Steve the Bird

I have always wanted a bird. Over the years I have bought several books on them, my favorite being "The Parrot Who Owned Me". I finally decided that it was time and set off to get one in March of 2005. I love the big birds, but having no experience felt I would be taking on more than I could handle, so I decided a nice little parakeet would be a good choice. There is a store here that specializes in birds, and I had been there several times just to look, they are very knowledgeable and their birds are very well cared for. When I got there I wandered around looking at them all, and then stood to watch the parakeets and pick one out. Behind me was a cage with Fischer's Lovebirds in it. I couldn't help but be drawn to them, they were so inquisitive, and I loved their colors - esp their eyes. I began playing with them, they would follow in a gaggle from one side of the cage to the other as I moved around it. I was sold.

Steve is very cool. Lovebirds are parrots, and very intelligent. I worked with clicker training with Steve and he caught on right away, though I don't do it as much as I should. He will bring a ball to me and drop it in my hand, and I have taught him to "wolf whistle" :) He also mimics the alarm system (joy) and will call out "tweet tweet" loudly when he is looking for us.

Doug and Steve got off to a rocky start - I taught Steve to give kisses in one afternoon, and when DH came home I showed him. Of course Doug wanted a birdie kiss so when he asked for one Steve latched onto Doug's lip and wouldn't let go. The amount of restraint it took for Doug not to swat Steve across the room should not go unmentioned or unappreciated. But now Steve is his buddy. He will allow Doug to pet him all over - as soon as Doug opens his cage he spreads his wings to get his "birdie massage". Steve enjoys hanging out with me but if he can see Doug it's all over.

I am really glad that I didn't get a big bird as learning how to handle Steve has been very enlightening. You can read about things and how to handle birds, but there is no comparison to actually having to do it. I have learned a lot about bird behavior and body language, and made some mistakes along the way that with a larger bird surely would have caused a lot of stress for me and the bird (not to mention injuries LOL - even the little ones bite HARD).