My Pet Bird "Charlie, the Cockatiel"

My Cockatiel Charlie

I got Charlie just after Christmas, 2005 from a friend's mom who couldn't take care of her anymore. At the time, I thought Charlie was a male Cockatiel, however, last summer, "he" laid an egg and I realized that "he" was a "she".

Charlie is my second Cockatiel. My first one, named "Q" (from Star Trek), was one that I raised from a few weeks old, so he was very friendly and let me handle him more. Unfortunately Charlie is still somewhat afraid of me and will not let me scratch her neck. I hate that! This is one thing that I loved doing with Q. If you have any advice or tips to help Charlie adjust to me better, please contact me and let me know.

I've taken lots of pictures of Charlie, but never had a chance to post them on my website. Below are a few pictures I took on New Years Day, 2008.

Enjoy the pictures! Click the thumbnails to enlarge.

Charlie Cleaning her feet

Charlie Cleaning her feet on top of the cage. I believe that the original caretakers of Charlie (not my friend's mom) abused or mis-handled Charlie, so she is a rather skiddish bird. The only way to get her out of her cage is to take the top off and let her climb to the top.

Does Charlie want to fly?

Does Charlie want to fly? I'm not sure what she's doing here, but it's part of her cleaning routine.

Time for a neck scratch

Charlie thinks, "I think it's time for a neck scratch..." Charlie does not let me scratch her neck, so she uses the cage top instead.

Hmm, how about upside down?

Charlie thinks, "Hmm, how about upside down?"

Ahhhhhhhhh that's the spot!

"Ahhhhhhhhh that's the spot!"

OK! Stop taking my picture now.

"OK, you can stop taking pictures now!" This is when I know Charlie's done with the photo shoot.