Budgies...

[fajrdrako]

I went today with maaboroshi to the Billings Bridge pet store to get millet for the birds. While there we stopped, of course, to look at the budgies.

There was a nice sleek grey one that caught my eye. "Isn't that one nice-looking," I said. At which point a lively, smaller, green and yellow budgie sidled up in front of the grey one and started showing off. When we admired his navy-blue tail, he turned around and paraded it for us - I think there must be peacock genes in there somewhere. He put on such a show for us that maaboroshi bought him.

He kept peeking out of his box all the way home. What a cute, lively little guy. While maaboroshi waited outside for us to get our groceries, he charmed the passers-by even though he wasn't precisely visible.

When I got home, I went to speak to my own little feathered guys, as I always do. And I couldn't at first see Domino in his cage. I looked around, then noticed his tail, sticking out of his food dish. The food dish is pretty much enclosed: who'd have thought it was big enough to hold a whole budgie?

He didn't move. I gave the seed dish a little shake. He still didn't move. I was worried. Suppose he'd had a heart attack, and fallen into his dish? I took the dish out of the cage and gave him a gentle poke. He opened his eyes and gave me an exasperated look for having wakened him. A guy sleeps peacefully in his dish, bothering no one, and I wake him up for no reason....

So I put him back into the cage, in the dish, still slightly anxious. I've never seen him do this before. Odd behaviour even for a budgie. Every few minutes I went over to the cage to have a look at him. I was relieved when, after 15 minutes or so, the tail moved - he'd changed position. Fifteen minutes after that he was climbing around his perch and chirping happily and lively as ever.

The little devil found a new place to sleep, is all.

And if Wisdom gets hungry while Domino is asleep on top of the food, that's her tough luck.