The story of my parrot 🦜
How Curro and I met
🏷️ Categories: Personal stories
On my rooftop, I have a garden that has become a lush oasis of life.
This space is a meeting point for many birds and insects, creating a small ecosystem where life unfolds spontaneously. Once, a grasshopper even arrived and stayed for a while in the strawberry patch I had. One of many guests that stay in my garden before continuing their journey.
However, one day I had an unexpected visitor, a very peculiar guest.
While I was watering the plants, I noticed an unusual bird perched on a branch of a tree from afar. It wasn’t the typical visitor; this bird, somewhat larger and green in color, remained still, watching me attentively. Its behavior was unusual; instead of flying away as I approached, it stayed there, staring at me.
Intrigued by this unknown species, I moved closer.
To my surprise, the bird didn’t move an inch. I decided to try catching it, wondering if it was possible. Surprisingly, it let itself be caught without resistance.
Its strange behavior suggested it might be malnourished or thirsty.
After checking what I had at home, I found lettuce and apple. We went to a room where I offered the food along with water. The guest ate eagerly, clearly malnourished, and this feast was received like a miracle.
After feeding, its behavior changed. It became more active and began to sing from time to time. I didn’t know what species it was, and my curiosity led me to search the internet until I finally found the answer. It was an Argentine parrot. This species, native to South America, is classified as an invasive species in Spain, my country, and its presence causes imbalances in local ecosystems.
In other words, we had a problematic guest from abroad at home.
In the following days, I kept it at home to observe its development.
Soon, I noticed it had developed affection for me.
When I would leave the room where it was, it would call me, and upon my return, it would greet me with a sort of welcome song. I decided to name it “Curro,” which is a term of endearment in Spain for people named Francisco. The idea came from the peculiar sound it sometimes makes, something like “Currrrr.”
Initially, my plan was to release it, but after realizing it was an invasive species, I decided it would go from being a guest in my garden to a permanent resident of the house. Besides, Curro seemed comfortable in my company. Sometimes it would leave the room, but it always let me catch it again, showing no intention of leaving.
Little by little, Curro has become a member of the family.
He is always by my side and likes to perch on my shoulder, letting me carry him around the house like a taxi. I look like a pirate carrying a parrot on my shoulder. We bought a cage for him to have his private space. The cage isn’t to keep him confined, not at all; it’s just for his food and water, like his dining area.
Oh, and if you were wondering, yes, whenever I write my Substack letters, he is by my side at the desk. Here he is while I write today’s letter about him:
Let me tell you the funniest anecdote we’ve experienced together 🤣.
As I mentioned, he always goes with me everywhere, and when I shower, Curro also comes to the bathroom with me and patiently waits while I shower. However, once, while I was showering, for some reason, he wouldn’t stop fluttering around. It was winter, and there was a lot of steam from the shower. As he flew over the steam column, Curro lost stability; there seemed to be turbulence, and like a fighter jet, he had to make an emergency landing, falling into the shower.
This is how wet he was, with only the feathers on his head remaining dry.
Fortunately, nothing happened to him, though I had to dry him for quite a while with a hairdryer because he was so wet that he was cold and couldn’t fly due to the water weight. The plane was overloaded.
He has learned the lesson and now prefers to wait patiently for me to shower.
Curro and I have forged a special bond, and I’m glad to know that, despite being an invasive species, he has found a place where he is loved and cared for.
This is the story of the most peculiar guest who has visited my humble garden.
✍️ Your turn: Do you like birds? What animals do you have?
💭 Quote of the day: “There was a bird that wanted to fly alone, far from the others. It worried that if it followed the group, it would never find its own place.” Sejal Badani in The Storyteller's Secret.
With nothing more to say, Curro and Álvaro bid farewell. See you next time!
I love this. So glad Curro found a safe place to land. Indeed, it was your lovely garden that saved his life. Years ago, I found a baby king bird near my chicken coop. Feeding it meal worms for two weeks, it grow to the point where it was ready to fledge. I took it outside after testing its flight indoors. There w as an adult king bird paying attention to it as it squawked on a perch inside a cage i wanted to hold it in to acclimate it to the temperature outside. It was then I decided to open the cage and hope the adult would finish raising my little bird. It flew to a perch where I could take one last photo, then it flew to a nearby tree. For the next 24 hours, it cried for help. Drove me nuts like a mother knowing its child is in danger but can't help it. By morning, it had flown a full circle from tree to tree around the house. I went out to see it perched in a tree near the house. It looked down at me, then soared effortlessly across the expanse to the eave. Then it looked at me again as if to say, "If was rough, but I've got this now. Thanks, Mom." Haven't seen it since.
luv it! thanks, alvaro! what a nice friend to have with you.