Everyone has a pet they love. Whether it be a dog, a cat or a hedgehog, everyone loves a little buddy in their life. This is true for sophomore Brianna Inzano who has a pet Cockatiel.
Inzano’s birds’ name is Dustie. It was acquired by her stepfather around September of last year, and he has become a big part of their family, becoming one of the loudest and most rambunctious parts of their life. He may be small, but his personality is anything but.
Besides being a loud little guy, he also seems to not like other pets considering he hates to come out of his cage, and he has shown outward distain for the other pet in the household, a cat named Osana. He is only about 90 grams (3.17 ounces), but is much bigger than he sounds on paper. He also loves people like Inzano and her family members. Dustie also bends down so that people can pet his head.
Cockatiels are not an American bird but were brought over from Australia. Cockatiels are also under the same class as parrots as they can learn and mimic human speech. They are somewhat pricy to take care of and to purchase, but they require, relatively and minimal maintenance. Cockatiels in captivity have a lifespan of about sixteen to twenty-five years.
Cockatiels tend to be grey in their bodily feather color. Some may be white as well, with a yellow head and reddish-orange cheek color. Dustie has a light-yellow head, bright red cheeks and a whiteish yellow body. There are actually many different types of cockatiels and some look brighter than others. There are also albino cockatiels that are light yellow and white.
Though Dustie is very young, Inzano could teach him how to speak.
According to www.psittacology.com, “They do so [talking] as a flirting method to woo the ladies, which in turn vocalize less and mostly produce flock calls. As such, if any cockatiel is going to learn to speak, it’s going to be a male.”
But there are things that Dustie may do that seem out of place.
“He flips upside down and flaps his wings like a crazy man,” Inzano said when asked about if Dustie does anything that she thinks most cockatiels don’t do.
Though according to www.beautyofbirds.com, there could be many reasons that he would do this, including playing and self-defense.
It is almost certain that, with time, Dustie will learn to get along with Brianna’s other pets and will grow up to be a fun and rambunctious addition to the Inzano family.
