Playing with the big boys

Oboe, my little lovebird, gets to come downstairs and hang out with the big birds and me a couple times each day, while Duncan’s outside. He doesn’t waste a second of that time.

I’m convinced that lovebirds are the border collies of the bird world. They’re active, agile, energetic, cheerful and clever, and they’re always a step ahead of everybody else.

Oboe acts like a bratty little brother. He’s small and fast and he teases the big birds, flying circles around them and divebombing them. Then when they’re really pissed off and ready to bite his pesky little head off, he taunts them a bit more. They snap, and he lets them almost get him – he’s always just a fraction of an inch beyond their beak, just barely out of range.

Sometimes he even stands on top of Simon’s cage, with his back turned to Simon, whistling nonchalantly while giving Simon a chance to catch up with him and get even. Poor Simon is a great big baby, and he’s clumsy. He lumbers across the cage as fast as he can, just so he can bite that brat, and then, at the very last instant, just as he lunges for him, Oboe ducks out of the way.

It’s kind of like Charlie Brown and the football.

I believe Oboe really likes the big birds, and just wants to be friends with them. But for his own safety, he has to train them first. He has to establish dominance over them, because he’s so small. He has to convince them that there’s no point attacking him, since he will always beat them. This is why he bites their toes, too – to show them who’s boss.

He works on them every single day, one of them at a time, cycling back and forth between them every couple of minutes. He even finds time to bug me too. He wants me to pay attention to him, so he nips my fingers to make me stop typing.

He can read us all like books. He knows when it’s safe to work on developing his friendship with Kazoo or Simon, instead of his domination. Sometimes, after harassing them mercilessly for half an hour, he helps them with a task they’re working on, like breaking into the bag of peanuts, or getting a toy out of a bag. Sometimes he cuddles up right against Simon, while Simon nibbles on a toy. I haven’t managed to get a picture of this yet.

Anyway. I think lovebirds are underrated. If you want a smart little bird with a sense of humour and a lot of chutzpah, maybe you should consider a lovebird.