...here to stay, is the new bird...

We got a new bird last weekend. Its a moluccan cockatoo. He's 15, and gently used. (he had some feather picking problems, and his legs are bare) Meg has wanted one since she was a little girl and her family's moluccan died very prematurely. he's a big bird, twice as large as charlie, our amazon. This will be the last bird we get for a while.

The birds' (new) name is Sherman, meg pronounces it "charmin". his age and previous owners mean that there will be an adjustment period. he is hand shy around his face, but is okay with scratching and petting. he leans in and touches his beak to your mouth, "cockatoo kisses" this is an unusual and pretty common behavior among certain species of cockatoo. getting him on your arm was tricky for a few days. and clipping his nails was a bloody and messy endeavor that took 2 different days. but we are settling in, and he is a very calm and quiet bird if a bit nervous of the new surroundings. (he isn't aggressive toward the dog, which is good cause they're about the same size)