Babe

Babe (Eclectus Roratus Polychloros).

In 1998 we had a beautiful late summer in Dallas. I remember going to visit some friends of a friend and having coffee and small talk. As we were all cheery, I caught a faint cry that sounded like a parrot. I followed the sound to a shed in the back of the yard. I asked them what is the sound and they told me that they have a parrot. I immediately opened the shed and, in a small cage, I saw a medium sized red parrot. There was no food and no water in there. They kept the it in complete darkness. I asked them about it and they told me that they only gave the parrot food and water once every day at a set time so there would be no mess around. I could not believe my ears. I asked them how could they be so cruel to the poor bird and they told me that it screams a lot and they can't deal with it. They asked me if I wanted it and I said yes without thinking twice. I didn't even know what type of parrot it was and neither did they. I left right away and stopped by my regular avian store. The guy there, Ernie, was very knowledgeable when it came to parrots. I found out that she is a female Red Sided Eclectus and Ernie kept saying that she's a babe. That's why I ended up calling her Babe.
Babe came home and, at the time, I only had BooBoo. I realized that it won't work with the two in the apartment. My mother was out of town then so I went over to her house with Babe. While sitting in the backyard, Babe close to me, I had a sudden idea ... an aviary was the solution to my problem. I went to Home Depot and got what I needed and built a 10Wx15Lx10H aviary in my mother's backyard. After I was all done I installed Babe and BooBoo there without even thinking what my mother will say...It was beautiful, all green, and outside. And then, my mother came home after a few days. She thought I had completely lost all my marbles. I introduced her to Babe and it didn't go as well as I planned as she landed this nasty bite on my mom's side that made her faint and sent her into a shaking shock that lasted for hours. My mother said they all have to go or else she'd cut the aviary open. After much convincing, she let me keep it...though I had always had that fear of coming by and the birds being gone. She never did, after all, but I also moved into a house, soon after, and built my own aviary.
In a short time I came to know Babe really well. She is nothing like the macaws. She means business every time. She is a calm, calculated bird with a very innocent look about her. Every time she had a chance, she bit hard. My hands are witness to the many times she gave me her loving kisses. She never screamed like her previous owners told me and she is very dear to us. She is the most unpredictable bird that we care for but she makes up for it in beauty.