revised 12/15/2006
Linda's first pet bird during our marriage was a lovely persimmon lacewing cockatiel named Persimmon, better known as Percy. She was given to Linda by a co-worker who knew that she is an animal lover who can't say no to a new pet. Percy was incredibly noisy in the mornings, whistling incessantly. She liked to tug on eyebrows if you got your face close enough to the cage to permit it, but she definitely didn't like for you to put your hand inside her cage or attempt to take her out of the cage. In 2000, Percy developed a fast growing tumor on her wing joint and died, probably of a heart attack, while being treated by our vet, Dr. Brady. Linda waited about 3 months before replacing Percy with an almost identically marked male persimmon lacewing cockatiel who was named Pretty Boy. We decided early on that this one is going to get used to being handled and getting out of his cage from time to time. He seems to enjoy the expanded horizons, but we have to be extra careful to remove the cats because he will take off for a quick spin around the room before crashing in a heap due to his clipped wings inhibiting his ability to stay aloft. He knows the wolf whistle and follows it up by saying "pretty boy". He also does a "hey, you" whistle which he finishes by saying, of course, "hey, you". He has mastered the charge fanfare, after which he squawks "charge". He recently learned to whistle the opening lines to Old McDonald has a farm, but so far refuses to say EIEIO. We're working on teaching him to say "Hello" without accompanying whistle, but he hasn't got it yet. We're thoroughly enjoying having him as a pet.
Besides our lone tame bird, we have lots of other avian visitors to Chez Benbrook. There is a resident flock of white ibis who cruise in to their roosting place near the oxbow lakes in the drainage easement before dark every evening. The lakes also attract greater and lessor blue herons, night herons, white cranes, and assorted ducks from time to time. We also have many cardinals who like to snack from the bird feeder outside the breakfast nook in the mornings. A bunch of hummingbirds have learned that we have three huge hummingbird plants around the pond and in the backyard flower beds, so they stop for several weeks to visit each spring and fall as they migrate through. A noisy flock of crows call the barn roof home during the day and a number of barn owls live in the woods that surround the place. Mockingbirds, jack daws, blue jays, killdeers, sparrows, cuckcoos, pileated woodpeckers, pink spoonbills, robins, cattle egrets, and many other species are seen frequently. It's a birder's paradise around here.