In 1991, we found this bird in Sonoma, California. She was near death. After nursing her back to health, she stayed with us. We believe she is quite old. We thought she was old in 1991!

We named her Fermion. She is very special. She is not like any other bird we have ever had. Jim says she is going to live forever.

We don't clip any of our birds. We let them fly around. This photo is from our old house. Fermion used to love to sit on the curtain header and watch over all the computers.

We have: 4 Cockatiels, 2 big Conures, and one Dwarf Conure.

Fermion loves to be around people. She used to sit here on the edge of my desk and look out into the garden.

She would watch the little birdies outside all day. All the birds have cages, but they like to sit ON them rather than in them.

Every single item in my office had at least one corner that was all chewed up. She used to go through a magazine a day.

We have been in our new house a little over a year, and every once in a while, I still pull out a file or a document that has a cockatiel signature on it!

In this new house, all seven birds live in one beautiful room. The big Conures are screened off in their own section.

Fermion and the other Cockatiels live on their cages that sit on a large platform that goes across the room.

All of them can look out the huge windows down to the street. They think they are sitting in a big tree.

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This guy's name is Boson. We kept him because Fermion was lonely. He was very young. He had to watch Fermion to learn how to do everything. He didn't even know how to take a bath. He used to do every single thing that she did.

He talked the first night we had him, but he sounded like a CB radio. We taught him a few songs, but he made up all kinds of stuff to go in the songs. He loves Fermion and the mirror.

Boson loves Fermion and shares the top of the cages with her. He flies really well and used to fly all over the old house. All the birds like to stay in the new room. They think they will miss out on something if they leave. He flies right to my shoulder when I walk in. He likes his head scratched.

Boson is a big show-off. He definitely likes being the alpha male. He used to hang upside down off the curtains and spread every feather out. Then he would let go, just miss the desk and the floor, then zoom up to the top of the vaulted ceiling.

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He's my little cutie-pie. He has HUGE feet. If he could, he would just sit on my shoulder all day and say, "Pet my head, pet my head, pet my head!" He's afraid of black hats and anything red. He wakes up first and you can hear him siiiinging away in his dark room, waiting for us to open the shutters.

The next ones we got were Mongo & Sparky. Here they are stuck to each other like glue. They rarely leave each other's sides.

They came from our friend Bliss. She rescues all kinds of animals and thought we might take care of them for a while.

Sparky is on the left, and Mongo is on the right here.

They are very loud. They are Conures.

I think Sparky is at least 30 years old. Mongo must be around 12-15 years old.

Sparky is *really* bossy. She tells everyone when it is time to go to sleep. They have shutters in their room, and we must shut them very tight or Sparky will shriek until we do.

Things they hate: Strangers and Dalmatian dogs outside.

Mongo & Sparky now live in one section of the bird room that is screened off. Their large cage is inside. They climb in and out of it, but where they really like to sit is above their door. Jim put up all kinds of ramps, ropes, toys & perches for them to climb on.

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Here's Mongo on a light fixture. In the old house, he and Sparky used to come out and watch TV with us.

They are a lot nicer out of their cage. They would be a little bit timid outside. Once back in their room, they were pretty mean.

Mongo talks a lot and likes to remind us that he is a "Good Boy". He likes to say "Nite, nite", "Hello" when the phone rings, and "Peanut!"

In the morning or late at night, he will whisper. It's funny.

This is Sparky looking nice. She is usually pretty mean and grouchy. You can't really get anywhere near her because she bites hard and has a super sharp beak.

Mongo looks after her very closely. Mo one is allowed to touch Sparky or he will attack. He's not kidding when he attacks. No one touches the Sparky.

This is a perfect photo of them. They love each other a whole bunch. They are best friends.

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We took care of Igor for a couple of months. Mongo and Sparky used to fly out to Igor's cage for closer look.

We used to think Mongo & Sparky were big, but compared here, they look small!

Our friend Bliss has had Igor since an egg. Igor is 23 years old now. Bliss never knew if Igor was a boy or girl, and just called him a good boy.

We let Igor go all over our house. She decided that she wanted to make a nest out of carpet under a chair. We were going to replace the carpet, so we let her.

One evening she started screaming. Jim took her in his arms and out popped her first egg!! She was so scared, she had never done that before!

Igor became Igora, but all of us call her a him or her, Igor or Igora, depending on mood.

Igora loved Jim. She used to roll around on the floor with him. She likes to laugh. She loves all kinds of snacks. If you are eating anything around her, you must give her something or she will let out piercing screams. This bird says some really funny things.

For example, one day I was sweeping around her cage when she yelled, "Bye bye bird poop!"

Igor loves trucks!! Jim was cleaning his out and she got in. We had a really tough time getting her out. She runs away and hangs on when you try and pull her out.

Bliss used to put her on the back of the seat in her truck. When she went into the store, Igor would get on the steering wheel.

This is Teelee Bird. He was rescued from a lab. One of his wings is permanently damaged so he can't fly very well. He really prefers to stay IN his cage. He has never known anything else.

His cage door is always open, but the only time he gets out is if he gets scared and flies. Then he will just sit on the floor until someone comes and picks him up. He's quiet.

Teelee Bird is positively obsessed with Fermion. He looks up all day at her. She sits on top of his cage. If she goes over to the window perch, or plays with Boson, he cries.

In the new room with everyone in it, he will cry if any bird leaves. We always know if anyone is doing something they are not supposed to because he is the room monitor.

This is Coconut, or Coco as he is for short. He lived in a household that got a dog. The dog kept getting to the bird so he lives with us now.

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Coco can fly as good as Boson, but he stays in his cage about half the time because he picks on the other birds.

He copies all the songs that Boson sings then will start singing back to Boson, much louder to cover him up. He's in love with an office chair and white Gold Toe socks.

This is Daisy. She is a Dusky Headed Dwarf Conure. She is pretty special too.

She came to us from one of our rescue contacts. She has tons and tons of energy and really HAS to be out with people every day. She needs a LOT of attention.

We had her about 6 months and did not have room for her in the old house. We found a great home for her, but were very sad when she left.

We missed her very much and kept in contact with the new family. When they told us it had become too much for them, we took her back and were thrilled she was back with us.

We have so much room now and Daisy loves her new room. Before she did not want to be with other birds- people only! That was hard to give her enough attention. Now she will play in the bird room and is ok with all the others.

I think she now guesses she may be a bird too.

She really likes to get out and play. She's one of those birds that loves to tunnel under the covers or under your shirt. She is very cuddly and fun to play with. She doesn't mind being handled.

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Daisy likes to play with water bottle caps. If I need to work and she is screeching, I put about 50 of them in her cage and that keeps her busy for hours.

She doesn't sleep anywhere near as much as the other birds and needs a lot of toys and things to do.

The thing she really hates is phones. She not only does not like the ring, but if you pick one up while she is on you, she attacks and bites. She doesn't like anything that beeps either. Daisy is very high strung and demands lots of attention.

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