Suspecting that the bird, who looked scared and exhausted, was lost, she decided to give it a furever home. But she did worry about how her two resident budgies – Hope and JV – would feel about the newcomer?
The pair was close, and they often cuddled with each other. Sheela had a hunch that love was blossoming between them – perhaps, even leading to baby budgies in the future.
“They weren’t happy with the new budgie’s arrival at all! And they made their displeasure clear,” said Sheela.
Whenever the newcomer ventured too close, Hope and JV would chase it away. “I was especially surprised by Hope’s reaction as he is a cheerful and happy-go-lucky bird,” said Sheela.
For the first few days, the new bird appeared stressed, sad and lonely, which made Sheela consider the possibility of finding the bird a new home. But to her relief, things began to change. “I was surprised when, after a few days, the bird started to perk up,” she recalled.
As she couldn’t accurately determine the bird’s sex without a DNA test, she decided to name the newcomer Christmas, a name she felt was gender-neutral.
Thankfully, Hope gradually warmed up to Christmas. But JV was a tougher nut to crack – she would chirp angrily whenever Christmas got too close to her.
All three birds enjoy a daily diet of bird millet, with fresh vegetables being their favourite treat. “The only time I ever caught Christmas chase Hope away was when Hope got too close to him while he was enjoying the vegetables!”
Describing Christmas as a curious bird, she added: “I often catch Christmas watching me intently when I feed them or clean their cage.”
Although Christmas is now happily settled in with his bird buddies, there is still another family member who causes the bird uneasiness – Sheela’s cat, Rise.
“Rise dislikes it when she sees me spending too much time with them. She then sits in front of their cage and glares at them menacingly, causing Christmas to flutter around nervously!”
Sheela’s birds have also taught her valuable lessons. “A few months after Christmas arrived, JV fell ill. She lost her appetite and became less active.”
One morning, Sheela noticed Christmas observing JV closely before gently pecking at her, as if checking to see if she was okay. “That day, I learned about grace. Although JV had been cold towards Christmas, it didn’t stop Christmas from showing concern for her.”
About a month later, the three birds witnessed Rise, Sheela’s cat, stalking a few sparrows in the garden. The feline, in stealth mode, crouched low and moved slowly towards the birds, who were oblivious to the approaching danger.
“Suddenly, all three birds started chirping loudly, as though they were warning the sparrows about Rise,” said Sheela. In that moment, she saw how the birds were working together to protect others.
And it worked! The sparrows spotted Rise and immediately flew away, much to the feline’s annoyance. “Although the birds are from different species, that didn’t stop the budgies from helping the sparrows.
“If only we humans could learn from them – to put our differences aside and be more willing to help one another.”
This article was written by Sheela Vijayan @ FMT Lifestyle. Read more pet stories here.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.