ISSN 1492-8132
Issue 110, © 2004
No reprints without permission

Our CD of Robirda's canaries singing consists of 12 16-bit true-stereo tracks, each averaging almost 5 minutes long, for a total of 58 minutes and 48 seconds of canary songs.

You can hear a 10 second mp3 sample here. Listen carefully, and you will be able to hear the different positions of each bird!

One customer told us, "Received the CD! Man can they sing! Hope our American Singer will sound half as good! Thank you."

Learn more here!

The folks at Bird & Cage aim to provide birdkeepers with a great selection of good quality cages and birdcage accessories for great prices, and their customers agree.

A recent customer comments, "I received the cages and they are beautiful...they look just like the picture on your web site. I was pleased to see them shipped so promptly, especially at Christmas time when mails are usually slower. Thank you so much..."

Find out for yourself by visiting BirdandCage.com.

This is an interesting site with some good info and pictures of the lovely little Fife canary in Australia. Most of the pictures don't credit the photographer, but whoever it is took some excellent shots. There's plenty of articles and tips here, too, so take some time to look around, you just might decide you'd like a Fife of your own - and who could blame you?

****Send us your stories of how your birds confuse and puzzle, interest and amuse you, and we will share them with the rest of our readers in a future issue. Just send an email here.

Do you know of a great bird site which deserves a review? Maybe you have a favourite tip or trick that you like to use, or know of a product that has made your bird's life better or easier to manage in some way? Why not share them with other Flock readers? Send your ideas here.

We rely on you to help keep this publication and its associated websites alive. If you find help you need in this ezine or on our websites, please consider joining our sponsors.

Read testimonials or find more details on sponsorships. If you're looking for something different, check our home page for links to all our great products and services!

Our next issue is due Jan 2nd, 2005. We hope you and your birds stay safe, well and happy in the meantime, we look forward to seeing you all next year! 

Robirda
Kelowna, BC
Dec 19, 2004

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

Hello! Welcome to Flock Talk's 110th issue. Subscribe and unsubscribe information for the email version of this ezine is at the bottom of this webpage.

Table of Contents

Feature Story

Many cultures around the world celebrate midwinter, in one fashion or another. Often these traditions include telling stories of mystery and magic, and at Flock Talk we've adopted this tradition for our own. This is our fourth midwinter tale, and it seems appropriate that it's a story of life, death, and the rebirth of hope.

by R C McDonald
www.robirda.com
Copyright © 2004

The long hot afternoon shadows were beginning to stretch out from under the baking midday sun, and there had been a feeling of emptiness around him for quite some time now. Andy sighed, lifing his head, and looked around the graveyard, confirming that he was, finally, alone in his grief. Several of his friends had hung around after the end of the funeral, wanting to help, but when it became clear that he wanted nothing more than to stand silent and withdrawn by Lilla's grave, one by one they had trickled away.

He wondered vaguely why everything still felt so distant. It wasn't as if Lilla's death had come as a surprise, after all - she had been sick for so long, and in many ways, her death was a relief, bringing an end to the pain she had suffered so patiently. Through it all, she had always found a way to lighten his heart and brighten his days, as she had done from the first day he had met her, and once again he found himself wondering how on earth he was ever going to manage without her.

His mind veered from that thought, unwilling to follow it any further. Looking around again, he realized that the sun was close to setting, and while he might like to, he couldn't stay here by her grave all night. The caretakers would be here soon, wanting to close and lock the gates for the night. Best he leave before they arrived, or he would have to deal with yet another round of well-meant commiserations and homely platitudes.

Home. His mind shied away from that thought, too. He wasn't sure if he could face the emptiness he knew it would hold. But there was nowhere else to go, and so he slowly trudged towards his car, trying not to realize that all he was doing was delaying the inevitable.

Abstracted, trying to think of anything but where he was going, he wasn't really paying much attention to anything except the tops of his shoes, when he suddenly became aware that a small green-and-yellow body had plummeted to the pavement directly in front of him.

It was a small bird, panting as if it had flown so far it couldn't remember a time when it wasn't flying, and as he watched, it spread its wings a little as if trying to fly again. It was plainly too weak to do so, however, and instead tilted a little on the hot pavement, laying there in his shadow as if it had found the only refuge it could conceive of.

Andy blinked down at the little thing, feeling bemused. True, he'd wanted a distraction, but he certainly hadn't expected birds to start throwing themselves out of the sky at his feet! He leaned over a little, examining the bird more closely. It didn't look quite like any wild bird he'd ever seen, and he thought it must be somebody's escaped pet canary. Best see if he could find the owner, but first things first - this little bird looked like it badly needed some water, right now.

He bent over and picked it up, half expecting that it would try to get away, but it just lay there panting, its bright black eyes fixed on him. He cupped his hand around it and picked it up, and, far from struggling to get away, it settled itself there, as if onto a familiar perch.

It showed no inclination to leave his hand, and so he began walking across the lot to the reception building. If he remembered correctly, there was a tap around the side, and as he rounded the corner of the building, he found his memory had not misled him - the tap was there, just as he'd thought.

He turned the water on and let it run a little, while the bird stirred in his palm and gaped as it heard the sound of the water. Cupping his hand, he filled his palm with water and held it beside his other hand, expecting the bird to take a sip.

What actually happened was that his little green-and-yellow guest flipped to his feet, and dived into the tiny pool of water in his hand! Surprised, he almost dropped it, then used his other hand to trickle some more water over the little thing, standing bemused as it began to bathe in his palm.

"Well, that clinches it, there's no way you're wild!" he told it, then began wandering back towards his car, wondering if his sudden guest would fly away now that it had gotten some water.

He chuckled to himself now, thinking back on that day. That had been just after the midsummer solstice, and now it was almost midwinter. Charlie, as he had named his unexpected little guest, had willingly accompanied him home, and had quite effectively turned his life unside down. Many a time since he'd wondered just what would have happened to him after Lilla's death, if it hadn't been for Charlie's precipitate arrival.

He thought most likely he would have fallen into the grand funk to beat all grand funks. He hadn't wanted to do anything, but having Charlie around had forced him to keep going, at least enough to see that he got the basics done; cage, food, water.

All efforts to find Charlie's previous owner had failed, but Andy didn't have to guess much about what was needed. Somebody had taken great care in taming Charlie, and he was very good at clearly expressing his needs and wants. Charlie had his own strict ideas on how things were supposed to be, and let Andy know in no uncertain terms when he wanted something.

Andy winced a little as he recalled having gotten a bit too drunk one night when a friend suggested a quick beer after work. One drink had led to another, and it was late before he had staggered home.

Of course the next morning he'd overslept, but not for long! When he didn't show up at the usual time to pull off the cage cover, Charlie cut loose with a shrill, high-pitched call guaranteed to wake the dead. It went through Andy's aching head like a pitchfork through a heap of hay; but it got Andy up and out the door in time for work.

That was how everything always seemed to happen, with Charlie around - no matter how annoying he could be (and sometimes that was very annoying indeed), good things always happened when he paid attention to what Charlie was trying to communicate. It was almost like he had his own little feathered angel watching over him!

Speaking of angels, there went the little guy now, singing like a whole choir of angels. Andy had let him out for some play-time when he'd gotten home from work, as he'd gotten into the habit of doing, and Charlie was standing on the windowsill beside the Christmas tree, singing to the late afternoon sky. Sunset was staining the world a rainbow of vivid colours, and Andy nodded to himself, sipping his tea and relaxing after a long hard day.

It felt so good just to sit here and listen to Charlie, and idly he wondered what Lilla would've thought of the little guy. It was too bad she'd never had the chance to meet him - he had the idea she would have found him a kindred soul, as full of song and passion as she was.

His thoughts drifted on as Charlie sang, and his head nodded. Then a gentle hand descended on his shoulder, and his head snapped up.

"Lilla! But...what...but you...I must be dreaming," he stuttered, his brain feeling numb. He felt a rush of joy just to see her, looking as beautiful and healthy as she'd been when he had first met her. Yes, that must be it - he was dreaming.

"Hush love, I don't have long," she smiled at him, "and I want you to hear this. I am happy now, and I want you to be happy too. What good was our life together, if you are going to stop living just because I am not beside you any more?

"Do you remember how you loved the legends I used to tell you, that Gram had told me when I was young? Stories about how the world was created, and animals and people learned to talk?

"One of those stories was that God made little birds to bring messages to his people. Charlie is my message to you, my love - a reminder to live every minute of life you can, to experience everything you can, in the time you have left to live.

"When his time comes, send him back to me with your own message, and when your time arrives, we will both be waiting for you. Never forget, my love...and do not despair, I am not gone, but only absent from your side for awhile."

Andy's head jerked suddenly, and he blinked. Lilla was nowhere to be seen, but there was a warm spot on his shoulder, as if a loving hand had rested there briefly. Charlie was still sitting on the windowsill singing to the sunset, as if no time had passed. He must've been dreaming. But it had seemed so real!

He gazed at the sky for a moment, pondering, and then realized that it really didn't matter after all. What mattered was the message he'd heard. Even if his subconcious mind had made it all up, what he'd heard had been very like something Lilla had been trying to tell him the day she'd died. He hadn't wanted to hear her, being unwilling to accept the idea of life without her.

But now, he suddenly felt a weight lift off his soul. It was as she'd said - she wasn't gone, only absent for a little while, and until it was time to join her, there was a lot of life left to live.

Over on the windowsill, Charlie lifted his head and looked at him, as if he'd said something. Lifting his wings, he flitted over and landed on Andy's hand, looking up into his eyes.

"Cheee-eep?" he inquired, and Andy laughed.

"Right you are, my lad! Let's go get some dinner, shall we? It seems we have a busy life ahead of us!"

"Chee-eeep!" Charlie agreed, and hopped to his shoulder for the ride into the kitchen. Once again, life was good!

by R C McDonald
www.robirda.com
Copyright © 2004

Tips 'n Tricks

Our tip this issue was learned the hard way by Flock Talk reader Annie, who writes;

"Hi Robirda readers; I recently suffered a tough year. Two emergency trips to Florida, first for the hurricanes, then for a family member's health problems. I have a lovely trusted friend that has always taken care of my pets in the past. I trained her to take care of the canaries in our aviary at work. She took my poodle to her home and spoiled him each time we were absent.

"This last trip ended up being longer than we expected. On our way home we got a call in Maryland, all our beautiful canaries and finches were dead. In my absence my work had required her to work so many extra hours, she was so over taxed physically she neglected to stop and feed, water, and care for my birds.

"My breeding pair of redfactors, Noel and Jesus, were last year's Christmas presents. Bunny my white crested female was my Easter surprise last year. Huey was really a female we named after baby Huey as she was our only egg that ever hatched on Valentine's day, Moe was a crested redfactor male that had just recently found his voice, a bit of a late bloomer. In all we had over $1,000 of exotic birds.

"I know replacing my companion birds will never fill those gifts of love given to me by my boyfriend. Even though he often complained about all the seeds, and feathers scattered all over our dining room, they were our feathered family.

"I buried them under a purple cloud bush, and said prayers for them to sing to the angels. I believe animals all await their human caretakers in heaven. When my day comes to pass, I shall be greeted by many a wonderful singer, barker, purrer, fishes, turtles, bullfrogs one and all.

"I've been blessed with a kind and loving heart, and I've learned a painful lesson from this awful misfortune. Never leave on a family emergency with only one person to check in on your pets. I have a sister and a neighbor who both had keys, but our haste to get to Florida to help in a family crisis cost us our beloved, colorful birds.

"It is my hope that this sad story will help to prevent others from making the same sad mistake."