Sindbad

Thanks Judy. )

Thank you very much. I hope so too.

Hi Summer. No News yet. I've started to lose hope a bit. I also have been extremely busy and although I printed the posters, I haven't got a chance to go put them in local schools. We are buying our first house and I keep thinking he should have been witnessing the moment with us. Too bad he's not. I thought of buying another grey and at least Sindbad will have a companion when/if he's back. But we've put all our savings in the downpayment and we have to be on tight budget for a few months. Any way, I'll keep you posted. Thanks for asking.

Elementary school. That's a brilliant idea.Thanks a bunch.

Well, I went to the apartment and knocked at the door and a lady opened the door.. I asked about the guy and she told me he'd be there by 12. I told her he was selling me the bird and I asked if I could see it. She was reluctant. When I told her that I'm doubting somebody sold my bird to this guy and I just wanted to make sure it is my bird, she let me in. It is NOT my bird. I feel SOOOOO ASHAAAAMED. I don't know how to make it up for this guy for doubting his integrity. I feel every time I come close to my bird I start from square one again. This is so depressing.

I really appreciate all your advice on the matter. Just to let you know this guy hasn't called me yet and I called him twice and left two messages. He is not a bird lover or a bird owner and he has no stories to share. One of his neighbors told me he's had it for two or three weeks, but they are not sure. But they said that (the words were to me by another neighbor) before I told them when I lost mine. The guy was very defensive in the beginning when I talked to him , and when I told him I would buy it, he answered right away using the same words I used when I talked to him in my lot last week. He said he's family. He is flat out lying about the whole thing. He even said he bought it from Orange County and this is what I told him when I was talking to him (that I live in Orange County). As soon as I mentioned the $1000 he had a big smile on his face and changed his attitude. If we put all the puzzles together we find out that he is a lier. I'm just being careful not to lose my bird and to get assurances so that I'm not relying on hunches. Any way, pray for me.

This is the plan I have been working on since yesterday. I just got worried he didn't call me yesterday after work. But I will call him today and just go check him out. Then I'll make my decisions based on his responses.

I already convinced him that I want to buy the bird for $1000. I'll call him today and see what he says. It's interesting that the kids of the building were playing there and they said his bird was different, and the bird really did not say any of the words he says. That's why I didn't try to open the screen door and get him. Also, all neighbors were already aware I was there and they were watching and I know the area is not very safe. At any rate, I'm trying to control my emotions and think right. I couldn't sleep much over night thinking what the day will reveal. And when I slept for a couple of hours I dreamt that I went to the guy and found out that it was my bird, so I beated the hill out of that guy. It felt so good (although I'm not really an agressive person). hahaha Just wish me luck. I'll also call the cops if I have to.

Yeah, but I didn't wanna do that before I see him and hold him and know for sure it is my bird. But what would the cops do if he insists it is his bord and that he says a few words in Spanish and has no band??

I did a DNA test to check the sex of my parrot a few months ago. I'm wondering if the lab who did it might have the DNA code to prove that a specific bird is my bird. Would they have the DNA code to compare to? Thanks

Hi every one. I just posted an update in a new thread under the topic "What to do to get him back?" Please read it and give me your opinions. Thanks a lot.

Hello every one. It's 1:00 AM and I couldn't sleep. I decided to seek advice. For those of you who are not following my CAG's disappearance story, he flew away on December 23rd, and I have been looking for him ever since then. On December 25 someone called in response to my posters that I put every where and was negotiating the rewards then claimed that was going to look for him and claimed he didn't have him then (although I agreed for the $300 he asked for). Last Friday someone stopped by my dealership and asked if the bird cage was for sale. I had another small cage out in front of the office that I use for my sun conure. I told the guy it was for my bird and it wasn't for sale. Then I asked him which cage and he mentioned he was talking about the big cage. So I told him about my Sindbad and how he flew on the 23rd. He asked how much are those African greys. I told him at least $1000. So he mentioned he had one of them and he was looking for cage because he has smaller cage the size of the cage I have for my sun conure. I told him to keep an eye on my bird which might come to him because of his bird, and I was late for a meeting so I rushed out. As I was driving I played back the conversation that I had with him in a hurry, and I noticed any African grey owner would know how much they are. Otherwise how did he get his. I felt so stupid that I let this guy go like that. but I started looking more closer to the intersection he mentioned to me he lived at. Today right before sunset, I was out walking looking for my bird, and I noticed a guy standing by a house with another guy from the phone company. Apparently he was fixing the cables. I approached them and told them about my bird and said that I would give a reward then I left. In 10 minutes this guy called me and mentioned that where they were standing fixing the cables, they can hear different whistles. I rushed there and kept listenning, but I wasn't sure where the sounds are coming from. So I took some flyers and starting knocking at doors in the few houses and apartments in that area till I came to where the sound was coming from. When I knocked at the door, the neighbor told me there was nobody there. I noticed the door behind the screen was ajar and to my surprise I could see the bird in his cage inside. I called on my bird and I heard the short high piched call that he always made in his first attempts to call me and when I looked the bird was at the top of the cage wall facing me frantically holding the bars, letting the bard with one foot and holding with other then swapping foots as if he is trying to get to me. It was after sunset at that time but I could swear this is my Sindbad. I just didn't know what to do. I kept asking all the neighbors and what I understood from them was that the owner comes from work at 10 PM. They are all Spanish. One neighbor told me where the guy works (in a burger place a few blocks away) so I went there and I wasn't very surprised to see the same guy who came to my dealership last Friday. The guy completely denied every thing and mentioned that this is his bird and not mine and he speaks Spanish, which I'm sure he taught him something. I told him that I wanted to buy the bird. He smiled and said $1000. I said ok. He promised to call me after he finishes work, but he never called. I just wanted to make sure he is my bird. I don't know what to do in the morning. Should I call the cops? The guy mentioned that his bird does not have a closed band, and it makes me sick to think that he tortured Sindbad to break that band. If I call the cops would they be able to help me? What should I do in the morning? Please advise me. I was very emotionally shaken when I saw the reaction of that bird. Of course I can't pay the guy $1000 and reward him for what he did. He told me on Friday that he saw my posters every where. I can't sleep, thinking what I can do tomorrow. Your urgent advice is much appreciated. Good night.

Thanks Summer. I am actually monitoring craigslist on a daily basis.. even a few times a day. May be... you never know.

I don't know!!! I'm afraid that my thoughts that this guy must have taken my bird may be only a hunch that I got out of dispair. I have no evidence and I have no proof. What if he didn't take him? I'll try to retrieve the number from the bill and call him again and see what happens. Sindbad's absence has made me quite depressed most of the time, esp. that I'm starting to have less hope in his return.

Unfortunately no. I'm quite depressed. I'm almost sure that guy who was asking for $300 reward had him. I told him I would pay it, but he said he was gonna look for him. But I'm positive he had him and he wasn't sure I would give him the money because I was really disgusted with him when he asked for more money. He misinterprited it. I called the number a few days ago and someone who does not speak much English answered and said that guy was just using the phone and he would give him the message. I have little hope of finding him now. I don't know where to look. I've been walking around at sunrise, talking to people and giving them flyers, and replacing those poster that were taken off. But I don't know where to go or where to look any more. I found one of his feathers in my office, and I kept it, and another one at home. I keep looking at them and hope I'll get him back one day. I haven't been able to find the ID# that he had on his band. Called the store where he was purchased but they couldn't retrieve it because he was not registered immediately upon purchase on their computer.((

This is very interesting. One of the early words that Sindbad learned was the word that we used to potty train him, "POOP" and he said it in the all the tones I said it to him including that variation with a very strong "P" (where the P is pronounced with a strong explossion/aspiration). Being a linguist by training I wondered how he made a bilabial explossive cononant like the "P" with such clarity. Then he learned the word "up" and said it perfectly. The only explanation I can think of is that they have extra speech organsor may be muscles that allow them to make those sounds. However, I think when they are young, parrots tend to pick simple words made of one or two syllables like Hi or Hello. Sindbad is a year and half and he can only say mono/ bi-syllabic words (Hello, boassa, go up, up, poop). He is tring to produce more complex words but the way he pronounces them make them incomprehensible. May be it's his Parottease. Never heard of this parrot language. I wonder what he was trying to tell me when he uses it. )

I'm already calling as I'm looking, and I don't use the binoculars unless I hear/see something. I was just wondering if calling would help. May be I just need to get there earlier. Will do my best. Thanks every one. Have a good night.

We never had a call and response in this fashion. But I know he responds most to "Boussah" he does not respond in sounds but he rushes to me to give me a kiss and sometimes he repeats the word. Today I got a call from someone who gave me the phone number of a lady who found a parrotin her backyard. I called but she told me that she found a "green" parrot in her backyard and the owner already came and took it back. This means the guy I met yesterday was right when he thought he saw a green parrot, and as such, my beloved Sindbad has not been sighted ever since he was lost. This is really depressing to me. Every time I feel that I got close to him, things get back to sqaure one!!! I also get more concerned the more time goes by without him being at least sighted.

I have been very worried about that. He is definitely hungry. But he survived for a week so far. So he must be doing something to get some food. Most of the fruits that I have seen in the area are palm trees that have very little unripe dates, and citrus trees (lemon, orange, tangerine, etc.) There are probably other trees in different backyards that I cannot see. As for the call, there is no cal per se that he would respond to, but his most frequent word is " boassah boassah boassah" meaning kiss in Arabic. hahaha. And this is what I keep saying all the time while I'm walking. People think I'm either lost or I'm COCO. )

Good morning every one. I'm sorry I haven't been giving you any updates in the last couple of days, but I went back to work and I was also searching for Sindbad before and after work, and in the middle when I could. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find him. Yesterday an animal shelter in Pasaena announced that a CAG was found, and although it's more than 30 miles away from work, I still went to check it out. The poor guy was in terrible condition with most of his feathers picked. Thank God he was not my Sindbad. I would have felt awful. I offered to adopt him if nobody claims him. But here is the real progress. Yesterday after work, I was searching for him and while I was in a Right Aid parking lot calling for him and using my binoculars to check on some trees, a guy that was using the phone booth acroos the street, where I posted one of my flyers, came to me and asked if I was looking for the parrot whose picture was posted. When I told him yes, he told me that he saw him around 2 or 3 in the afternoon in the huge plaza across the street. He said he thought it was a green parrot but when he saw the picture he thought it was my bird.It was around 7:30 then, but I went to that plaza and checked all the trees in there . He wasn't there. Now I have a few questions: 1. Sindbad never responded to me when I talked to him while he was silent. He only looked at me. Would he respond to my calls now? Should focus only on my vision to find him? 2. Sindbad was not good at flying, that's why I didn't want to clip his wing. Particicularly he was not good at landing and many times he missed and hit a wall or the screen. What kind of trees would you think he would be on? Palm trees that are 4 or 5 story high? Or think threes that are full of leaves to cover him? or trees that have bare branches that resemble his perches so that he can stand comfortably and scratch his beak? 3. When I first got Sindbad, he made minimal sounds until he got used to us and the new environment. When I lost him he was making sounds most of the time whenever we were around unless we have him with us on the couch. He stopped making any noise when covered his cage and started the minute we uncovered it and took him out. Would you think he would be making noises nowadays in the wild, or would that be minimal too? What would be the best time you think he would be vocalizing? Thank you very much.

I really appreciate all the encouragement that you all are giving me. God bless you all. Here is a link to my ad on CL. If it's not showing then I have to put another one. May be I should any way. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/for/1523572057.html

Thanks SFsailor and every one. Yesterday I was in the neighborhood around 6:30 AM and I walked calling him along the streets and alleys until 10:30... I got extremely tired and I was not able to see/hear him. I was expecting to at least hear him respond to me. But I also had binoculars with me and used them to check the high palm trees and the distant trees. I went back to my office to rest a bit then coninued out back.. then rest again until 4:30 PM. At that point I was unable to walked at all. I posted an ad in the animal control and at the local Pet Smart store. I have the flyer posted in every corner now. I also nocked at the doors yesterday and talked to the people walking by. Many of the neighbors were not home. the funny thing is what happened in the afternoon. A guy walked into my office and asked about a car in the front (although our retail gate on the main street is closed) so I walked with him to show him the car. When done as I was walking back I noticed Sindbad's fluffy feathers in a specific spot. I told the guy to come back on Monday and I was calling him and investigating for about half an hour. I counted about 16 of the lifht feathers that he sheds (he is molting) in a 6 feet area. He was sitting on the sign and those feathers are on the sign, the fence and the ground. Inside the sign there is a nest of pegeon babies and their mom&dad hanging around. So they might have scared him out of the area. But now I feel so guilty I didn't take his cage there. I just do not have a truck at the moment that would fit the cage, and I thought if I get him another cage it won't be familiar. But I'll try to do that today. On the other hand, someone called me last night and asked about the reward. I told him $100. He said he didn't have Sindbad but he was going to look for him. And he requested $300. I said ok... find him and we'll talk. Otherwise, I'm still waiting for news. As soon as I can walk normally again, I'll go back and continue calling. (I've had 3 surgeries in my ankle and that makes walking for hours very tough for me). Or may be that guy who was gonna look for him will call back for a reward.Wish me luck.

Good morning everybody. I woke up at 1:30 AM with a strong feeling Sindbad is at the dealership at that moment.I was dreaming of him and his whistles were echoing in my ears. I decided to go there very early and could not sleep since then. It's almost 5:30 now and I'm on my way. Wish me luck.

Thank you all. Just have a question. Yesterday in the afternoon when I went to the office to print more flyers, I noticed there was a small feather of his in the lot. The tip was dipped in a small oil drop. I thought this meant that he came to the lot when I was not there. Could a feather stay in the open air for more than 24 hours. I'd feel extremely guilty if he came to the lot and I wasn't there. I had plans for a X-mas vacation. This is why every one was off and the dealership closed. I went to the neighborhood twice and spent over six hours looking for him. But I never thought of sitting there waiting for him. I went back today and looked again on the surrounding trees and called for him. But there was no answer. Any way, tomorrow, I'm nocking on the nighbors' doors. Wish me luck. Good night.

I just came back from Long Beach. Nothing new. I wish I was closer to that area. It's about 30 miles away. There's no way that he may find his way home. I really don't think he is still out there coz he'd be starved to death. Could he be really hiding for more than 2 days? Why? He is my buddy.... He imitates my voice and picks up words from me. I mean there was no reason for him to hide form me. I don't know. I just hope whoever finds him is gentle with him and to return him to me. Tomorrow I'll go nock on doors and ask neighbors about him. Wish me luck. Good night.