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Ernie came home to live with me April 22, 2000. Ironically, this is Cricket's hatch date. Cricket didn't think his pressie was that great when i first unwrapped it. We've only had Ernie 2 days, when i first wrote this, and already they get along better. Ernie is a Dusky Pionus (pionus fuscus) and his hatch date is June 30, 1999. i got Ernie from High Spirits Aviary.

< i'm tiiiired mom! yams are yummy! i like to shovel chunks the size of my head into my mouth! >

here are pages of gratuitous ernie pix!

• The Most Current Gallery of Ernie
  New Internet Tools are nifty. Gallery makes it real easy to upload photos so this is the most current place I put new photos of Ernst.
• TONS OF PHOTOS
  (older photos) i had to put them all somewhere that only people with higher download speeds could handle. this is all photos
• The Chewy Toy
  when ernie discovered this toy it was a Big Hit
• The Monkey
  ernie hangs around and kills a toy
• The Circle
  havent had enough? these are dark, but give a clear impression of how much of a monkey this boy really is
• Dish Diving
  for some reason the boy loves to bathe in his water dish..
• Brave New World
  where no bird has gone before
• The Booda Swing
  someday i'll get a video camera..

here is the Pi Cam

OBSEQUIOUS ODE TO LOVE: a journal

4/25/2k - well if cricket has a journal, why can't ernie, right? he's been here two days. he's more afraid of us than anything around him. the Theory that his first home didn't work out because of the People becomes more and more solidified as i watch how wary of us ernie is. but last night he actually sat still on my lap for about 20 seconds, and this morning it only took one minute instead of four to chase him into stepping up. for only having been with us 48 hours, i think he's come along very well. i've found that the fresh green beans used to tempt him are helping ;]

4/26/2k - the bird was just too dirty! i know, he's still scared of us, but he needed a bath. i managed to get him to step up, and put him on the floor on a perch on a towel, and sprayed him. he was better than i had expect - he didn't actually jump off, at least. it was enough to get him damp, and now he looks so shiny! 5/2/2k - well it's been over a week, now. ernie attempted to get onto cricket's cage. he ran straight for one of cricket's toys and cricket stalked over and snapped at him to chase him off. i'm surprised that 1) cricket didn't actually bite him, apparently, only snapped the air and 2) ernie seems completely unphased by the whole thing. the two are definitely getting used to each other. ernie isn't really used to us yet. he still runs away. but is getting better and lets me scritch him in the morning when he isn't awake yet. 5/31/2k - ernie is settling in well. nothing intimidates him. we bought him this huge toy - 20" long and he just climbs all over it. he continues to be more like a monkey than a bird, hanging from his toys and growling and muttering in his glee. and hes ever so curious. put anything near his cage top and hell try to taste it as soon as you turn your back. cordless phone, new toy.. the other day i leaned into his cage, and felt him up above giving my barette a try. he loves my necklace, too, but im afraid he will crack it so i have to pull it out of his mouth.

7/23/02 - can you say Way Overdue for an Update? yeah, i know. saturday we gave cricket a new home by sending him to arizona. you can read the whole story there. we're not sure how ernie is going to change as a result of being the man of the flock now, but so far he either 1. could not care in the least or 2. expects cricket to return any minute, because so far he's behaved exactly like he always has. well, with the exception that i can spend one on one time at night with ernie without cricket begging and crying out to me from his cage top because cricket is no longer here. and don't think i don't miss cricket (read the page), but i hope this is better for both birds. so i'm going to try to update ernie more often as a consequence, too.

there were more pictures here. but they became so many that they have their own page now. go look!

moving cricket has also necessitated revising the main page, since i no longer have two pi. but i want to keep the Two Pi links and toy links, so i've included them here. hope you enjoy!

4/2/05 - yes it's really been that long. ernie continues to be The Perfect Pionus. he's independant, loving, sweet, funny, gets along with both of us, and still plays and swings like a kid now and then. while a bit more sedentary he does love to kill toys hanging on his Atom now and then. he's almost six and we've had him five years. i can hardly believe it. i don't know how to go into the details of daily life with him around. Ernie T Bird is a great bird.

ernst recently became famous in Russ Shade's fantastic new book The Practical Pionus vol 1: Pet Pionus Parrots. i can not recomment it enough. i also hang out now and then on the new pionus (and other birds) message board at http://www.pionusstrut.com so come on by and say hello!