Zack the Parrot

What luck! I had my camera with me at work yesterday and finally managed to get a picture of Zachary, the savage man-eating parrot:

Zack likes to come down off his human's shoulder once in awhile and walk around the store on his own. Most parrots would end up in the cookies & crackers aisle, but not Zack -- he generally heads straight for the red meat (via the motor oil and chocolate bar aisle).

I couldn't get a second picture because right after this one his feathers started puffing out, and we all know what that means.

In Parrot News...

a breakthrough! Today Zachary stood on my arm!

Zach arrived, as usual, on his owner's shoulder. Terrified, as always, I pulled the sleeve of my sweatshirt down over my hand and slowly raised it towards him while making some kissie noises and what I hoped were friendly-sounding little parrot squawks -- while bracing myself for the onslaught of beak and claw that I knew would be coming.

Shock: he just hopped off his owner's shoulder and aboard my trembling arm, with none of the ruffled feathers, biting, gouging and screeching that have characterized our past confrontations. Perched on my arm, he stared at me intently, as if to say "Okay, what now?" (Or maybe "Go ahead, make my day".)

It was one small step for a parrot, but a giant step in my relationship with Zack.