Tussy the Canary

A little canary raised by a friend then came to join us after Blackie and like Blackie, he is also a big personality in a small body and lets his wants be known by sitting near a usual spot for a bath or a treat.

A little souvenir hat hanging sideways from a ceiling playground is the favorite spot where we can count on finding Tussy settled down in each night at bedtime. We just reach in & pick him up & put him in his cage. He just keeps hoping that we'll let him stay there.

Tussy was raised by a good friend of mine and handled often as a baby and allowed to fly free in a bird room during the day. It was easy for him to adjust to our home where he spends his evenings flying from favorite spot to favorite spot.

Tussy kept going to the pole lamp to sit near the light bulbs. I worried about him next to those hot bulbs so I'd chase him away over & over again. He kept going back & sometimes the little sneak got there when I wasn't in the room so I finally decided that he must know what he's doing so I let him enjoy himself. He'll suddenly fly away with a little cheep. I know he's gotten hot enuf.

Tussy loves to sit on the windowsill in the evenings when the lights are on...his reflection is in the window & I fancy that he enjoys seeing the little canary there.

April '01 - I just looked & looked all over for Tussy, the canary....he gets to fly around & eat off treat bowls in the evening & then I put the lovebirds in their cages & open his cage door & in he flies. His cage is in a row with the lovebird cages & I used to leave the doors open for them to come & go, but then Trouble the lovebird got fat so I can't let her do food raids in the other cages....anyway, usually if I'm busy & running a bit late, Tussy does a fly-by. He comes flying by & just touches my head lightly. Obviously he knows that if he brings himself to my attention, I'll hop to it and put the lovebirds away & open his cage door so he can go to bed. Tonight he disappeared & didn't show up & I checked all his haunts & couldn't find him. Not on the kitchen windowsill where his reflection shows in the window at night from the light above the sink. Not sitting at the top end of the blinds in the living room. No sign of him. I even took out a spot lighter flashlight & started peeking behind furniture & any place that I could think of where he might be....no Tussy. I knew I hadn't seen him for about a half hour.

Finally I happened to look up at a little wood decorative rack on the wall. My daughter made that in class in high school. Used to be a napping spot for the canaries when I had two of them. I haven't seen Tussy go there in a long time, but there's a little canary nest there.

I looked over & there he was....sitting quietly in the nest, all hunkered down & happy. I looked at him & went to get the camera. That was a dead giveaway...his little neck stretched & he watched me. So I took his picture & then he flew over to his cage & into the open door. I had looked behind the chair that's right under him & he hadn't moved. As long as I didn't look at him, he knew his secret hiding place was safe.

That must be where he was a couple of weeks ago when the same thing happened... that time he just "appeared" & I couldn't figure out where he might have been.

On to the next birdy page!

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Most recent revision March 9th, 2005.