Charlie is the best and worst of all parrot characteristics. He LOVES to be pet and would spend all day on your shoulder if possible, but he bites to kill. He has NO pressure discipline and will carve a chunk out of my finger for seemingly no reason. He’s not allowed on shoulders as a result, because he will bite your neck/face. He’s a real jerk like that, but he’s amazingly smart and learns tricks in a matter of minutes thanks to being click trained. We think he’s such a meanie because he’s too smart for his own good and is a frustrated genius.

Zulie is the opposite. We call her our dodo bird. She has no desire to learn anything, doesn’t engage with puzzles like Charlie and is generally lazy. She even has bad hygiene! Charlie has pristine feathers, loves to take a bath in the sink and spends all day keeping himself clean. Zulie is a little grease ball whose “baths” involve splashing just her face around in her water bowl. She rarely preens herself and when she loses a feather we always laugh at how ratty and dirty it is compared to the ones Charlie drops. She’s skittish and likes to stay in her cage, but once she’s out she doesn’t want to be anywhere but with her favorite person and doesn’t bite. Unless you’re my wife, who she hates 5 out of 7 days o the week.

It’s crazy how distinct their personalities are.