Goodbye, Elephant Bird; Hello, Mr. Snagglebeak!

For birds that were being given away for free, these guys are sure costing a fortune! Mr. Snagglebeak came home today, sporting a neatly-trimmed beak, a sound pair of feet, and six pages of care and feeding instructions. He's to be kept separate for the next twenty-three days (one private cage--eighty bucks), during which time he's to drink medicated water all day and plain water all night. He's to have plenty of millet, egg, and fruit (another $12), and special extra-nutritious budgie food ($5). Sooner or later, he'll also need a set of custom-built perches (one shudders to think). And next week, he's off back to the vet's for another mite treatment ($50).

Still, I must say I'm pleased with the way he's looking. His face is clearing up nicely, and the dead skin's all come off his feet and legs. His beak's still looking a bit brittle, but I expect it'll grow back soon enough. Best of all, he's making a lot more noise than he used to do. Well, best of all from a health point of view, any road. I'm afraid the peace of the Rat's Nest's been shattered forever. Dawn to dusk, these days, it's nothing but pawks and screeches. They're little fellows, but if you X-rayed one, it'd be all lungs in there, and maybe a tiny megaphone.

Let me explain about the noises budgies make. They aren't like crows or gulls, with their occasional loud bursts of croaking. They're not like canaries, either, with their delicate peeps and warbles. Budgies have two settings: a low, constant burbling, and a loud, angry screech. Sometimes, it's nothing but burbling for hours on end. Quite pleasant, really. You can almost forget they're there. Other times, they argue amongst themselves, and that's where the screeching comes in. One bird turns to another sitting next to it, and peeps in its ear. The bepeeped bird retaliates, raising the volume a little. Pecking ensues, and with the pecking comes squealing.

"Bik-bik-bik-bik-bik!" (Peck.)

Oh, yeah? Well, "BIK-BIK-BIK-BIK-BEAKETY-WHEEEEEE!" (Peck-PECK!)

You wanna? You wanna? "Bikkety-WHEEP-WHEEP-WHEEP-WHEEP-SKEEEEEE!" (Peck-peck-KICK!)

And on, and on, until one gets tired and flies away. This can take a surprisingly long time to happen. They have incredible glottal stamina. I'm hoping the large cage I've ordered will help curb their aggressive tendencies. I want to see one bird sat in each corner, burbling quietly to itself. None of this pushy-pushy behaviour. None of this hens-against-cocks nonsense. Poor Mr. Yellow has been getting quite the treatment, all on his own in there. It'll be nice when Mr. Snagglebeak can join him for moral support. It's terribly sad--ever since he's come home, he's been all bunched up in one corner of his cage, staring forlornly at the other birds. They chirp little greetings through the bars, but it's just not enough. They need physical affection. In spite of their occasional tiffs, they're all very close. They're always rubbing their faces together and feeding one another. (Curiously, it's the two females that do this most frequently. I always thought the face-rubbing and beak-vomiting behaviours were associated with mating, but apparently not. Either that, or they're a little confused. Or I'm confused. I think there are two males and two females, but I'm hardly an expert on these things.)