#it's about a veteran's recovery program that incorporates parrots into their therapy

[icannotgetoverbirds]

blease read this quote from this book about a pair of lesbian cockatoos

under a cut because it's kinda long

Some birds bond only with other birds, some only with humans, and some with both. Sammy had shown interest in other birds at Earth Angel, and had even spent time in her enclosure with a few favorites, but she hadn't found a mate. I was beginning to think she would never bond with anyone but me. It made me sad.

I think finally being in a fulfilling marriage myself made me realize how much Sammy was missing. There are plenty of unhappy marriages in the world - as a psychologist I see more than most people do - and a bad marriage can tear two people down. A good marriage is different. It can make us stronger; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Still, humans can survive happily with no permanent partner. It's in a parrot's nature to want a mate.

Then Sammy met Little Girl and everything changed.

Little Girl was a Moluccan cockatoo, and with her pink-tinged feathers and bright crest, she looked a lot like Sammy. Unlike Sammy, she still had most of her feathers. She had spent years in a garage, usually with the door down. In that unventilated space, most of Little Girl's days were dark and stifling. She didn't have people or birds to interact with.

Her owner came out to the garage occasionally to give Little Girl food or clean her cage, but most of the time she sat alone. She didn't even have a window to watch the outside world. She was truly in solitary confinement.

The neighbors heard Little Girl's cries, and they called the police. The police visited, but there was little they could do. There aren't laws protecting lonely parrots. The most they could do was cite the owner for the noise, and they didn't even do that.

The neighbors kept complaining, though, trying to get something done for the bird. Eventually, the owner called us. She was tired of dealing with the neighbors.

When we came to pick up Little Girl, the owner wasn't there to say goodbye. She said she was busy and left her son to open the garage for us. She'd said on the phone before we arranged the pickup: "If she wasn't so noisy I wouldn't have put her in there."

We took Little Girl out of the garage and drove her to our veterinarian. Once he cleared her for Serenity Park, it was time to find her a perch.

We decided to place Little Girl with Sammy. Sammy was never aggressive with Mango; she just wasn't crazy about him. Maybe a different bird would work. Sammy hadn't been interested in any males, so maybe it was time to test her with a female. I've observed several parrots through the years who, like some humans, prefer their own gender. Somehow, Matt and I both felt it was a good match.

We introduced the two birds slowly. First, we let them see each other for a while. Then, when they seemed comfortable, we put them on opposite ends of the enclosure. We let the birds take their time approaching one another. For Sammy and Little Girl, comfort seemed to come right away. Once we introduced them, they didn't have time for any of the other birds. The two groomed each other. They shared a perch. They seemed to talk together in a language that was their own. They were physically affectionate. Little Girl had suffered for a long time, but she was no longer alone.

Sammy was enthralled by Little Girl. She still got excited when I came to visit, and she still let me cuddle her, but she'd soon move back to Little Girl's side. Sammy had been the first bird I'd been close to and I missed our special interactions, but I was thrilled for both of them.

We had both found our mates. Everything was as it should be.

-- Lorin Lindner, Birds of a Feather, pages 204-206

@fishandchips321 us

anyways brb i gotta go cry about these lesbian birds