This is Hildy, our Congo African Grey parrot. I would include more of her in the shot, but she got a bit stressed over decorations and company disrupting her routine over the holidays, and then one night late last week her sleeping perch fell down during the night, so, um, she got stressed and pulled most of her chest feathers back out. She had almost completely grown them back in from when we adopted her pretty bare-chested in July. So she can re-grow her feathers again, and we have fixed her perch so it can't fall down again, which should help (can you imagine how stressed you would be if you were sound asleep and your bed suddenly fell two stories? The stuff of nightmares!).
ETA: couldn't stand the blur in the first shot I posted so I replaced it.
I like the sharpness in this and the emphasis on the eye. The toning is great. The only little thing for me is that I find the wing in the lower-left to be a little too strong. Perhaps it could be darkened a little.
Love your story and fantastic image. The colors of your bird are beautiful. You have a image worthy of hanging on your wall!!
I have a cockatiel and fully understand the stress levels they can or canot endure. They are intelligent and get bored so easy and mostly...they seem to DEMAND a routine. It's difficult, but rewarding to own a bird. Thanks for sharing please show us more images of beautiful Hildy!!
btw...my bird will pull his feathers out when I don't give him enough attention, like during the holiday time (like Hildy) or like MelonMusketeer was saying, even moving your bird will cause some distress. Finicky creatures they are!
People don't understand being owned by an african grey unless they have one. I hope that you always stay on the good side of Hildy. My Sammy was a sweetheart until the first time I trimmed his wing feathers. He has never forgiven me for that, and still will bite me hard sometimes. You didn't mention that Hildy probably imitates almost any sound she hears, like the phone, microwave ect. My Sammy made a fun game of the Nextel beep when he found that we would reach for our phones when he did it.
I very much like the dark background and shallow DOF in this shot, and yes, Sammy picks his feathers out too. He is upset now because I had to move him to a small cage to bring him in from this recent cold weather.
Mary, Hildy is gorgeous here! This is a super image! I am not sure I could take having a bird on my head all day though I do sit with a very fat cat on my lap most of the time. Now that I've a new laptop she is quite annoyed! :)
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
