even a little door leading into it from the flight. Like the old Amazons they never entered willingly. The heater burned uselessly. However both looked well when spring arrived. I followed Les Rance’s advice to increasing amounts fed of sunflower seeds in cold weather and decrease them once it warmed up.
Cybil’s gift to me
Last winter Cybil relented enough to take a monkey nut from my hand. Never any question of a step up onto the hand. However Basil renewed his behaviour flying easily to a stick for a nut. Both Amazons would fly to and perch on the training perch for the nut. I began to hold the stick at right angles. Cybil would gingerly place one claw onto the stick, grab the nut and fly off. Little by little, she desensitised to the stick and by May was perching on the stick and even flying the length of the aviary to land on it and grab her nut. As the weather was warm, the aviary birds had sunflower seeds
44 BIRD SCENE
removed from their diet. Was this the spur that Cybil needed to overcome her distrust of me?
From my notes August 14 A fantastic breakthrough today! Both birds have been flying to perch on cue and flying to a stick with almost 100% accuracy. Today I asked them to fly to my hand. Cybil did so three times and flew off with a nut. On the fourth time she stayed on my hand to eat the nut. I left it there. Her body language is snatch rather than relaxed. Basil will fly to stick but NOT fly to hand. The best he does was put one claw on palm. So peculiar that shy Cybil will perch on the hand but Basil refuses. Friday August 21st 09 One week after Cybil flew for the first time to my palm from perch, she has done so again at least twice a day for monkey nut. But it is not a confirmed behaviour. The feel of her warm claws on my palm is like a present each time she does it. I know she’s not tense
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