I have received loud criticism for the amount of face time Kady and Sophie have been receiving in the blog from my other pet, Taira, who feels left out since he believes he has seniority. (He is correct: I've had him 18 years, whereas Kady has been with me 11 years and Sophie 9.) Last week's catbird blog was the last straw. This week,Taira gets his props.
Taira is a Noble/Hahn's Macaw (Diopsittaca [Ara] nobilis nobilis, a.k.a., Red-shouldered Macaw). This is the smallest species of macaw, rather smaller than an American Robin. Nonetheless, he terrorizes the cats, and in his superiority therefore feels entitled to have his mug in the cat blog. So here he is, scamming some OJ at the breakfast table (click to enlarge).
Be sure to check out the latest blog carnivals featuring the pets, birds, insects, and writings here in bootstrap analysis and its sister blog, Urban Dragon Hunters, and the rest of the blogosphere. They are the Skeptic's Circle, the eighth edition hosted this time around at Pharyngula. The Modulator's Friday Ark is always a good source for a look at a wide assortment of evolution's organisms, great and small. For thought-provoking science writing, make The Tangled Bank a habit; the last edition was at Buridan's Ass.
I knew Hahn's were small, but I didn't know they were THAT small! Very handsome fellow.
Posted by: Sunidesus | 13 May 2005 at 01:02 PM
He's a beauty. He's probably a tad larger than my half moon, which, I believe, is the smallest type of conure.
Posted by: Susan | 13 May 2005 at 02:01 PM
I enjoy Hahn's macaws because they are rather opinionated birds, although their pursuit of affection seems to win over their inherent skepticism (or so I've found). How does Taira get along with your cats?
Posted by: GrrlScientist | 14 May 2005 at 01:38 PM
The cats are afraid (Kady) or cautiously curious (Sophie) of Taira. He's completely fearless of them, and has even taken a chunk of fur out of Kady. He is really a one-person bird, although he'll hang out with my husband if he's offering food. He also likes to hang out in closed dresser drawers (Taira, not my husband!) -- his strangest habit.
Posted by: Nuthatch | 14 May 2005 at 02:03 PM
Wow I agree about them being small! Its seldom you see a photo with objects to compare to the parrots.
Posted by: Andrew | 12 June 2006 at 07:30 PM