Food: Merlin got a real kick out of my lunch yesterday. I made my special oatmeal-cream of wheat-raison-banana special (my own personal favorite) and gave all the birds a portion. Merlin wasn’t sure about it at first but when he saw Bandit nose-diving into a bowl, he decided he should at least try it. He very delicately tongued it, took a small piece and rolled it around in his mouth, and then must have decided he liked it because he snow-plowed right through the dish. He was not at all pleased when I put him through the paper towel wash-down routine.

His favorite so far, though, seems to be chicken which doesn’t surprise me because that and turkey are the big hits around here. He also really enjoys macaroni and cheese. He won't even touch apple but he can eat a banana faster than anyone in the house, including me. He tried the tangerine pieces I gave him the other day but I don’t think he liked it as much as the red-rumps do. He does like raisons. He is also the only bird who will eat the carrots in the frozen vegetable mix - oh and he loved the water chestnuts in this stir-fry mix I gave them the other day. Dare I mention the french-fry pig-out we had? (Don’t worry, he only got a little).

Sounds: He makes kissing noises all the time, parroting Bandit I think. He joins in the cockatiel chorus every morning. This is really fun - Rags, my male cockatiel, sings for his hen every morning. Bandit chimes in with the same notes only much shriller and louder. Now Merlin is also joining in with his frog version. Rags tries to sing louder, Bandit outmatches him, and Merlin is the rumbling bass accompaniment throughout. (My poor neighbors!).

Merlin also does a lot of chuckling and mumbling but I can’t pick out any patterns other than mimicking of the budgie babble and a note that sounds just like the Alex, my male red-rump. He is really quiet compared to the rest of the crew - the budgies drown out his mumbling. He does call when I first come home and when we get up, but it is nothing compared to Bandit’s shrieks. He does a reasonably good "Hello" and he is working on "Good Morning." He pays very close attention to anyone talking to him, and he loves music.

Personality: He is much more relaxed about physical contact now then he was during his first two years. He invites head scratches and enjoys them immensely, but on his own initiative - he prefers to asked. He is relatively easy to clip although I do need to towel him to do his nails. Interestingly enough, his toenails need clipping less than any other bird in my flock.

Merlin's breeder said "when asked about Bronze-Wing Pionus, I usually tell them they seem rather snobby...think that's a fair assessment, or too critical?"

I’m not sure I’d call him snobby but he is a little standoffish. He does love toys, both the dangling ones and the handheld toys. He gets frustrated with them sometimes and simply hurls them over the edge of the playpen. He spends a lot of time hanging upside-down off the perch or the toys themselves, bashing them about. He plays very fierce games with his toys but he has yet to bite either Tony or me. He doesn’t seem at all scared of us, or even shy, but he definitely wants contact on his own terms, and when he is done with us, he will plop right on down to the floor and walk over to his cage and clamber on up and in. He looks just like a little old man in a suit with his hands tucked behind his back when he walks (all my other birds have long tails so he always seems to be missing his back end).

I am really glad Merlin is with us. He is a real character and his independence is perfectly suited for our flock.

Modified March 22, 1999