An Eckie and Humans

Many breeds of parrot bond to only one person and look out anyone else who thinks they'll be allowed to touch them, or even the human they're bonded too. Quaker parrots, for example, act like old fuddy-duddies who mutter unintelligible words to themselves and look really cute, but they'll scold and bite anyone they're not bonded to.  People think that because they're small and cute, they'd make the perfect pet for a child, but only if the child is going to spend a lot of time doing everything for them.

People shy away from Eclectus parrots for the same reason they shy away from large dogs- because they're big and often come with a higher price tag, and a bigger beak. It's not always a case of the bigger the bird, the smaller the hassle, since budgies are generally more easy going, and some big birds can be nasty. However, I would, and have, left Cosmo alone in a room with my children.

Eckies are one of the few breeds (if not the only one) who bond to every member of the family. Although Cosmo does tend to get a bit mean with my husband during spring-time, he'll go to any of us, sit on our shoulders and let us scratch him under the wings. He'll let us all feed him and he seems more than happy to poo on us all. In fact, he's happy to poo on pretty much anyone.

A woman came to our house once, wanting to buy a hand-raised cockatiel. She was very taken with Cosmo, so I let him out of his cage. He flew straight to her shoulder, let her scratch him and then pooed all down the back of her shirt and shorts. She bought two cockatiels, perhaps he was just a good judge of character. 

Cosmo can be loud and he can be pushy. He loves to stand on my chest so I can't see the tv past his big, green head, and blow me raspberries when I complain. He's constantly asking, "Did you poo?" Or "What's that?" He's also the most gentle creature you could meet. 

Maybe not all Eckies are as gentle or tolerant as Cosmo. Perhaps it was because he was brought up with kindness that he gives that back to us. He's certainly made our lives a lot more interesting and a lot more fun!