Bird 61

Bird 61
Gender: suspect Male
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown (see note below)

Bird 61 is one of the Second-order birds. They all have their own things. Bird 61's thing is being very aggressive. If you put your hand anywhere near his water or food dish, he will poke his head out and try to bite you. It took him a while to learn to jump into the pitcher to be weighed because he would bite the edge of it and flap at it. (He still does sometimes.)

When the birds bite, they do not break your skin. They may leave red marks that go away fairly quickly, and they go for the sensitive areas like the small web between fingers, so it can be annoying, but their beaks are not strong enough to draw blood.

Their claws are another story. They may scratch you in an attempt to free themselves from your hold. I don't believe they have ever caused any sort of gash, but they will leave marks like you would get from brushing by a thorny bush - nothing serious.

So, if this hasn't scared you off, and you like your bird with a little "personality," Bird 61 may be your bird!

A little note about possible partners. Bird 61 has been placed in a cage with two open cages next to it. Bird 59 (whose preferred partner, Bird 51, is less accessible since he is participating in a masters thesis project) frequently goes to sit in one of the cages next to him. All of the birds listed as preferred partners are free. It is possible these are second choices to ones who are still in experiments and therefore cannot roam freely. But I feel it is still important to list birds that get along well so that they may be placed beside each other or in pairs when they are not being trained to do something. They need their own cages when their food is controlled or else they will get aggressive with each other.