Mr. Macho

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Last night Classy went after Mark again. Mark was replacing the papers in his cage and Class reached out and grabbed his finger. Naturally Mark jerked his hand away, but Classy didn’t let go, so he ended up on the floor. He came running to me as usual, but then wouldn’t step up onto my finger. He must have decided that Mark needed to be punished for knocking him to the floor, so he turned and stalked back to the middle of the room where Mark was. He would have chased Mark around the room, but Mark stood his ground – well, actually kneeled. Anyway, there they were; Classy chirping angrily and trying to land a bite on Mark’s hands, Mark trying to grab Classy’s tail each time he retreated under Gideon’s cage. Gideon, Peeper and Alex sounded as if they were spectators at a boxing match. Alex would alternately exclaim “Oh, God!” or laugh wickedly, while Gid and Peeper were chirping excitedly. After a couple of minutes it was over. Classy again had proven he was the man (bird?).

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Mark and Classy have a strange relationship. They have a Sunday morning ritual; after the birds are fed and showered they all go back to their cages to have breakfast. Classy gets to come downstairs to the kitchen counter for playtime with Mark. I don’t even remember how this started, but it’s been going on for quite a while. They toss a folded high school band program back and forth while Classy tries to bite Mark. (The band program came from my niece’s school concert; it was on the counter one morning and Classy grabbed it and flung it at Mark.) The only thing is, I must stand and observe, if I leave the room Classy immediately starts calling for me or jumps off the counter and runs after me. The whole point of the play and the macho posturing is to show me what a good mate he would be! Once he makes contact with Mark’s skin he puffs up and chirps proudly as if proclaiming himself the winner. Then Mark is dismissed and Classy is ready for me to scratch his head.

Classy has to go to the vet every three months or so to get his beak trimmed; the right side of his bottom beak gets too high and for some unknown reason it doesn’t get worn down. The last time it was trimmed I couldn’t take him, so Mark volunteered. I wasn’t worried about it, I put Classy in his carrier and the vet would take him out, and then return him to the carrier when she was finished. Mark told me that Classy had actually held on to Mark’s finger during the drive, and stepped up for him when they got into the exam room. I guess the situation changes when I’m not around. Classy may look at Mark as a rival, but he also knows Mark is a friend.

Unlike the other birds, Classy likes to ride in the car. Spike actually gets car sick. Classy sees it as an adventure. He is more interested in new things and likes to visit different rooms in the house just to see what’s there. He also likes to look out the window while in the car. He seems more self-assured than the other birds. His previous owner told me she used to take him for rides and he would sit on the steering wheel. I asked her what happened when she had to turn the wheel. She said he just side stepped so he always stayed at the top!

Cathy