Wednesday, February 6, 2008

For the Birds: Wet Your Whistle!

The bird "people" I have met, both in real life and on the Internet, are extraordinarily enthusiastic about their pets. Rivaling cat and dog lovers, I find that bird owners are an amazingly eager group of fans.

I have always been  fascinated with Cockatiels and Cockatoos . Most people don't know this about me! I have even been occasionally tempted to bring one into our home, but I think I will stick with just cats.

My veterinarian has a resident rescue Cockatoo, named Pollak. He serves as the receptionist's assistant and while he is not ready to answer their telephone quite yet, he is always eager to greet clients and does a good job of making folks feel at home.

 

Spike2
Spike,(above) is an 18 year old Cockatiel who belongs to Kim and her husband, Kirk. She adores his antics and often brags about  his spicy personality. I think Spike is quite the handsome guy! He shares his home with a menagerie of several varieties of critters, and gets along well with all of them.

Cockatiels love to talk and have an uncanny ability to imitate the human voice.  They also are adept at whistling, as demonstrated by this video created by Blackwhite810. I wonder if this little guy might do well to take music lessons to further his career. 

2 comments:

Vicki said...

How very cute. I love these birds but since I have so many dogs, I will have to pass on getting one. A few years ago I went into a house that had one of these birds and he whistled the theme song from the old Andy Griffith show. It was very intertaining. This little fellow has a great sense of style.

Anonymous said...

They truly are a fun addition to the 'family'. My mom would 'babysit' Spike when we would go camping and he had a training tape that he learned so much from! He can 'Whistle Dixie' the 'National Anthem,' 'Beautiful Dreamer,' I think is the funniest. The other side taught him to say 'hey good looking.' 'wanna play with me?'and having the tape play when strangers come by also can bring entertainment itself! LOL! *BTW we purchased the tape at a local pet store! They are fun and I found myself blessed with having so many animals and luckily they have learned respect for one another. Our bunny goes on hikes with us on a leash and loves the creek. Ziggy Stardust loves him. But last week she killed a wild bunny and put it BY their van so I would notice. I did! Even the sage he was eatting before he got grabbed! Thanks Jo! Spike thanks you also!