VIDEO: Budgerigar Hatchlings In The Nest Box - May 20, 2016

This is Boingo and Princess' current, little budgie family. Princess stepped out of the nest box momentarily, so I seized the opportunity to record. Two-week-old Birdzilla (compared to its siblings) is calling for mom to return with takeout. Translated loosely, it's, "Don't forget the millet. Make it a double helping. Add a large side salad, easy on the radicchio."

Or the bird could just be saying, "Ma. Ma. Ma. Ma, etc."

This video was recorded on May 20, 2016, at around 8:00 p.m.

Bill And Coo: An Old Expression That's For The (Love)Birds

Zuzu and Boris bill and coo in an extra-comfy corner of their cozy cage.

You've probably seen your budgies do it a million times: put their beaks together affectionately and chirp softly, as if whispering sweet nothings. But I bet you didn't know that the act has a name. It's called "billing and cooing."

According to Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary, the first usage of "bill and coo" dates to 1816. Today's equivalent is the much less charming "canoodle," a word so inane and devoid of romance that it sounds like it were invented by Chef Boyardee.

Karloff and Chaney bill and coo during a late-night cage liner cleaning.

Examples of "bill and coo" usage in literature include:

"She has shown a disposition to bill and coo from the first."

- "Lessons in Life, For All Who Will Read Them" by T. S. Arthur, 1851

"I'm no duenna, whose business it is to watch lovers billing and cooing."

- "The Man Who Laughs" by Victor Hugo, 1869

Princess and Clooney were billing and cooing, until interrupted by a paparazzo.

"Elderly people came to stay for pleasant recreation and quiet enjoyment; younger people to 'bill and coo' and dance."

- "The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts" by George W. Holley, 1882

"I say, Anna, there's not going to be any billing and cooing or anything of that sort."

- "Aladdin of London" by Sir Max Pemberton, 1907

"They had no other occupation than to bill and coo all day long."

- "The Surprises of Life" by Georges Clemenceau, 1920

The budgie at left looks like a fifth wheel, while the two at right bill and coo.

And here's a funny, classic wordplay example of usage of the expression in film:

"Aw, if we could find a little bungalow... Of course, I know we could find one, but maybe the people wouldn't get out. But if we could find a nice, little, empty bungalow just for me and you — where we could bill and coo — no, we could bull and cow."

- Groucho Marx (to Margaret Dumont) in "The Coconuts," 1929

An odd duck and an old bird billing, cooing and sapping — I mean sipping.
(Photo courtesy of Dr. Macro)

Chirps Translated: "I Want My Mama!"

Even though mama is right outside the nest box opening, this brand new budgie can't wait for her return. Less than one day after hatching, the agitated and surprisingly-energetic baby bird is trying to stand and go to her. Hold your horses, little fellow. You're supposed to be exhausted after coming out of your shell. Besides, your mother will be back soon.

Six days have passed since the recording of this video and the chick is considerably larger now. Its rate of growth, in barely one week's time, is remarkable.

The budgie chick on May 15, 2016, less than one week old.

Another photo taken on May 15, 2016.

May 12, 2016.

May 11, 2016.

Found In The Street, Brought To The Shelter — A Handsome Budgie Boy Is Adopted

Pet Profile:

Bluie Armstrong, a male blue American budgerigar, is happy in his forever home.

Bluie Armstrong is a cool cat who just happens to be a budgie. At least, that's what it says on his Twitter page (@BluieArmstrong). He wasn't discovered in Birdland but on PetFinder.com. Someone found him, cold and thin, wandering near a major intersection. They brought the lost pet to Rancho Cucamonga (California) Animal Care Services. When no one came forth to claim the keet, the shelter listed him for adoption.

The hopeful new owner arrived prepared, with travel cage and cover in hand. Adopting Bluie involved a meet and greet with the shelter animal and staff, the completion of a questionnaire and adoption form, and payment of a $10 fee. Part of the funds collected are used to offset the cost of food and care, during the time the animal is housed at the facility. Bluie was examined by the shelter's veterinarian and found to be in good health. But the domestic bird was still underweight, after fending for himself outdoors.

Once home, in no time flat, Bluie began filling out. He went from looking somewhat scruffy to becoming a strikingly-handsome, poised budgerigar. He has seven step-budgie brothers and sisters, a pretty girlfriend named Zuzu, plenty of toys and clean, healthy food and water. Most of all, he has a warm, safe home and human parents who love him. He will never be alone and hungry again.

And, yes, Bluie Armstrong is a music lover. So, it appears he was named aptly.

A music-loving keet, Bluie enjoys the sounds of his own Birdland.

It's A Budgie Chick!

Mama Princess helped her new baby break free of its shell. If all goes well, three more eggs will be hatching during the next several days.

The first egg from Princess and Boingo's spring clutch has hatched! With mommie's help, the tiny, pink, wobbly bean broke its way into the world.

I was lucky enough to grab a photo of the brand new baby. Although it's very tired and helpless, the little darling is chirping, making its arrival known with the sweetest, softest, highest-pitched peeps you've ever heard.

I'm in love! Congratulations, mommy and daddy. Now, your work begins.

A closer look at the new hatchling.

Princess & Boingo: The Devoted Parents-To-Be

Have you ever seen a more enthusiastic budgerigar cock than Boingo? For an old bird, he is certainly full of vim and vigor! It's as though he can't wait for his and Princess' eggs to hatch. I think he's forgotten how much work fatherhood was, the last time.

How It Began

FINE, FEATHERED GRANDKIDS: The babies from Princess and Boingo's first clutch brought the number of budgies in my flock up from five to nine. Pictured (L to R) are: Isabel (who might actually be a male), Guacamole, Happy Periwinkle and Hoho.

No one starts out intending to become a "crazy budgie person." I bought my first budgerigar at age 16; and, like most bird owners, started with just one. When free of genetic defects and cared for properly, budgies can live for more than a decade. So, for most of my life, I've had only singles or one pair at a time. But then, something happened.

I acquired my mother's extremely smart male budgie Scooter, after a stroke left her unable to care for him, sadly. This gave me an odd number of birds. So, I bought a friend for the friend. But the odd bird didn't particularly like the new bird, and the new bird felt left out. So, I needed yet another companion. In my search for an older bird, I discovered rescue sites. There were budgies out there — many of them — in need of homes. Surely, I could take one more. After all, they're small. And they're so very cute.

I created a tiny flock, a family. They became my delightfully mischievous, feathered kids — part of my family. Anyone who's ever loved a pet of any kind knows how easily and unconditionally they fill your heart. Budgies aren't any different. One look and they're in.

Then, last winter, I became a "budgie nonna" for the first time. As hard as it is to believe, in more than 40 years, I'd never had a hen lay a viable egg. But, last Christmas, my little half-English budgie Princess went to town. She laid nine eggs, rejected five and hatched four. I had five birds previously (because my sweet Boris, a senior, had passed recently) and Princess' adorable, little babies brought my total to nine. Now, she's laying more.

I vowed that I would not part with my first clutch of "grandkids." I adore them all and both of their parents (the father's name is Boingo) are up there in budgie years. And their aunt Spooky, a white, clear-winged hen that reminds me of a little ghost, is approaching her later years also. But I must be practical. Princess is getting better at motherhood. If she lays nine more eggs and they all go to term, I don't have the time nor the space for 18 budgies. So, I will be adopting out most or all of the new clutch to loving forever homes.

If you live in or within driving distance of Los Angeles County, California's South Bay area, and are interested in adopting one or more hand-raised budgies, please follow this blog and message me. I will be creating a budgie adoption form very soon. I want these coming baby birds to go to good homes where they'll be loved and cared for properly, and given the attention they deserve. I will be selecting owners from the applications I receive.

This is what they look like now. Those tiny eggs have miracles inside.

PRINCESS AND BOINGO'S SECOND CLUTCH: So far, there are four.