Not So Angry Birds

I never cared much for birds. They're pretty to look at, but I didn't have the patience to birdwatch, or the interest to learn much more about them. I grew up with city pigeons and seagulls so my memories of birds were as scavengers or disease carriers. I have also been bitten IN the ear (literally on the inside of my ear) by a conure with a hatred for life and a taste for flesh.

As I grew up, moved on and tried new things, but these memories began to solidify into an opinion about birds based solely on previous, primarily negative, experiences and an apathy toward learning anything more. So I thought I didn't like birds; I told people I didn't like birds. I even told outrageous stories about bird attacks to prove that my opinion was valid. Then I met Mambo...my gateway bird.

Mambo and me

I recently started working with birds. I am learning how to take care of them, how to interact with them and am even beginning to learn how to train them. In the process I am overcoming a lifelong and biased fear of my fine feathered friends. I realized (again) that fear is really just a lack of knowledge, and I perpetuated my fear of birds because I didn't try to learn anything about them. I spend much more time around birds these days...lots of birds of shapes, sizes colors and squawks...like Macaws, Meyer's parrots, Lories, parakeets, cockatoos, cockatiels, canaries, budgies...the list goes on.

So far most of them look at me in one of two ways, either as if I am going to eat them, or they are thinking about eating me. Except for Mambo. Mambo is a Meyer's parrot who seems to regard me as neither monster nor morsel, but as a friend.

New discovery...he loves to eat bracelets, which is a suitable alternative to my skin...

Over the past month, I've gotten increasing amounts of courage with Mambo, I started just scratching his head through the cage, then I opened up the door and reached in, and now I pick him up and carry him around on my finger. He laughs, he clucks, he chirps, he nods and we thoroughly enjoy each other's company. He is my gateway bird. Together we create new memories and experiences that will forever change my opinion about birds...