Coloratura Canary

I suppose other people feel some sort of stirring when interacting with their pets.  That is what pets are for I think.  They bring out the best in us in the best of times, acting as child substitutes, companions, best friends and sometimes just good listeners.

I’ve had many pets through the years, including cats, kittens, puppies and dogs.  As a child I had monkeys, alligators, parrots, cockatiels and even turtles and canaries. 

And yet I have never had a pet like JAC. 

I can’t cuddle or pet him.  I can’t let him fly loose around the house like I did our cockatiel, or talk with him, or even dress him up.  One might actually think he was a pretty sterile pet and in fact he lives in a Sterilite box!

Actually he lives in a cage that is placed in a translucent Sterilite box for two reasons.  One, he sheds feathers by the truckload and two, my apartment is too cold and drafty for him otherwise.  The top of his cage protrudes from the top so he can sit on his upper perch and look out.  He can even really see through the rest of it.  I know because I can see him through there too.

They said if I gave him a mirror he would think it was a female canary and stop singing, but if anything it has made his singing more full-throated and richer!  I think he believes the bird in the large mirror on the other side of the bars is simply in another cage.

I have never heard any creature sing like JAC does!  Of course, like all birds, he sings whenever there is any kind of talking or noise, but he does more.  When there is great music on he sings with it!

A full-fledged coloratura soprano with rich trills and runs who sings both pianissimo or forte depending on the music he hears, it is as if he knows the score!   Sometimes his songs bring tears to my eyes.

He is extraordinary.