Bibi just found nest that's cozy, soft & warm

[kenny]

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Look at that baby smiling with their eyes

 

[kenny]

Doggie love isn't too rare, but birdie love is amazing and deeply rewarding.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

Bird love is as rare as good parenting. Tell us about Bibi. Is she new? Does she preen your head for lice?

 

[finerthings]

She is just adorable! I remember reading a post from you a long time ago when you were having problems with the neighbor's outdoor cat (?) that was outside the window bothering Bibi?? Is everything solved now?

 

[Begonia]

I love that birdy friend of yours.
Flocking A.

 

[AprilBaby]

She is so sweet, how old is she now and how old does her species live?

 

[missy]

Awww she is a very sweet baby.
Animals are the best of us IMO

“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language”

 

[kenny]

ItsMainelyYou: "Look at that baby smiling with their eyes "

Yes.

One of the challenges of turning a pet parrot into a companion parrot is learning their body language and that of their moods and behavior.
Feathers hide any facial expressions, and beaks can't reveal emotion the way lips can.
Unlike many birds conure eyes are surrounded by a ring of skin with no feathers, so can reveal a lot.


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Ibrakeforpossums: Bird love is as rare as good parenting. Tell us about Bibi. Is she new? Does she preen your head for lice?

That makes me think.
Bibi definitely satisfies any trace of parenting instinct I have.
I need to be a very good parront, since my dad was a terrible parent.

I got Bibi 10 yrs ago as a locally hand-fed baby soon after he was weened.
Unlike most baby parrots sold, he was not stolen from a nest in the wild. (Around 80% of those don't live long enough to make it to the pet shop.)

Does he preen us for lice?
Yes but no.
Bibi preens more to remove keratin from newly emerging feathers, than for lice.
Birds can't use their beaks to preen their heads & necks so birds take turns doing that for each other.
Hopefully a person with only one parrot will learn how to do this.
I can do it, but my DH can't get the hang of it.
The bird than takes turns returning the favor around your fingertip and nail. LOL

Birds also preen to "zip up" tiny structures in their feathers so they can fly.
A microscope reveals feathers are made up of zillions of tiny branches with rows of barbs and barbules (hooks to catch an opposing barb) sticking out of both sides.

When the beak "zips up" both sides the combination of zillions of these make the wings strong enough to stay tightly-enough sealed together to withstand the pressure of wings beating against the air.







They preen all day because a bird never knows when they'll suddenly need to flee a predator.
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Stay tuned; more responses later.

 

[CrazyBirdLady]

Yay Bibi's made an appearance!! Look how happy everyone is in that photo. We need more Bibi photos