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| This is Kiwi! He is my first parrot & was hatched April, 2001. He was one of the biggest surprises of my life. I met him at my friend Sue's house. She is the mischevious imp who got me hooked on birds. I was interested in all her big parrots and totally ignored the existence of this little dwarf parrotlet. I thought since he was so small, he must not be too smart. WRONG! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kiwi is a Pacific Parrotlet (or Celestial Parrotlet as he prefers). He is a member of a group of parrots called "dwarf parrots" or "parrotlets". They are the smallest parrots in existence. Kiwi is only 5 inches long, but don't let his diminutive size fool you. His closest living relative is the enormous and intelligent Amazon parrot. Like the Amazons, Kiwi is funny, self possessed, intelligent and talks like a machine gun. When I first heard him talk, you could've knocked me over with one of his feathers! This is his baby photo at about 3 months. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Parrotlets, like Lhasas, are not the bird for everyone. Their tiny size makes them more prone to household accidents, so must be in a household where they are well observed. They can be nippy, which some people simply don't like, and they can have the personality of a tiny Napoleon, which is Kiwi's middle name. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| That was the bad stuff. The good stuff is that Parrotlets are very affectionate, extremely bonded to their owners and as I said can talk up a storm! Kiwi's vocabulary consists of: "Gimme a kiss !" (followed by a convincing smack), "Whatcha doin' K-bird?", "Hi sweetie", "Pretty baby", "I love you" and so on, plus a wide variety of laughter & household sound effects. His favorite place to nap is in Mom's hair. Like an ostrich, he thinks having your head covered means everything! |
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| Kiwi & his pal, Lovey, the lovebird. I guess I should be concerned that all this romance is going on between two guys, but so far Lovey is the only other bird that Kiwi likes, so what's wrong with a little more love in the world! And it is soooooo ADORABLE! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lest you think Kiwi is always mean, here he is laying in my hand. It looks like I am hold him, but I swear I am not. My fingers are just curled. He loves me to pieces as I do him!!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||