The Rest of the Flock

The Cockatiels

Ragamuffin and Isabelle

Rags, the male, is a slightly bald lutino, and Isabelle is a cinnamon.

Rags is a very cheerful bird who loves to croon to his hen.
He can also create a lovely snowdrift effect around his cage
with little apparent effort.

He and Isabelle love to fly and are very agile on the wing.
They are also my most nervous birds, and spook easily.

Rags is arch enemies with Alex (below). Their one-up-manship is legendary.

The Red-Rumped Parakeets

Alexander and Jezebel

Cleo, Alex's mate of three years, met an untimely end.
On October 19, 1996, I found a lovely young hen, a yellow mutation,
to introduce to Alex. Well, after ending her quarantine, I set them up in side-by-side cages,
then allowed them to spend some time together cagetop.
Alex immediately decided Jessie was "the enemy" and attacked.
Jessie kept trying to make friends with him, but after losing too many head feathers,
she decided to move into the budgie flight.

Jesse visited with Alex almost every free period, and he let her get close, but
if she got too close he drove her away, and back to the budgies she'd speed.

Eventually her beauty and/or pathetic chirps finally broke through his wall
and Jesse moved back in with the mate of her dreams. Alex still yanks a feather from her
but she only works that much harder to please him.

The Budgie Brigade

Dandilion and Cream
Thistle and Heather
Daquiri, Iris, Pansy, Diamond, Kahlua

Kahlua was the first bird I purchased in my adult life.
Cream came shortly after. Unfortunately, she hated Kahlua.
Next came Diamond and from there it snowballed.
Although some of my budgies have died, from old age,
I still have four of the original ten - Kahlua, Iris, Dandilion, and Thistle.

My son has learned to recognize that glint in my eye
to drag me away from the pet store in time.

Modified March 22, 1999