Sonya

In the spring of 2004, we were living in Bend, Oregon. We had several rescued cockatiel's that we fostered while looking for a forever home. In the spring, after the worse winter weather was behind us, we would put the birds in an outdoor aviary. The cockatiel's would regularly lay eggs in nest boxes and Melanie would rotate the eggs out and return them when we were sure that they were no longer viable. This way, the cockatiel's would run through their nesting cycle, decide that none of the eggs were going to hatch, and then be done trying for the season.

 One late spring day, 8-year-old Aden came into the house and announced that there was a baby cockatiel in one of the nest boxes. We brushed him off, certain that he had mistaken an adult bird for a baby. After a day or two of insisting that he knows "what a baby bird looks like," I finally went out to the aviary and 'Surprise!' there was a week old, fuzzy little baby cockatiel. 

As school was nearly out for the year, Melanie and I decided that it would be a good experience for 10-year-old Ian to hand feed the baby bird (under our guidance) and raise it as a pet. When we pulled Sonya from the nest box, his eyes were not yet open. Through the translucent skin, I could tell that his eyes were red; a sign that Sonya was a Lutino cockatiel, a beautiful mutation where the grey pigmentation is lacking.

Sonya's early years were spent riding around on Ian's shoulders and hanging out with him while he played video games. During the first couple summers, Sonya enjoyed sitting on Ian's shoulder while he rode his bike around the neighborhood. Although we had large parrots around, I don't think Sonya ever quite identified with them and was always more comfortable with people.
  

  In the last few years, especially this past year, Sonya has become a favorite pet to Apollo and Orion bringing hours of laughter, smiles, and memories. Being raised by himself, Sonya never knew he was a bird, let alone a cockatiel. Sonya's favorite color was blue and any inanimate object that was blue in color, was his love interest; He would whistle to and snuggle up to it.
Sonya also loved people, but other birds, even cockatiel's scared the hell out of him.

This past summer, Sonya had what is arguably the best summer of his life (with the exception of his glory days whizzing around the neighborhood on a bike with Ian). Apollo would get Sonya out of his cage religiously every morning, and would spend hours each day with him and Jack-Jack (a female cockatiel, added to the zoo late this spring). Sonya and Jack-Jack ate breakfast and dinner with the boys nearly everyday, even after school started up. Apollo was very intrigued by Sonya's incessant whistling, a repertoire of tunes and patterns that we taught him, and his ability to speak a few phrases. "Here kitty-kitty-kitty" and "Whatcha doing" were his best.

Sonya had been a fairly aggressive and stubborn bird, often whistling enticingly one second then viciously biting your ear the next. If he didn't want off of your shoulder, he would bite your finger while shrieking and trying to defend his territory. We all found it entertaining and with the rest of our zoo to contend with, we never tried to correct the behavior...that is until Apollo took interest in him. Apollo, through compassion, patience, and consistency, turned the little feathered chihuahua into a gentle, pleasant bird. Sonya would call to Apollo in the morning when he saw him coming out the door to retrieve him. You could see Sonya's admiration for Apollo. Apollo was equally fond of Sonya and was always amused by his antics. If birds could smile, I imagine Sonya was smiling as much as Apollo was when he held him. Orion was always a bit timid around Sonya because of his propensity to bite without provocation. Thanks to Apollo's efforts, Sonya became equally kind to Orion and earned a special place in his heart.

As all good things must come to an end, Sonya's life ran its course and his health began to decline. This summer  with Apollo's keen observations and Melanie and my experience with birds, we spotted the tale-tell signs that something was not right with Sonya. Lutino Cockatiels, from years of inbreeding to maintain the desired traits, are not the strongest of mutations and have a markedly shorter lifespan than regular cockatiels. Most cockatiels live 10-15 years but have the ability to live well into their 20's if healthy, even into their 30's on rare occasion. At 13, he was right in the average life expectancy although we had hoped for many more years.

Sonya never suffered, never showed signs of pain of discomfort, not even signs of sickness. He only should signs of aging and a body that was giving out long before his mind was ready. Still, his quality of life was not diminished and his days were filled with love and companionship.  On his final days, Sonya struggled to get to his perches and opted to stay on the bottom of the cage. He spent his last couple days in the house under the watchfulness of Melanie, Apollo and Orion.
Sonya, ate, preened, and whistled. He propped himself up against the side of the cage to settle in for the night. As I was out of town, Melanie sent me a picture of him sitting quietly and comfortably. No labored breathing, no overly ruffled feather, no signs of discomfort; just a bird who's body said, "I'm done". The following morning, at 3:53am on Thursday September 28th, I awoke to a ping from my cell phone. The message from Melanie read: "Sonya is gone" 

Fly free Sonya! Thanks for the love, laughter, and beautiful whistling.  You taught so much. Your silence is felt in our home as well as in our hearts. You are dearly missed.