Flowers insolita Blog

In the last 20 years, an alarm clock in my house used to be a morning chirping noise of “Bibi”, our pet Canary-winged parakeet. Every morning, around 6-7 am, my wife and I used to hear his loud morning call. It’s “amazon-like” noise is so loud that you probably can hear it two blocks away!

We no longer have this alarm clock, because Bibi passed away three days ago. The morning is quiet now.

We bought Bibi in 1987 at a small pet shop in Maryland. He was probably a wild-caught bird (which was still legal in the US 20+ years ago), because he had a leg ring on him, indicating quarantine assurance (see picture, circa 1987, with two budgies). Even though it’s called “parakeet”, Canary-winged parakeet is actually a tiny parrot.

Like any other parrot, he chose one person to be attached to. That chosen person was me. He never really liked my wife, which is intersting because another parrot of ours likes her more than me.

One night before the seizure that eventually took his life away, I actually took him out of his cage because he was screeching so loud. I scratched his head for about 15 min to calm him down. I remember him closing his eyes and making a cooing noise. At that time, I didn’t know that would be the last time I see him healthy. But I think he “knew” his time was coming to end and just wanted to have one last good time.

Now he is gone, and I am overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt – about many things that I could have done for him but didn’t. Time to rectify my guilt was taken away from me forever. We always realize the time is precious only after we lose it.

Previously, I sometimes thought that I was the one who was “taking care of” him. Now I realize that it was actually him who has given me much more than I’ve given him.

I made a small casket for him with full of flowers. Yesterday, I buried him in our backyard with a few of his favorite toys, a plastic bath-tub he loved, and some food (sunflower seed, corns, and apples). I am hoping that he won’t get too bored in the heaven and will have something to eat over there.

I am deeply grateful that Bibi has brightened up my life. He never gave up on me, even though I’ve given him so little in return. He always wanted me to be with him, even though the reverse was not always the case. His love was unconditional.

May Bibi rest in peace. We will miss you, Bibi…