ncGreyBirdLady
They call Me crazy like its a bad thing!
Administrator
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
I'm happy to announce that our Celebirdy of the month is Sunnysmoms totally adorable Sunny
- Sunny and I are so excited that he's the celebirdy of the month!
Thank you!
1. How did you acquire your bird? We inherited Sunny almost five years ago when his owner passed away. Technically, my fiancé did, but I'm definitely Sunny's chosen one.
2. What is your bird's name, age and sex? Sunny is a male, pied cockatiel, and he's 19 years old. He's banded so we know his hatch year, and I've guesstimated the month based on when he first went to live with his former owner. So, we will be celebrating his 20th hatch day this October.
3.Does your bird do any special tricks? He gives kisses when asked. He taught himself to flip an old credit card I had left lying on the table. So I incorporated it with shopping for shoes. So if you say "Sunny, do you want to go shopping for shoes?" he will go over and start flipping his credit card. He has a birdie sneaker toy and once in awhile, after he flips his credit card, if I say, what kind of shoe are you going to buy? He'll beak bang on his sneaker, but he doesn't do it consistently. I've tried to teach him "high five" but every time I try, he just puts his head down for scritches.
He's really very smart and a lot of the things he does, he's picked up on his own, which makes me think I really should have worked more on teaching him tricks. - 4. What are some of your bird's favorite foods? Sunny loves pasta, rice and cous cous. He really likes the Higgins Worldly Cuisine mixes. Lettuce is his favorite vegetable. And he recently discovered a love of cashews. And of course, he likes millet.
5. What is the funniest thing your bird has done? That's hard because everyday he makes me laugh. For a little bird, he has a big personality. I guess a couple of the Sunny highlights are:
- Sunny lives cage free now during the day, but back when he stayed in his cage, one day the fiancé was home all day and didn't let him out. When I got home from work, I let him out and Sunny climbed onto the top of his cage. Sunny was clearly not happy with the fiancé, and when the fiancé went to give him a kiss on the head, Sunny acted like he was going to kiss him but at the last second, Sunny spun around and lifted his tail and stuck his butt in the fiancé's face, and then proceed to walk to the back of the cage and stare at the wall, like the fiancé wasn't there. I looked at the fiancé and said- "You know what Sunny just told you to kiss, right?"
- Sunny thinks he's the entertainment when we go to the vet's office (which is where he gets his nails trimmed) and must greet every person and animal that walks in. He then chirps with the ringing phone, makes sympathy noises with the whining dogs, and will beak bang in time with a dog who is either panting or thumping his tail. The vet techs tell me that Sunny is the "floor show" for the waiting room.
6. How has your bird enriched your life? Sunny makes me smile everyday. I really had no idea that a little bird could bring so much love and laughter into a home.
7. What would you tell people who are considering this species? As far as parrots go, I think cockatiels are some of the "easiest", but they still require time and attention just like any other bird. They're pretty laid back compared to a lot of other species. The females are known to be more snuggly than males, but Sunny didn't get that memo because he's a snuggle bug. Males are also known to be good whistlers and are pretty good at learning tunes, although Sunny didn't get that memo either. They're not big talkers generally, and again, it's typically the males and not the females that talk. Cockatiels are one of the dusty parrots which can cause problems with people that have allergies, asthma, etc. - although I am allergic to cats but Sunny's dander doesn't bother me. Cockatiels can live to be in their thirties. It's not common that they reach that age, but I have known of a few that have. So, just like any other bird, a cockatiel shouldn't be an impulse buy or be considered a "starter bird" (which is a term I really dislike). I've read that cockatiels have the intelligence of a 2-3 year old. So, they are definitely smart little birds. And because cockatiels are easy to breed, there are a lot of them out there. So, I would encourage anyone interested in getting a tiel to really think about adopting one. There are so many in need of good homes. And I know people say they want babies because they want to bond with them, train them, etc. but as someone who has a rehomed "senior", you can do all of that with a rehomed bird. And I wish more people would also consider "senior" birds to adopt too. Sunny is smart, silly, active, affectionate and surprises me all the time with new things. He certainly doesn't know or act like he's "old".
8. What is the activity and noise level of your bird? As a senior birdie, Sunny is still active- he just likes his naps too. Sunny loves to climb and explore. Cockatiels in the wild spend time foraging on the ground. So Sunny enjoys walking around on the floor and does that more than fly, although he is flighted. I really don't think Sunny is loud. Although he can get loud if say, you're sleeping in and he feels it's time to be let out of his cage......... but generally, his chatters and chirps are not loud at all.
This is Sunny doing one of his favorite activities- climbing the stairs like a little mountain climber:
9. What are some of your bird's quirks? Sunny loves anything that is black and gold, which is funny because we live in Pittsburgh where our sports teams' colors are black and gold. So, Sunny tends to claim as his anything in those colors, especially if they belong to my fiancé. Sunny has claimed the fiancé's Steeler blanket as his. His Penguin slippers, etc. Not only is the blanket now Sunny's but he gets really agitated if anyone (but me) even touches it. The fiancé's aunt once unknowingly picked up the blanket to fold it, and Sunny threw a complete birdie fit until she put it down.
Sunny and his blanket:
Sunny also likes to put himself in his cage. If you put him on top of his cage for bedtime, etc., he will climb down and go in his cage by himself. He's really good about it. He gets upset if you actually put him in the cage.
Sunny also really enjoys "talking" on the cell phone. He'll put his head against the phone and chirp and chatter away. Luckily, I have some tolerate friends and parents who will let Sunny "talk" to them.
10. If your bird talks, what is the most surprising word or sentence it has said? Sunny doesn't talk but is good at mimicking sounds. My favorite is he ribbits like a frog which is hysterical. And once, I thought he said "love you" but that could have been wishful thinking on my part.
11. what is his favorite treat? He doesn't get them very often, but Sunny loves crackers.
Thanks for reading about Sunny!
Congratulations Sunny! I loved reading about you, you're one of my favorite birds on AA! So much personality packed into that adorable little tiel body!
