him as well as they like anybody.
Grace
Oh dear. I am sorry Wicked Blue and Liquid Grace about the passing of your birds. I too lost my bird almost 2 years ago and I still have a hard time with it. I understand what you are going through, it’s tough. Just wanted let you know my thoughts are with you.
Man, that is uncanny. That’s what my GF calls Harry. Bird E. Bird. But we’re really weird about pet nicknames. Harry was an accomplished escape artist when he was younger. He bent the hell out of his cage as well. And he has mastered two of my laughs and the laugh of my Mom and Aunt.
Silly little Harry Bird E. Bird. (Or HarryByrd TailByter as I refer to him. My cats hate him)
I wish we had some papers or at least a band for him so we could know for sure. But the best I could find out from repeated questioning of various family and friends is that he really was at least five when my Aunt got him. She got him from a friend. We’re not sure how long he was five years old while the friend had him though. (pot - it’s what’s for breakfast - not that there’s anything wrong with that)
So, he was five when she got him and so was her youngest son. We just go by his age. And now, as I check my dayplanner, I see that Harry is 22. Hummm… Wonder how long he’s been “21” for me :eek:
You can tell a Grey’s age by his/her eye color, but only for the first 18-24 months…I was in a petstore in Washington state with a Grey that was hanging out on a perch. He ‘looked’ 4 or 5 to me. The Owner said he was at least 16. :smack:
I don’t have any online pictures but my Ringneck Parrots are always into some type of mischief. Isidore and Azazel have observed me enough to figure out my every routine. They know when I’m cooking something and they quickly hurry over to me to get their share of a meal. They love music and will harass me by shrieking until I play a tape (the louder the better–they don’t like mellow music.) They live in the room where I have my computer and in the evening they keep an eye on it–as soon as they see me shutting down sites they know it’s bedtime and they hurry to their perches for the night. They both hate the cockatiels and would love to torment them; they shriek indignantly when I refuse to allow this.
racinchikki: here’s to Congo African Greys called Alfie! Our son named his first AG Alfie after Alfred Hitchcock [thinking that no one would call his AG that…hum].
Son originally wanted to start an import export business [he’s 15 soon-to-be 16] when he realized that AGs sell for about $1000 in the US and cost about $5 - 20 here in Kinshasa. Then he decided to go on a AG rescue mission and bought two [Beta was too young and died after two weeks of daily every three hours feeding]. Now Son looks up in the sky and counts…"$4000 flying by" ie: 4 African greys overhead.
Alfie is just beginning to talk and whistle up a storm: dog whistles, cute chick whistels, yahoo was his first word, he calls the dogs by name, “you’re ugly” [what can one expect from living with three teenagers!.. not a bonjour or ca va heard yet.
Alfie is our second AG; the first was Billy Bird who whistled the CAR national anthem, whistled like the soccer referree down the block, carhorn honked that drove our guardian nuts, called out folks in the house.
We’ve kept both birds free range ie: they are outside and not locked up in a cage. Matt was thrilled the other day when Alfie threw up on his hand! He loves me! Wow!
I’m glad that Alfie does not dive bomb like Bad Brat, Brachy’s cunning kakariki. I don’t relish the thought of such a big bird swoshing alongside my head… other than that Brat’s a great bird.
Until about 6 months ago I probably wouldn’t even have looked at this thread, but since then, I have adopted a budgie (parakeet) and become much more interested in all things birdy.
My wee fella is called Sparky, and is green and yellow. He belonged to a friends grandmother, but as she has gone into a nursing home, and the rest of her family are rather ambivalent to the wee thing, he has come to stay with me.
I am thinking about getting him a companion, but am swithering because of the fact that he has not got along with other budgies that he has been with in the past. I think that this is because he has not been properly introduced, as the birds have been put immediately in together in too small a cage. I know that I would get cranky as well if that happened to me.
Any thoughts on whether I can tell now whether or not he would be ameniable to a companion? I have managed to tame him quite a bit since he came to us, but he still prefers to be in his cage most of the time, and is really bad at flying ( I think that this is because he wasn’t allowed out when he was with Grandma).
He adores the plastic friend that he came to us with, but that can’t be very satisfying for him, and I think he needs avian company…
I’ve got two green backed parrotlets in a cage in the window and a big flock of native amazon parrots that roosts in the bamboo behind my house at night.
Jill