Birdtails

I had an Indian ringnecked parrakeet ( psittacula krameri manillensis ) for
many years until tragically she died. I missed having a parrot and was
therefore having a look at what was available.On visiting a petshop I
noticed one of the birds was watching me intently and came to the front
of the cage as I approached. He looked so appealing that I bought him. On
the way home he kept one eye pressed against the holes in the travelling
box. He soon settled in at home and quickly learned to take monkey-nuts
from my hand.He was 12 months old when I bought him and was not hand
reared. Within a few weeks he made his next step forward by flying to my
wifes shoulder so he could ' share ' the pot of yoghurt she had just
opened. Needless to say Dizzy had the lions share. He then progressed to
flying to my shoulder especially when I had a cup of tea and biscuits. He
still will not eat biscuit unless it is dunked in tea !!!

When startled by a sudden noise etc. this normally fearless bird has only one thing on his mind. That is to seek
protection on my shoulder.....underneath my shirt. He dives in without even slowing and once there peeps out
from beneath the collar. Many people on first coming to my house must think that I am deformed until they
notice the eye looking at them from the region of my neck. Once assured that he is safe he emerges, tidies his
feathers and struts across my shoulders from side to side.

I had my ears pierced ages ago and usually wear silver studs. Dizzy was out as usual and spotted them.The
first I knew of his interest was when I felt a sharp tug on my earlobe.He removed the stud so fast that the
butterfly stayed in place ! When I finally got the stud back it was so mangled as to be totally unuseable. Now
when I let him out I take the studs out first. Unfortunately I sometimes forget and when I do he perches on
my shoulder, leans forward and looks me straight in the eye and waits until I realise that I still have the
studs in. When I do and say " oh no " he darts back and rips it out. The look on his face always seems to say
' you had fair warning '.

From the first he has always hated the phone. If he is in his cage he screams when you use it. If he is out he
bites your ear until you admit defeat and hang up. I bought a mobile and started to use it for text messages.
This was great or so I thought as he didnt seem bothered by it. This lasted less than a week until he watched
me use it as a phone when he was caged the one time. He caught on immediately and now I cannot use it for
text messages when he is out because I value my ears. What is worse is that I didnt realise that calculators
and TV remotes also bear a resemblance to mobile phones. Dizzy did !!!

So now I cannot change TV channels in peace. Serves me right for trying to outsmart a parrot !

Like most conures, Dizzy prefers to be sprayed.His favourite spot is in amongst the leaves of the Dragon
tree which is in our front room.He always indicates that he wants a bath when he comes out of his cage by
chanting "want a bath" over and over.He flies into his tree while I fill the sprayer with warm water.Then his
fun starts !!! As I spray him he opens his wings and runs down the tree to my outstetched arm. Screaming
loudly he runs up my arm, climbs up the back of my head, slides down the side braking by clutching my ear
and then runs back down my arm to the tree.This is repeated until he is soaked and my hair and arm are
thoroughly wet.He then abandons both the tree and me and sits on the windowsill, sunning himself whilst
eating his seed.