A Parrot in A Poncho

One time my wife and I were at a party with some friends just before Halloween and I noticed they had all these bottles of Coronas on each of the tables with small ponchos on them for decoration. I had a hunch that one of these might be the perfect size for my Eclectus Male Parrot name Oiseau so I snagged one just for him to try on and it was a perfect fit!

My wife and I knew we never wanted kids when we got married and she has a severe allergy to all types of fur and animal hair and I LOVE birds. I told my wife that I had always wanted a parrot, specifically a Cockatoo, but I wanted to find the perfect parrot for our lifestyle so we began exploring the various options as we knew this would likely be a lifetime companion and featherbaby for us with their exceptionally long lifestyles.

I set out looking for a bird with low dander, not too noisy, not too long of a lifespan, between 25-65 years and a bird that was also beautiful and social. I first tried a local toucan breeder and he was very nice and informative about all the species. I fell in love with the toucans and thought that could be perfect for us, but as we were walking around the sanctuary, we both noticed this green bird with a candy corn colored beak calling out to us saying "hello" then saying all these other human words. I inquired as to the breed and that was the first Eclectus I had met!! What a wonderful bird and he hit all the things we were looking for with a 30-40 year lifespan, exceptionally low dander, very quiet compared to most species of hookbills, social and of course gorgeously colored!!

So in 2006 the day after my February 25th birthday I ran across an ad in Craigslist for a baby male that had just hatched that day and that he'd be handraised and ready to go home in a couple months so I left an inquiry. I got a call back from the seller and he told me that he was already talking to several other people about this baby bird, but that my email really had stood out to him because I had asked things more about his dietary needs, social life, whether he'd be happy in a small apartment and things about his health and wellness as opposed to how many words he would say and how often he would breed. After we spoke on the phone he called me back a few days later and said he'd like the baby to go to me when it was ready.

On Memorial Day weekend, we finally brought home our new bundle of joy. My wife wanted to call him "Bird" but I compromised and said that we could call him that, but in French...the name Oiseau after Carmen's Habanera talking about how "love is like a rebellious bird" or "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle." I just knew he'd be a rebel and I was right!

We had three parties that weekend, Saturday, Sunday & Monday for Memorial Day and I guess Baby Oiseau thought this was normal so on Tuesday he was PISSED OFF when we went to work. Fortunately, we worked it out at the office to have a little perch set up for him and he became part of our work environment, a sales floor greeter you might say.

Ever since Oiseau became part of our family he has been included at parties, concerts, car rides, grocery store trips and other errands around the town. He's even sat on stage with me as I performed for several events. He's naturally curious, alert & social. He likes to be right in the middle of whatever is going on!

So although I must admit, he does not particularly wearing clothes, I managed to get that beer poncho around his neck without being destroyed and he's worn it to several fiestas. Once it's is on, he doesn't much mind it at all, but he sure gets a lot of attention. Let me ask you though, where else have you ever seen a parrot in a poncho?