…or was it merely coincidence that this was the day the bird decided that — gulp! — HE LIKES ME!

I was squatting down beside the cage today, making a cooing noise because Astro seemed a little bored.  He had been squawking quite a bit, using the screech generally reserved for “Is anybody out there?”

So I was paying him some attention, keeping the bars of the cage between us, when he started acting really weird.  He got down from his perch, onto the floor of the cage in the woodchips, when he walked backwards away from me.  Next, he laid his head on its side as he literally plowed a path as he walked back toward me.  Then he started making a low-pitched chattering noise and climbed the bars in front of my face.  He allowed me to touch his feet.  As I started to walk away, he scampered out and climbed to the top of the cage, his usual point of departure for flying at me.  But he just sat there, still chattering.

When BJ came home from work and physical therapy, I relayed what had happened.  Astro went one better, repeating the elaborate dance.  Then it happened:  he stepped up onto my finger and sat on my shoulder for over half an hour without even so much as a nip.

BJ’s theory is that Astro is MY bird now, but I want him to like both of us.  I hope he’ll become a lot friendlier with people in general so that anyone who visits can be reasonably assured of leaving without scars.  Hopefully, this was a major breakthrough.  If not, at least I have a pleasant memory of today’s pain-free perch.