An Australian Love Story

dbeyat45

Professional Stirrer
Just in case you haven't seen this story before .....

Some years ago a wild Australian Sulphur Crested Cockatoo flew into a car and broke its wing. The motorist took it to the Vet in Nerang, Queensland, who had to amputate the wing. Read on here: http://www.juliusbergh.com/cocky/



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A great read, thanks DB. Having been chased around the kitchen as small child by a love smitten Cockatoo who was insanely jealous of anyone coming near my uncle I can empathise with that person taking pictures on the run. Those things attack like charging rhinos.

It never flew at anyone though, all attacks were at ground level for some reason. It could fly perfectly well, used to ride in the ute out to the mine with him then fly home for the day, and fly back again to be waiting on the ute when his shift ended. He had to cage it if he was going 'out' or his date would be wrecked by a jealous Cockatoo.

They are scary smart, it could pick his ute out of a carpark full of similar ones with no trouble at all and recognized him among the gang emerging from the mine all covered in coal dust to the extent their mothers would have had trouble picking them out. Pity the woman in his life wan't that devoted to him, but that's life.
 
I'm not a bird person but at our local zoo they have a place that you can walk through, there is a name for it, where the birds are caged in. One lady walked up to this big, beautiful white bird and started to pet it. All of a sudden she let out a scream that would have spoiled your buttermilk as the pretty bird took a chunk out of her finger. Nasty bird.......
 

It's a beautiful story DB, i actually saw it on TV a while back and was quite taken with how loyal they are to their partner. My auntie had one and it used to swear at the Italian neighbours over the fence, mind you they were the only ones he swore at. Thanks DB

 
Oooo yeah Pappy! Those things can crack Macadamia nuts that we use a hammer on and I'd never trust one not to crack a finger knuckle the same way. Mum learned that from a 'pet' one we were minding for a hospitalized old neighbour. It flattened and crushed her thumb knuckle and that was the one that years later her R.arthritis started in. We never forgot that particular birdie. The diabolical old bugger would put his head next to the bars and puff his feathers up inviting a head scratch just to lure fingers into striking range. When the neighbour died we rang the zoo to come and pick the Cocky up, we sure as hell weren't going to keep him around. If they hadn't wanted him to help fill a new aviary we'd have gleefully bricked him!

Those people with the wingless one in Qld must have a steel house because a flock of them hanging around will eat out your wooden window frames in no time flat just to pass the time. Even Budgies eat wooden houses, you should have seen the damage one single budgie did to our skirting boards! The cunning little sh*t was chewing on them behind the curtains where it wouldn't be noticed.
 
I thought I might want one of those, but hearing about the damage they can do to humans and houses; maybe not. Wonderful story tho, DB, thanks for that!!!!
 

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