#pionuses

[flockdynamics]

Gwen’s not like, SUPER thrilled with the idea of sitting in the same vicinity as Ichabod to eat, but if that’s what she has to do for an almond, she’ll power through.

Ichabod, of course, IS super thrilled.

[beakybirds]

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 🖤

[the-puffinry]

Vaiya has been growing some new feathers lately, which I suppose would be her adult ones? The ones she grew right after her grey dustbunny nestling stage looked adult ones to me, but it seems like her feathers are still coming in after all. Nothing much is falling out except what seem to be a few remaining grey baby feathers.

She's also developing a scent.

Initially she smelled like nothing in particular + whatever she rooted around in. This meant she often smelled like thyme, basil or rosemary, with nothing really of her own.

The last two weeks or so that has started to change, and I wonder if this is related to her new feathers coming in?

The scent is a sort of musky sweet one. It's not unpleasant and mixes nicely with the thyme and whatever else she's been eating (clove breath! 💖). Honestly it reminds me a lot of what people describe of the scent of Amazons and Pionuses; but then of course she is at least a far-removed relative, though one with an oil gland and no discernable dust whatsoever.

I'm very curious if her scent serves some sort of (communicative?) function! I also would love to see whatever ultraviolet patterns she is hiding, so I suppose I'll have to find a way to take a picture!

[thebirdsniffersclub]

This is my Lineolated Parakeet Bubba. He’s my sweet little snuggle buddy and the cutest lil blue sausage in the world💕💕

He loves to loaf and get all cozy on my shoulder, head, chest, in my shirt, in my hair...he also loves to nuzzle my cheeks and neck (and also repeatedly, like...push the front of his beak against my cheek when he’s in a good mood?? He only does it when he’s happy and beak grindy so I think it’s a sign of affection???)

He can still be brat, though, and likes to run around and jam himself under couches or behind shelves like a little crevice goblin if he ends up on the floor. He can run WAY faster than you’d think and once he gets under there he usually won’t come out (no matter how much you call him😑) unless you reach under there and grab him.

I sniff the back of his neck feathers at least once a day, and he has a very distinct scent no matter how dirty or clean he is. The best way I can describe it is “musky.” it’s similar to that weird smell Amazons and pionuses have, but not as strong. To be honest it’s probably objectively kind of stinky and most people would probably dislike it, but I still love it anyway.

[flockdynamics]

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS okay so first thing every morning when I get Gwen out to eat her almond, Ichabod comes over from his cage and sits there and pretends to eat something, too. I’ve been trying to get a video of it for the longest time, because it absolutely cracks me up every time. He legit pretends to eat because Gwen has a treat and he doesn’t but he doesn’t want to be left out (he gets an almond too, but he gets his later, when he goes BACK to his own cage).

And TODAY he starts to do it, and I realize he’s ACTUALLY EATING SOMETHING. And I’m like???? What is that??

It’s a pellet. He GRABBED A PELLET ON THE WAY OUT OF HIS OWN CAGE and BROUGHT IT ALL THE WAY OVER (no small amount of climbing) so he could have something to eat while Gwen smacked on her almond.

I apologize for the shitty pictures I was desperately trying to snap one (in the poor lighting) before he finished because OH MY GOD

[flockdynamics]

Some good birds at the vet! They weren’t happy about it, and Gwen and Ich both definitely did a little bit of flying, but they were all very good about getting weighed! Gwen and Ichabod even (despite the initial flying) successfully got weight taken on the perch weigher instead of having to be shoved into the tupperware! I was very proud of them

[beakybirds]

Foot exercises with Pgakk the Pionus. 

[flockdynamics]

I gave Gwen & Ich each a large chunk of pumpkin, fully expecting them to both be terrified of it. I hoped the seeds might entice them though. To my shock, Ichabod went RIGHT for his! Look at this massacre!!

Gwen is more hesitant. I sprinkled some other tasty seeds on hers to try and entice her, but she has yet to approach it. She did go down and pick up a piece of Ichabod’s pumpkin that he had helpfully dropped right into her foraging egg carton though, and she seemed to enjoy that! So I hold out hope.

[flockdynamics]

Ichabod that’s not FOR you!

[flockdynamics]

Regal —> spiky dragons

[flockdynamics]

Ichabod making a bunch of adorable, weird, nervous little noises because his lady love is out and in his vicinity

[flockdynamics]

Gwen: *asks to be picked up* Ichabod: IS THAT A FOOT WITH WHICH TO SCRATCH ME ARE YOU SHOWING ME AFFECTION PLZ TOUCH MY HEAD

[zarauthforsaken]

Is he "munching" too? XD Cute! ❣️

YOU GUYS I FINALLY DID IT, I FINALLY GOT A VIDEO OF THIS BIG DUMB DOOFUS PRETENDING THAT HE IS ALSO EATING AN ALMOND BECAUSE HIS LADY LOVE HAS ONE AND HE DOESNT WANT TO BE LEFT OUT

POOR CINNAMON ROLL! I love you but this is not a productive use of time!!

[flockdynamics]

Pionus fan club! 

YAY!! Who is she??

[flockdynamics]

This past weekend I went to the STEP UP program with Phoenix Landing in Asheville! It was very fun and informative and I’m excited to try things with my own birds. It also motivated me to finally work on my birds’ cage/area set up, because I saw all the awesome set ups they had there. Anyway here are some of the great birds I met (most of whom are adoptable birds who were given up).

This is Apollo, who is perfect and beautiful (you know I’m a sucker for white-face pieds) even though his cage-mate picked some of his head-feathers out (you can see his cagemate, Marshall, further down). Both were apparently very scared and flighty when they came in, and they were still working on not being afraid, but I love them anyway.

This is Argo, who I think is a permanent resident and not really up for adoption? I never actually asked, but that was the vibe I got. She was very smart (obviously) and I’m pretty sure was laughing at our attempts to train her.

The quakers have their own outdoor aviary with their own apartments!! They live out there all year long. It was pretty cool while I was there, despite it being August, the they were busily starting to collect sticks to build up their winter homes, which I found irrantionally hilarious. I knew they did this, but for some reason it’s still ridiculous to watch a tiny bird carry a big-ass stuck around and cram it into various crates trying to find the right fit.

This is baby bird, my favorite, a very very shy little white cap pionus, who reminded me so much of Gwen when I first got her. I spent most of the weekend just getting her comfortable enough to take a treat from my hand. If I physically had space for another bird right now, I would’ve been so tempted to take her home 😭

This is Paulie (how many blue crowns do we think there are in the world named Paulie? Too many). He reminded me of Moogan, but he was a much better flyer. (You can see Apollo and Marshall here, too.) The little green cheek is named Archie, and apparently I didn’t get any good photos of him outside his cage. He was very sweet and smart though.

This is Pippin, a little bare-eyed ‘too who Jen from My Reading Pets (who was also in the class!) was teaching to read! It was really cool and he was very smart and enthusiastic, though spending time in the cockatoo room made t abundantly clear why I should never own a cockatoo.

And these are Pargo (cape parrot/apparently technically not a cape parrot because apparently there are three species we were calling capes but they’re all different and we don’t actually have any capes in captivity?? I haven’t done the research yet but that’s what I was told. Apparently he’s technically a brown-necked parrot) and Virgil (Meyer’s), who are NOT up for adoption, they belong to one of the trainers who lives in one of the houses on-site. She also has a Senegal and two pionuses! (A blue head and a maximillian.) My kind of flock 😍

[flockdynamics]

Me: *puts some treats in egg carton pieces on the bottom of the pionuses’ cages, for foraging*

Ichabod: *gets it immediately, reliably tears up carton*

Gwen, the one who actually HAS a different cardboard foraging box in her cage that she routinely and immediately tears up: *ignores it. For days.*

Me: *makes an effort to SHOW her that I’m putting treats INTO the carton*

Gwen: ???

Me: *even puts some on TOP of the carton*

Gwen: ??¿?¿

Me: oh for god’s sake. *Finally leaves the carton open so she can see ALL the treats*

Gwen: WHAT THE—there’s FOOD down here!?? Since WHEN