Complete Psittacine by Eb Cravens
Two of our young fledgling Yellow-fronted Amazons escaped their 20ft aviary on a Saturday morning through a loose wire feeding door. The little hen primly flew back to my shoulder that same evening at feeding time, but the boy had obviously ventured further afield than our farm, and we could not establish any contact call with him. Such a long period of quiet is not abnormal since lots of parrots when out in nature for the first time will maintain a fascinated silence in the nearby trees.
We were lucky this time. We put up a sign at the entrance to our agricultural subdivision and received a call the fifth morning from a nice lady who said he was hanging out in her backyard trees. Seed bottle in hand, carry cage at the ready, April and I zoomed the Honda down a few blocks and there our male parrot was, screaming his 7:00 a.m. screeches in hopes of locating his flock, hungry as a stray cat, just begging to be offered our rattly evening seed bottle and his morning nutmeats.
A few short minutes later, he had climbed upside-down towards us to a clear flight path in the brush and flapped his wet way to my shoulder. It had been raining like the monsoons for the past two nights. Welcome home buddy! We were so relieved to have him back safe, and slept far better that night. Still, I cannot, but feel happy for his escapade in the wilds now that it was over.