A Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Maria. I don’t think I shared Queenie’s story with you. Unfortunately, he got his name when he was a very young bird. The “tell,” the color of his cere, was pink when I selected him as a companion for Bud, a parakeet that survived two partners (Para and Lacy). Bud became despondent with the loss of his first partner, Para. So I found Lacy, but she came with a congenital condition that affected her health and longevity. When she passed on a few years later, I found Queenie. All my other parakeets were shades of blue. Queenie was gold and green and beautiful. And I thought, female, because of her/his pink-tinged cere. As Queenie matured, his cere turned blue. He survived Bud’s passing with little noticeable sadness, perhaps because Bud was a bit of a bully. But Queenie actually helped feed and groom Bud when he was ill and helped him recover several times before Bud finally passed away after 11 years with me. Queenie knows and eagerly responds to his name, and has heard it in the good night song I have sung to him every evening for years. True, he has a name that may not be viewed as gender appropriate, but he does know he’s special and loved nonetheless. He is intelligent, kind, and very cute. He’s singing along with opera as I type.

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