I am deeply saddened by the loss of my beloved black-headed caique, Chuck. I hope most of you who read this haven't experienced this kind of loss...because it REALLY hurts. I was out of town when it happened and Sunday night I got a call I have dreaded for the 17+ years since I took Chuck out of the nest when he was 3 weeks old. My neighbor came in to check on him and found him. The necropsy revealed absolutely nothing wrong with this healthy, happy, loving creature and we came to the conclusion that he probably choked. This bird had more personality than many people I know. He was so full of life! He just wasn’t afraid of anything. One minute he was like a bad little two year old boy, always getting into trouble, the next minute he would be cuddling up under my neck and letting me rub his body for hours. I could not believe how loving the little guy was. A complete and total love sponge.
His companion, my eclectus Murphy Green, seems to be holding up very well. I feel like he probably knows what happened since his cage is right next to Chuck's. The interesting thing is that he hasn't uttered Chuck's name once this whole week....and before this, he would constantly call out "Chuck!" and scold him when he did something wrong. I do wonder what is going on inside his gorgeous green head. All I know is that he is getting LOTS of loving and seems to be enjoying every minute of it.
Chuck led an absolutely fantastic life and was as loved as any companion parrot could be. I will miss him soooooo much but am comforted knowing that Chuck and Alex are up in Birdie heaven wreaking havoc and kicking butt. God Bless them both.
