Tuesday Ten: Things I've Learned from My Parrotlet

Birds aren't the most common pet choice.  I get that.  I'm aware that most people would be incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of having a bird on the loose in their home, dictating daily life with sassy conviction.

I'm actually a dog person, but five years ago when I was living in an apartment with a "no pets" rental agreement, this crazy girl came into my life.

And my life has never been the same.

To be fair, parrotlets are their own breed, and in the world of pet birds they're known as the little bird with the BIG personality.  They're also incredibly accident prone because they're so stinking adventurous/curious/daring.  For instance... I can't find a straight answer on how long they live.  Nobody knows because these silly little buggers tend to off themselves before anyone can figure it out.

Isn't that a comforting thought as a pet owner?

Yeah, that's what I said.

Anywhatzits, here are ten things about my girl.

One

Technically, she's trainable.

Parrotlets are loosely in the same family as macaws.  B?  The family link is very loose.  She lets me do this (above photo) on a good day, but usually she's a feisty piece of work.  I have also managed to potty train her, but photos of that really aren't necessary.  Agreed?

Two

Parrotlets make extremely fashionable accessories.

Okay, so this one's not actually plausible, but it did make for a fun picture!  

Three

She knows she's a "she" and Mr. Pihl is a "he".

Really.  It's a little disturbing, actually.   She's perfectly content to hang out on my shoulder until HE walks into the room.  The the girl only has eyes (and wings) for him.  Traitor.

Four

She's incredibly photogenic.

Unlike her mama.  I mean, look at her.  She can strike a pose with the best!  Unlike her mama.

Five

She loves carbs.

Like her mama.  And she'll go to great lengths to reach them.  When she's on my shoulder and I happen to be snacking whilst watching a movie, she considers it her right to try to nab food from my lips.  It's not a pretty sight.

Six

Have I mentioned that she can be feisty?

Well, that's the understatement of the century.  After we officially moved her into Mr. Pihl's house right before the wedding (we're old-fashioned and she got to live with him before I did) Mr. Pihl said to me, "Man, you always said that she was sassy, but I never understood what that meant until now."  Yup.  That's my bird.

Seven

She gets what she wants.

She doesn't like her travel cage so I let her out.  She didn't even ask very nicely, but I complied anyhow.  I'm going to be a terrible parent, aren't I?  

Eight

Nothing is safe when she's around.

She's like a puppy.  She has chewed countless tiny holes in a multitude of shirts, attacked my W-2's (and other important documents), and gone after nearly-healed scabs (and that HURTS, man).  What a piece of work.

Nine

But when she cuddles, she's precious.

As all pet-babies are, of course.

Ten

You never know what she'll get into...

Which can occasionally result in that accident-prone affliction mentioned at the beginning of this post.  For instance, check out her current look:

Can't you see it?

Right there.

The bald patch and the bruised beak.  She flew into the sliding glass door last week.  Twice.  She's a little wily, but we have her on lock down now so that she can mend.

Silly bird.  

Though I'm the queen of accident-proneness, so I suppose I shouldn't judge.