Beware of the Bird

Letty, Now, I've heard everything! That is an amazing story. Thanks for sharing it. c.i.

C.I.

My godchild has a cocatoo, and those birds can be vicious; in this case dead birds do tell tales, with a little help from DNA.

Photo taken at our hotel in Port Douglas, Australia, March 1999. I had no fear back then, but now, I'll need to give it a second thought. LOL



c.i.

I have a cockatiel, a miniature cousin of the cockatoo, who can easily take out a large chunk of flesh if frightened. When we first got her she bit me - yeouch!

cjhsa and C.I.

I have no indoor pets, but in the pond out back, I have an occasional visit from a rather large alligator we lovingly call Al (from a distance ).
Even the rather pugnacious moorhens stay clear of old Al...

That sure is quite a story! Letty, I'd stay clear of old Al myself ;-)

Gezzy, it's funny, cause the golfers just play around him. There are really two that frequent that pond out back. One is small. Haven't seen either in a while. I think they go into the canal and through a drainage system over to the intercostal waterway. Those moorhens will get plenty mean when they have babies(just to keep the birds in the mix.)

i have a Conure, one of the smallest of the true hook billed parrots and when i lived in Mesa Az i knew someone that also had a conure and when someone broke into his apartment the conure drove him away biting and squawking.

I'll be going to Peru and the Galapagos Islands on April 30. Do you think I'll see some conures and cocatoos? c.i.

LOL Letty!

Makes sense, we used to have a neighborhood Guard Duck, named Foxy. Much as I love m'dear Dog, the duck was more specific re human intruders to our spaces...

Hi, all.

This may be slightly off thread, but the Chinese used a cricket as a warning device. I received a cricket box as a gift one Christmas, and it included the history. The cricket chirped continually within, but when it stopped, this meant that an intruder was lurking about.

We all know that man, bird, and beast have territorial imperatives, why not insects?

I am certainly no ornithologist, but I am impressed with the various responses.

C.I. Galapagos, huh. Well, perhaps you can add a corollary to Darwin's theory

Letty

What a bird! What a hero.
I'm always moved by stories of creatures' loyalty to their owners.
Did you see the photograph of the loyal dog stoically watching over the body of his slain master in Zimbabwe last year? It moved me to tears.

Hi,Msolga.

No, I didn't see the picture, but I remember the movie" Greyfriars Bobby". That little terrier lying on the grave of his master was heart-rending.

Letty's quote: "C.I. Galapagos, huh. Well, perhaps you can add a corollary to Darwin's theory."

I'll give it my best shot. LOL c.i.

Hi Letty,

I don't see this story as a sign of the bird's viciousness. It's a story of loyalty and protectiveness. And I'm not surprised. When I was a child, we had a parakeet (one of the smaller members of the parrot family). Billie was loyal and loving. When I was very sick, she stayed on my pillow and made a fuss if my parents tried to put her in her cage. When I started school and my mother went to work, we came home to find Billie in my doll carriage. To this day, I believe that she missed us and was looking for a human substitute.

Roberta,

What a sweet story. When my children were young, they adopted a bluejay who had been booted from the nest. We tried putting the little thing in a cage, but that didn't seem to work. I finally released it, and the next day I went outstide to get the paper, and there was Conrad (as the kids called it)...from that point on, all I had to do was to to step outside and say "chee..chee" and here would hop sweet little Conrad whom I would feed. I wish that I could tell you this little anecdote from the past had a happy ending. Alas, no.

Hey, Roberta, What's a green-eyed cat doing with a parakeet, anyway?

"Hey, Roberta, What's a green-eyed cat doing with a parakeet, anyway?"

Hoping it will attract larger birds? Sluuurrrp.

Hello, Roberta
Lovely to see you again!
What a touching story about you & Billie! I loved it & it gave me a wee lump in the throat, remembering all my loyal childhood pets. They were so important, weren't they?