I don’t usually find myself speechless, but this moment was one of those times.

A lot of the loss for words had to do with the intense fear that I was about to lose an ear, I think, but I was also immensely pleased that Astro finally trusted me enough to step onto my shoulder like this.

He’s really quite the little janitor, too.  Astro first tried to pick the stripes off my shirt with that sharp little beak, and then he figured he go for my freckles.  Fortunately, he was gentle, so it was all good.

We also have discovered that he flies a lot like a Harrier jet.  BJ walked into the living room, bird on shoulder, and sat in the recliner.  He was fascinated for a little while, looking around intently and clucking.  Then he decided he wanted to go back to his cage.  So without warning, he took off, flying straight up into the air, then propelled himself forward and back into the other room.  Landing is still a little rough, but the flight itself was something to behold.