Iris the White Cap

Iris came to us almost by accident. I had rarely ever come across pionus for sale in Massachusetts and was surprised to see one in the Want Ads one night. I mentioned this one the Pionus Chat Board (the BEST place to get pionus related information) and said that the asking price was $800, so they knew he wouldn't be going home with me. A veterinary student who was taking part in the chat board e-mailed me saying that she didn't know I was looking for another pionus (I wasn't), but there was one at the Animal Hospital where she worked who was in need of a good home. She was planning to bring it home to Connecticut with her for a weekend visit, did I want to come down and meet her? I said I did.

The little bird's name was Eyas. She had been hatched in Texas and was sold over the internet to a man in New York. She was shipped unweaned, and her new owner, not being up to the task, brought her to the vet's to have her finish off the job. When the baby was finally weaned, the vet called the owner, who told her that he had decided that he wasn't a bird person after all and no longer wanted her.

The vet kept the baby with her as she grew, bringing her to Philadelphia when she moved. I think Eyas might have been the office mascot - she speaks clearly, "answers" the phone ("Hello?") and generally loves to watch whatever activity is going on. She was almost 6 years old when she came to us in May, 2002.

Iris rapidly became everybody's favorite bird. This caused a fair amount of jealousy among the resident birds, and only one of them (Rowdy) doesn't chase her. Iris loves to sit in the window and monitor the neighborhood. If someone she knows comes up the walk, she says, "Hello!" If a stranger comes, she calls out "Look out! Look out!" It's like having a watch bird. She also enjoys going into social situations, visiting schools and camps as I go to talk about exotic birds.