As I pointed out at the end of the last long diary that I posted here on the Stars Hollow Gazette, I did get another exotic bird, after my 20 year old Noble Macaw, McGee, passed over the Pet Rainbow into Bird Heaven, in early February of 2010. I did some research on birds, both on and offline, and decided on a beautiful, adorable baby Congo African Grey Parrot.
This is a photograph of Aziza, where she looks like she’s doing a dance. She’s in one of her favorite poses, on her favorite outside-her-cage height and place:
Here’s yet another photo of Aziza,
playing in her cage, looking curiously down at something while she’s on her bong rope swing, which is a favorite inside-her-cage perch of hers.
Here’s another more exuberant photo of Aziza.
She certainly reveals her beauty, exuberance and gracefulness when she’s in that position. It’s great!
This is a photo of Aziza perched on my forearm/hand. You now have a close-up view of her, and you can see her beauty on a somewhat larger scale.
Here’s yet another photo of Aziza, in one of her most pensive modes:
This photo, too, reveals how beautiful she really is! One of my favorite photos of Aziza.Now that I have presented afew (albeit familiar) pictures of Aziza, many of them taken when she was even younger than she is right now, I will proceed with the essay itself.
After the unfortunate passing of my (almost) 20-year-old Noble Macaw, McGee in early February of 2010 due to unknown and natural causes, I knew in my heart that I wanted another exotic bird. Yet, going out and getting another bird right away didn’t make sense. I needed time to mourn and do research as to what kind of bird that I wanted. It was at about ten-thirty on a Sunday night, when I went to cover McGee’s cage. Seeing McGee lying still on the bottom of his cage, I called his name, and caressed him, hoping to wake him up. There was no response forthcoming, so I immediately knew the worst; McGee had passed over the pet rainbow to bird heaven. Probably not the best thing to do, but, being in shock, I was just thinking on my feet, so to speak. The next morning, I called my sister and told her the sad news, and then I got a call from my brother a few minutes later, after my sister had called him and given him a message. I received much condolences from my family, friends and some of my neighbors who I told. I knew that I wouldn’t be getting another bird until the spring, and, although it was a fairly short time, I began to feel the emotional pain of not having a pet to greet me when I walked in the door, and I often found myself looking over at McGee’s old cage in the corner of the living room, expecting him to be there, but finding an empty cage instead.
A week later was my birthday, and one of my birthday presents was a couple of books about parrots; One was called Parrots for Dummies, and the other was a complete book on African Greys, because I was leaning towards getting an African Grey Parrot. I did much research on African Greys and other parrots both on and offline. I asked around about a reputable pet store in our area, talking to the veterinarian that I’d taken McGee to, a couple of her assistants, and a neighbor who’d purchased a Red-Lored Amazon at that same place ten years before. All roads pointed to a pet store down in East Walpole, MA, called Bird and Reptile Connection. After I explained about the passing of my Noble Macaw, I went down and visited the place, and looked at a not-quite-a year-old Goffins Cockatoo, which is one of the smaller cockatoos. It was a beautiful bird–all white with a sort of orangey-pink coral color underneath. The Goffins and I got along splendidly, but after doing much on and offline research, I decided against getting the Goffins cockatoo, and I concentrated on the African Grey instead. I asked about the baby Timneh African Greys that were due to arrive in April, which were a little cheaper than the Congo African Greys and were reputed to be somewhat more easygoing. I decided to look at the Timneh, being set on that. I bided my time, doing as much research as I could, on the Greys, housing for them, care, and food for them. I kept in touch with the people at Bird and Reptile Connection via telephone and email. April finally came.
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