Cockatoo

My Rose-Breasted Cockatoo is thirty-one years old and likely to outlive me. He has been with me through divorces, house moves, and bereavements. He screams when I am sad and dances when I am happy. The feather dust is manageable with good filtration. The screaming requires patient neighbours. The lo…

No one warned me how funny cockatoos are. Mine spins dramatically in circles when excited, plays peekaboo with a towel, and does an impression of my mobile phone ringtone that fools me every time. He is also loud, dusty, and entirely too clever for his own good. He has learned to open his cage from …

My Cockatoo is twenty years old and has been with me since she was eight weeks. She knows every member of my family by name, comes when called, and has never once bitten in twenty years of daily interaction. Her screaming is real but manageable with patience and routine. The feather dust requires a …

My Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo was the most intelligent and affectionate pet I have ever owned. She was also incompatible with my new apartment building. I tried everything to manage the noise but after three complaints I had to find her a new home with a retired couple in a rural property. She is thri…

I want to be honest because I see too many cockatoos in rescue. The screaming is not occasional. My bird has contact calls that last twenty minutes and can be heard across the street with all windows closed. My partner now wears ear protection during peak scream periods. She is also loving, clever, …

My Moluccan Cockatoo came to me as a rescue at age twelve and within three months she had decided I was her person. She screams if I leave the room, demands cuddles for hours each day, and raises her crest in pure joy when I come home. The noise is intense and the dust is everywhere, but the love th…

People warn you about cockatoo dust but nothing prepares you for the reality. Every dark surface in my home has a fine white coating within a day of cleaning. My air purifiers run continuously. And I would not change a single thing because my Goffin's Cockatoo is the funniest, most affectionate, mos…

Fifteen years ago I took in a cockatoo whose owner had passed away. She was depressed and feather-plucked and the vets gave a guarded prognosis for her recovery. Today she is fully feathered, screams with enthusiasm every morning, and has her crest up more often than down. Watching a cockatoo heal a…

Before I got my Umbrella Cockatoo I thought the 'velcro bird' label was an exaggeration. It is not. My bird would physically fuse himself to my body if he could. He rides on my shoulder through every household task, screams when I close the bathroom door, and preens my eyebrows every morning with in…