Jubilee and Liberty are now 2 ½ years old. Their behavior is quite different from the time they were 10 month old birds (see previous article). Although they are both quite affectionate towards me, it is expressed in different ways today. Let's go through a very "normal" day for these birds.

WAKING UP

Morning starts at a time that depends on how dark it is outside. During the winter, it is often 8 or 9 o'clock A.M. before they decide Mommy has to get up. In the summer, they often start calling me at 5:30 A.M. or whenever sunrise occurs.

Jubilee uses her back and forth "let me out" dance at the bottom of the cage while loudly calling me. If that doesn't work to her satisfaction, she has learned that imitating a "night panic--wing flapping" event will get me up in a hurry. She must be one smart bird to have learned this trick to getting a quick response to her desire to get out of the cage.

Liberty is much more laid back about getting up in the morning. He normally waits until he sees me moving around before giving a chirp to let me know he wants out of the cage. Once I get up, Liberty frequently greets me with "Good Morning" as I take the cover off the front of their flight cage.

MORNING ROUTINES

Our day starts with a birdie breakfast of "sprouted seed" and/or "bloomin' bites". They also have access to a mineral block and a lava rock. Breakfast takes place at the computer stand where I spend two hours every morning receiving light treatment for my Seasonal Affective Disorder. (SAD-a mood disorder caused by too little sunlight; usually limited to people living in northern climates.)

Liberty likes to "sun" himself right next to my lamp while Jubilee puts at least a keyboard's length between her and the light fixture. I've learned that red-eyed cockatiels are very sensitive to light. This explains the differences in how close the birds want to be to any bright light or even the front window.

Liberty and Jubilee stay quite close to me all morning. If I even start to move to another location, they quickly fly to me. These birds supervise me for most of my morning chores. Needless to say, this can be difficult with a bird firmly perched on top of your head or attached to your finger or hand. If I have the audacity to turn the vacuum cleaner on, Liberty jumps right down in front of it and tries to defend his home from this alien invader. It is very clear he doesn't like this particular sound or piece of equipment.

>Another favorite late morning routine is Jubilee's shower. I often watch the daily "Beverly Hillbillies" shows on TV Land. The birds seem to enjoy the show's theme song. It is obvious they are watching the show because they turn their heads towards it.

This often becomes Jubilee's bath time if I offer her some water in a white or clear plastic bowl. If the bowl is any other color, she acts afraid of it. The bath starts when she hops up on the bowl's edge and cocks her head to study the water. Then she jumps in and takes a good drink. Some time is spent just walking around in the bowl while her breast feathers soak up water. If she tries tipping sideways in the bowl to get her wings wet, I offer her a spray with the mist bottle. She obviously likes this because she lifts her wings and looks under them and then back at me as if trying to tell me "spray here too". When she is done, she gives herself a good shake just like a dog, and gets on my hand or arm to start preening herself.

AFTERNOON ROUTINES

Afternoon is nap time. Sometimes they still insist on being attached to me or at least very close to me. Jubilee has taken to sitting on my computer keyboard or chair arm while I answer email or watch TV. Liberty prefers my shoulder or the top of my head.

Other times, Liberty flies to his window perch (piece of grapewood over the terrarium or the edge of the planter holding a miniature Date Palm) to look out the window. He'll sit there taking a nap, preening, and doing his daily vocabulary practice. Jubilee seems afraid to get too close to this window-I've never figured out why.

Foraging for the millet spray I keep in my planters of Sansevierias is another favorite activity. It's fun to watch them fly to the planter together and then spending a half hour or so contentedly munching on millet. Other times they prefer their wooden "clothes-rack playground" that has toys hung on the perches and a hanging basket containing millet spray or other bird treats.

LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING

Liberty decides when it is "bedtime". Jubilee is expected to just follow his lead. He has a distinct "nite nite" call he makes until I figure out what he is trying to tell me. He typically does this call from the top of my head and doesn't stop it until I finally say "Do you want to go nite nite? Then he pops down to my shoulder and starts grinding his beak to await their ride to the cage. (Their cage is kept in my bedroom.)

His requests to go "nite nite" come as early as 1:30 in the afternoon or wait until much later. This appears related to how cloudy it is outside our living room window. This reminds me of just how dependent birds are on light levels outside. It doesn't matter that I keep "sunlight quality lights" on in the living room all day.

AFTERNOON MEALTIME

They normally eat a good meal before going to the cage for bedtime. This meal is the same as their breakfast. They get most of their bird seed when in their cage for the night. Sometimes, I'll serve them a small quantity in a white plastic ashtray. Of course, when I eat, they look the plate over carefully and let me know if they want to sample it too. Among their favorite human foods are salsa, green beans, and pieces of turkey or chicken. They do NOT get human foods on a daily basis.

LATE EVENING CUDDLE TIME/SNACK TIME

The birds often call me to come get them out of their cage after they have slept for 3-4 hours. We have a short cuddle session while I watch TV and they eat a late night snack. Then back to bed they go. Isn't this sounding just like toddlers that have to have a drink of water or something to eat after you thought they were in bed for the night?

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