Loud, loving parrots at Vancouver sanctuary can stay for now, but need new homes

Some of the parrots have found new homes in other provinces, including an umbrella cockatoo named Chewy, who two weeks ago ended up in Nova Scotia with his “new momma,” Robson said.

“She has been sending us videos and always has hearts all over them. She’s head over heels in love with him. She came to see him on a Saturday, and by seven o’clock they were both on a plane.”

Another bird named Colton has moved to Calgary, where his new owner changed his name to Maverick.

“She sent several videos as well,” Robson said. “The most recent one was of him singing along to a country western song. It’s just hysterical. He’s got all the bells and whistles in his cage, and new toys, so he looks like he’s living the life.”

Anyone wanting to adopt a parrot must undergo rigorous checks to ensure they’re keen on putting up with the noisy, attention-loving birds.

“When it’s distance adoptions like that we either know someone who checks out the home at that end or we’ve done some Skype checking to get a sense, and of course, checking references. Then they have to come out and meet the bird.”

A family on British Columbia’s Gulf Islands is also ready to adopt a parrot, Robson said.

A particularly loud peach-coloured moluccan cockatoo named Bob has a special bond with Robson and tends to be fond of women.

“He has more female attention than anyone can reasonably expect in a lifetime,” she said of Bob, who recently became the sanctuary’s star when a group of fawning female veterinarian technicians showed up.

“He was in his element,” Robson said, adding that Bob has been a hard sell because of his jet-engine decibel level.

She said that while parrots are a lovable lot, anyone wanting to adopt one should know they live up to 80 years and have a penchant for destroying furniture with their beaks.

— Follow @CamilleBains1 on Twitter.

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Loud, loving parrots at Vancouver sanctuary can stay for now, but need new homes

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