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________________

We meet on the first Tuesday of every month from
7:00-9:00
at the
Serendipity Adult Day Services

on
3550 East 20th Ave

(We love your birds, but please don't bring them to our meetings. We usually have a bird of the month already attending. Thanks!)

Bird of the Month
January 2006

Bodhi, the Regent Parrot
Bodhi is owned by Amy Leeanne Kemp in Wasilla Alaska

Bodhi is a 4 year old Regent Parrot. Regent Parrots are also sometimes called Rockpebblers or Morlock Parrots. He is about 15 inches from the tip of his forehead to the tip of his tail. Rockpebblers are sexually dimorphic, meaning that you can visually tell the males from the females. This difference becomes apparent at about 1 year of age. At hatching, all Rockpebblers look like girls! The males are generally more brightly colored with much more green and red on their heads and bodies than the females, or so I have been told. I have never actually seen a female. They have a life expectancy of approximately 30 years.

Bodhi enjoys a seeded diet that I mix myself from lovebird seed, cockatiel seed, small parrot seed, dried fruits, dried vegetables, niger thistle, and plain shelled crushed nuts. He has a very small bill for his size, and is not able to crush the shells of hard shelled nuts, although he does enjoy eating them. His favorite treats include unsalted unbuttered popcorn and dehydrated cranberries, apples, and cherries. He also loves pomegranate seeds. His favorite cooked foods include Beak Appetite, Kitchen Creations, and Crazy Corn, and he has recently been sampling different varieties of Goldenfeast, which he is warming up to nicely.

Rockpebblers are not noisy birds, nor are they messy when compared to other parrots such as Amazons, Macaws, and Cockatoos. Bodhi is more of a player and less of a shredder, although he enjoys the occasional toy with Kookie Krackers on it. He also likes to destroy bird piñatas filled with his favorite snacks. He is a regular snacking machine.

Bodhi has had 2 previous owners that I know of. His last owner was a boy that went away to school, and though he loved Bodhi very much, he was no longer able to give him the attention that he needed. I knew that I loved Bodhi from the moment that I saw him. He stood on top of his cage and came over to me, and something in his eyes said, "If you take me home and give me some time to warm up to you, I will be your very best friend." It didn't take long for him to adjust to life in my home, and he is one of the very best things that has ever happened to me. He greets me with grumbles and whistles in the morning, whispering into my ear that he's "a pretty boy, a good boy, Momma's boy, give us a treat, love!"

Bodhi's favorite pastimes include admiring his beautiful face in the mirror, tearing apart seed bells and treat sticks, rearranging the strings and strands on his preening toys, ringing bells, blowing kisses, snuggling up to warm necks, and kissing me on the cheek. He says all kinds of endearing phrases; mostly he just praises himself and scolds our dog, a Boston Terrier named Murphy Lee, whom he considers his personal pet.

Bodhi also shares his home with my husband, our two children, and a young male Pacific Parrotlet named D.B. Cooper. Bodhi and D.B. harass each other whenever humanly possible, especially recently. D.B. got a new cage, and while Bodhi's cage has been ordered, it will not arrive for about 6 weeks. It's a point of contention between the two of them. They are very jealous of each other. But my husband and I foster birds that find themselves homeless from time to time until we can connect them with a permanent residence, and Bodhi always embraces the newcomers. He seems to understand that they need a friend and is always curious about someone new.

A Rockpebbler is not the kind of bird that I ever thought that I would form a strong bond with, but if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't trade Bodhi for a million bucks. He is my constant loving gentle companion during the day, and I can't imagine my life without him.

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