Late at night Shanti likes to snuggle up in my hand, cuddle and coo. I gently massage his head and neck feathers, his beak, and the delicate bones of his skull and jaw. He will close his eyes, flush with warmth and seem to shudder blissfully. And then there's the sweet afterglow—-for me!
Conventional wisdom has it that Greys outgrow the snuggly phase, but I never will. Our bonding infuses me with a rare happiness reminiscent of what it was like to hold and hug my baby daughters. Hannah and Eva also outgrew the unabashed physical intimacy of infancy, but the bond abides forever.
We jokingly call Shanti my nieto (grandson). But is Shanti really like a baby, a puppy or a kitty? No, he’s like a Congo African Grey Parrot. A wild parrot who’s a wild parrot who’s a wild parrot. I love the deep unknowable mystery of his parrotness, as well as the universal, instantaneously recognizable quality of his love.
Video: An African Grey named Ollie cuddling with a young Homo Sapiens.
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beautiful narrative...what an experience!
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