Missy the parrot appears on our menu (in picture form rather than as a dish!). She’s also featured here on the website in a lovely graphic by Daff Illustration and even makes an appearance, in parrot, at The Art House from time to time.
Missy is Jani and Bik’s companion animal.
She is a rescue, of course, as we don’t think buying animals from breeders is a great idea.
The first question anyone asks about Missy is ‘does she talk?’ – as this is what parrots are most famous for. Whilst she does choose to say a few things, she mostly likes to whistle, imitate car alarms and sirens, learn the calls of other birds and blow raspberries (Missy is a very rude bird).
Missy is a Congo African Grey parrot and likes monkeynuts, swinging upside down, mariachi music and doing owl impersonations.
As genetically wild birds, parrots do not make ideal house ‘pets’. They are messy and noisy, and altogether very difficult to look after well. As a result, they are are often passed from home to home, or develop behavioural problems due to poor care. The truth of the matter is that Missy belongs in the jungle with a huge flock of other parrots, but as a captive bred bird this is not possible for her – so she is given the very best possible care by her human flock.
She also has two smaller parrot “friends” in the form of Barney and Cuthbert, Ziggy’s adopted companion birds.
Although budgies are smaller, their care is every bit as complicated and they also often end up in rescues, as these two did.
For more information on parrot care and training, visit Greg Glendell‘s website.
If you are considering adopting a parrot, visit here. Local rescue St Francis also sometimes has parrots for adoption and is where Barney and Cuthbert came from.
