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Simon doesn't talk yet, but I can't wait to hear what his first word will be!

I remember bawling my eyes out one morning when I was walking to work and came across a dead duck in the middle of the road, while his mate sat sadly a few feet away. Broke my heart. They mate for life.

Such a happy bird! As for Youtube videos, I totally agree about turning off the TV/radio if at all possible. I don't even own a TV, so my birds and I aren't used to constant background noise. However I have noticed that both Simon and Kazoo are more likely to experiment with sound if a)I'm out of the room and b)there's music playing.

My Amazon escaped a couple of times when she lived in her original home. They lived in the country. She went way up high in a tree, and want to come back down, but she was afraid to. They'd call her and she'd call them, but she wouldn't come down and they couldn't go up that high. So finally what they did was put together a whole bunch of copper pipes (he worked in the trade, so there were lots lying around) into a long wobbly stick-like contraption. Then he rattled that thing around below her, in the leaves, and she got scared and flew down. I think I've heard too that you shouldn't stand at the base of the tree your bird is in. You should stand back, so he's got a more gradual descent if he tries to fly to you. He's more likely to risk an easier angle than straight down!

He probably won't travel during the night, so I think I'd be there at the crack of dawn. (I really hope this is it! Good luck!)

Hi Karen. Welcome! I think Sam will relax more with time. When I adopted Kazoo, my Amazon, she was 13 years old. She wasn't an especially fearful bird, but it took her months to fully relax and learn to trust us. Parrots have long lifespans - they can afford to take their time getting used to new people, places and things. (Unlike fruit flies, for example, who can't waste a second since have to squeeze all their living into a single day.) Just let him learn to trust you by consistently being gentle and kind towards him and others. I think you will feel greatly privileged when he starts giving you his trust, a little bit at a time, since he doesn't give it easily.

I love the name Gracie Bee!

I love that Brutus said "I love Pancho."

I like Bob.

The biggest surprise for me was that What You See is NOT What You Get. Birds change! I guess I assumed my birds wouldn't change much. I got the first one (a lovebird) when he was a baby who just wanted to nestle. Then I got the second one (a 13-year-old Amazon) and after a month or two, I was thinking "Wow, this is SO much easier than I expected." She was no trouble at all. She was so well behaved, and a real sweetheart. So I took the plunge and put a deposit down on a baby Grey. Not long after that, the Amazon got a little more comfortable and started letting her true colors show. That's when she started flying around and eating moldings and wrecking my house. The lovebird, meanwhile, had blossomed into a smart, stubborn, crafty little pain-in-the-butt. Now Simon the Grey is here, and he's a real sweetheart and very well-behaved. But now I know that'll all change as he gets older. Before long it'll be like having three winged toddlers!

If I had three wishes, I'd use one of them to bring Murphy back home to you.

She's lovely! It's funny, when I first started hanging around here, I couldn't understand why everybody wanted to see pictures of new greys all the time. After all, they all look pretty much the same. But the more pictures I see, the more I realize they all look a little different. Your baby is absolutely adorable.

There's a lot of change going on in all your lives right now...a lot of change and a lot of stress. I agree with Dan - considering the circumstances, Stewie's adjusting and coping very well. I wish the best for all three of you - your dad with his health, you with your new caretaking responsibilities, and Stewie with adjusting to change. It's got to be a big adjustment for you, too, suddenly having your dad and Stewie moving into your apartment. I think it's great that you made the time to seek us out for help in understanding and communicating with Stewie.

I LOVE happy endings! She sounds like a wonderful bird and I'm so relieved to hear she's pulled through and is back to her happy healthy self.

I can't see the two different colored eyes, but he's very bright eyed and beautiful.

They're adorable. I love their bright little tails.

Good for you for taking her to the vet.

You're off to a great start. Congratulations! We need pictures of those mismatched eyes!

He's obviously a well-loved and loving bird. You're both very lucky to have found each other.

I'm so happy to hear she's so much improved! You saved her! (Too bad you can't get your $2200 back...but at least you still have Betsy.)

Oh man, I totally sympathize with how frustrated and upset you're feeling. You're doing everything you can to save your bird, and the vets are doing practically nothing but robbing you. Keep doing what you can for her. I hope she rallies - you both deserve it. Maybe you should switch out of medical school and into vet school. Obviously there's a need for competent and compassionate avian vets in your area.

Oh, I feel terrible for you. Obviously you're trying to do everything in your power for your bird, but unscrupulous vets keep taking your money and doing nothing useful for your bird. I think it might be a good idea to move her cage from that room for a couple of days. Even if you can't smell it, maybe the chemicals are lingering in small doses. Also, it's got to be stressful trying to find an avian vet when your bird is sick. If she makes it through this challenge, be sure to invest some time in tracking down a good vet for next time. My dog was on Metacam as an anti-inflammatory for his arthritic pain. I hope it helps your bird.

I hesitate to suggest this, since I'm relatively new here and I don't want to come across as someone who comes barging in with a bunch of ideas for how to change things. (Or worse, someone who doesn't appreciate a little fun...) But. Here goes. The way I navigate the site, is I go to Forums, and then click on What's New. Lately, there seems to be more new posts in the Game Room than anywhere else, so that's what's dominating the What's New area. To me, the games posts tend to proliferate like clutter. I'd never suggest getting rid of them, but is there a way to configure the board so that they don't appear in the What's New section? In other words, to play the games, you'd have to actually go to the Games area of the forum? And the What's New section could just contain all the new bird-related posts? Again, it's just an idea. I don't know if it's feasible, or if it would even be desirable to others.

My three are pretty good about bedtime. I only cover the lovebird because he'll stay up all night otherwise.

I understand what you mean about the not knowing, Paul. Your mind just turns the possibilities over and over, exploring each one repeatedly, and making up new ones all the time. It's like a form of self-torture, but you can't stop. I know it's hard, but try to stay focused on the positive - he's out there, he's alive, he's fending for himself, he's surviving, lots of people are keeping an eye out for him, and every now and then someone spots him. There's a good chance you'll get him back. I was talking to a woman here in Canada whose Grey escaped last winter. She was making dinner, and the smoke detector went off and scared the bird, just as her husband arrived home from work. The bird flew out the door. They searched all night, knowing the poor Grey could never survive a whole night outside in the Canadian winter. They found his frozen body the next day, on top of a garage, just nine houses up the street. I'm telling you this sad story because it highlights some of the things Murphy has going for him - a comfortable climate and bountiful food. Mother Nature is on his side!