Reggie is a Lesser Jardine parrot, or technically and more exactly, a Poicephalus gulielmi fantiensis . The word Poicephalus comes from two Greek words meaning different head , since all the members of this genus have heads of a different color than the main body. Gulielmi is from the name of the discoverer of the specie, Sir William Jardine - Gulielmi means "of William" in Latin. And fantiensis is the name of the subspecies, one of three.
Reggie is a very curious, rambunctious, and inquisitive little parrot. She expects to be involved in everything we do. If not, she complains loudly - and she can be really obnoxious with those high-pitch shrills. Like most Jardines, Reggie is very strong-willed and full of what many J's parents call "Jattitude"; when she gets something into that sweet green-and-orange mind of hers, she has to do it. It is not a coincidence we nicknamed her "diavoletto", which in Italian (my mother tongue) means "little rascal". But she can also be the sweetest, most cuddly baby ever. She is very independent and interested in exploring the world. But there are times when all she wants is to be tickled, standing on my shoulder, leaning against my chest, or hiding under a towel on my shoulder. She even takes naps under there. I guess it feels warm and cozy! Sometimes, when we leave for trips, we board her at the vet or with a birdie-expert friend. When we come back, what a display! She jumps around happy to see us and for a day or two she becomes a real Velcro bird, always wanting to be with us, craving contact with our skin. She does not let go of our finger not even to get food or to play with a toy.
When we are home, Reggie stays out of her cage all the time. Her wings are clipped (just the flight feathers) for her safety. When we go to work, she stays in her cage playing with her toys, preening, taking a nap, looking at the birdies outside the window (we have several wild bird feeders outside her window), and listening to the radio (classical music). Her cage is roomy, full of toys which we rotate periodically to keep her intrigued. At first, she is afraid of new toys but we gradually introduce them to her and watch her play to make sure they are safe. She is an exceptional baby, and her curiosity and sense of adventure always prevails over her fears of new toys. Contrary to most parrots (who are often one-person pets), she is equally bonded to my husband and I. When I come home, I make a point to go first thing up to her cage to say hello to her. She is waiting for me, and regurgitates food to show me she is happy to see me.
A parrot's diet is composed of 80% pellets and 20% fresh food. Reggie eats Harrison's pellets as recommended by her doctor. Her favorite "people" foods are peanuts, pasta, and baked sweet potatoes. Yum! She will drop a sweet potato for pasta and bread, but will drop everything else for a peanut! Nuts are given to her with parsimony because they are very high in fat. Reggie does not eat any seeds as a general rule, but occasionally we give her a few roasted pumpkin seeds as a special treat. She shares all our meals, and it is a riot to see her roaming around on the dinner table stealing morsels out of our plates. When you live to eat, every meal is an event.
Reggie sees a certified avian vet on a regular basis. We are lucky to live nearby an excellent one, Dr. Rose Ann Fiskett, a leading expert on parrots. Since birdies hide their illness (a flock instinct) until they are very, very sick, we have taken every possible precaution to prevent diseases and keep our baby healthy. We have installed air filters and purifiers in our house to avoid diseases (such as aspergillosis, to which Jardines are prone) through inhalation of dust-carried spores. We clean her room and the whole house scrubbing surfaces and bath-tubes with disinfectants as often as possible.
Reggie now has a little brother, Opie, a Cape parrot.
This is our baby photo album. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we do, and watch it grow as we post more pictures in the next several years.
NOTE: Parrots can make the most amazing companions, but only if you can provide for all their emotional and physical needs. We did A LOT of research before we decided to adopt Reggie. Learning about parrots before you get one is the only way to avoid being miserable - and being responsible for ruining the parrot's life. Read this for some thoughts.
Reggie at 4 months (first day at home)
Reggie at 5 to 8 months
