...but are quick to give credit to their kitchen helpers.

Koby

 

Goffin's cockatoos, on the other hand, are featured in the latest Cirque du Soleil presentation, "The Long Yellow Chain."

Bailey Bean

 

Cockatoos are bossy, scene-stealing princesses. A cockatoo can swing on a chain; an African grey can design a better, stronger chain. Bailey passed away in 2007. When parrots die, their humans refer to it as "going over the Rainbow Bridge."

Bailey Bean

 

Greys can be employed as home alarm systems at a reasonable cost. This is Koby's sentry post. From this position, he sounds an alarm when people wearing baseball caps walk past his home. He also is able to detect the arrival of the mail carrier.

Koby

 

This is Koby, about to destroy the neighbors' cat, Oscar, by using his mathematical skills. One roaming, unskilled cat + one sharp-as-an-Xacto-blade beak, wielded by a Zorro-fast avian = large blood loss.

Koby

 

Can your golden retriever or black lab do this?

Koby

 

...or this?

This is Koby's "stand-in." He lives with people from one of the African grey chatrooms.

 

...or this?

This is Koby's "stand-in." He lives with people from one of the African grey chatrooms.

 

...or this?

This is Koby's "stand-in," Sid. Sid lives in Northern California.

 

I didn't think so. Some dogs, however, are almost as smart, fun, and interesting as birds. Buster, the perfect canine, relaxes at home. Buster passed away in 2005.

Buster, world's most perfect dog

 

Cats no longer control the market on curiosity. Koby is conducting environmental exploration and will soon compile a report to appear in "The Scientific Avian" magazine.

Koby

 

Ooops! What happened to the refined grey feathers? This is Simon "I'm-NOT-an-African-grey" Rhymin'. Hatched July '04, this dude's an eating machine. Simon is a Solomon Island eclectus.   Simon was named after an African grey parrot from Europe who passed away many years ago.

Simon

 

Rhymin' Simon had his first visit to an avian vet in June. Here he is patiently waiting his turn.

Simon

 

This is not a parrot's version of a spa visit. This is how avian vets normally handle parrots when they are checking vital signs, etc.

Elyse & R. Mohan, Ph.D., DVM, MS

 

Look! What a cool surprise. If you bring an Eclectus to this vet's office, you get to leave with a big, expensive hyacinth macaw!

Hyacinth macaw and blue & gold macaw

 

This is a joke. What a person leaves an avian vet's office with is a max'd-out credit card, and the same totally cool parrot they walked in with.

Simon

 

This, however, is not a joke: Parrots are messy eaters and refuse to use napkins. Simon says it all.

Simon

 

Family portrait: Three seconds before Koby lunged over and tried to bite Simon's toe.

Simon & Koby

 

In 2007, a new parrot arrived: Rudy, another African grey. She was completely plucked when she came here in January. By November, she was feathered, feisty, and fabulous. Rudy loves spa visits. Here she awaits an aloe spray.

Rudy

 

Our family is growing!

Koby -- Simon -- Rudy

 

And Koby has found a new game: "Ride the Spoon."

Koby