FEATURE
Relations with the other birds The summer following Cybil’s recovery, I decided to let the young Amazons into the large flight, although they were not stick-trained reliably. I reasoned that for Cybil, sunlight and space would be curative. I monitored their reactions to the two cockatoo hens, the two Timnehs and the two Greys. Artha Grey hen and Basil appeared to dislike one another. I did not know that a hen will fight with a cock bird of another species. After a lot of furious wing flapping and shouting they decided to avoid one another’s perches. Basil grew increasingly confident and would chase both greys and cockatoos away. However he’d allow the young blue ringnecks to feed beside him. The two pairs of Amazons after their initial interest ignored one another.
Cybil outside
The summer passed agreeably with one mishap. The electrician, carrying a tool box in Cybil’s flight, left the outer door ajar. Cybil, who had been in the main aviary, spotted the gap, darted through, whizzed past me and landed high in a tree. Les Rance from the Parrot Society was visiting. He advised me to try an old trick - put Basil in a cage and open both external doors. Basil called his mate at the top of his voice (Amazons can yell to wake the dead!) And once we were out of sight, Cybil flew back home. The incident lasted 3 hours. She had looked very beautiful perched in the oak tree.
As the cold increased I fretted over the young Amazons. The shed next to their flight, like the old Amazons shed has a greenhouse heater and
BIRD SCENE 43
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