birds photos

SNOW DAY. Gusto, a peach-face lovebird owned by Judi Livingston, looks out on a cold winter day in Dover, N.H.

GOLDIE'S APPLE TREE. Stuart and Suzanne Delman's Senegal blends right in with spring in Lake George, N.Y.

LOADS OF IT. Charm, a blue-head pionus who lives with Lori Langer of Brookline, Mass., demonstrates how she got her name.

SKITTLES IN THE GARDEN. Cindy Jones snapped this striking photo of her green-naped lorikeet in her Houston back yard.

GOAL! Bell, a severe macaw owned by Ronnie Small of Upper Saddle River, N.J., rolls on her back in victory after executing a winning soccer move.

AFTER THE BATH. Tucker, a cinnamon pied cockatiel owned by Patricia Morgan of Bradenton, Fla., is almost dry.

COULD I GET A REFILL? Peekaboo, a parakeet owned by Tracy Bagley of Pasadena, Md., practices mastering a drinking straw.

HEY, THAT TICKLES! Christena Snowden's son, Adrian, was best buddies with Petie, a Pacific parrotlet. Unfortunately, Petie died in September after inhaling poisonous fumes.

HERE'S A PEN IF YOU NEED ONE. Higgins, a black-headed caique owned by Emily McNair of Minden, Nevada, wrestles with whether to give up a good toy.

BUDGIE FEAST. Every morning (counter clockwise from white bird) Rose, Sprite, Ocean, Zucchini, World and Pickle chow down on a salad of fruits and vegetables provided by their owner, Jen.

PALS. Lanakai, an Alexandrine parakeet, and NMB, a blue-front Amazon, buddy it up for a photo by Yvonne Hendrix of Humboldt County, Calif.

LOVELY LOVEBIRDS. Felix and George pose prettily for their owner, Victoria, of Matthews, N.C.

LOOK OF LOVE. Indy, a bare-eyed cockatoo, admires Casey, a long-billed corella cockatoo; they chose one another over mates of their own kind in Kate McKay's aviary in Sydney, Australia.

MELLOW YELLOW. Fischers lovebirds Bermuda and Bahama are bathed in the late afternoon light at home in Portland with their owner Josh.

VROOOOOOM. Coqui, a half-moon conure, catches a ride on a bird-size monster truck. He lives with Herman Dominguez of Port Richey, Fla.

SEASON'S SHREDDINGS. Double-yellow-headed Amazons Lobo and Culotte gang up on a Christmas card received by their owner, Sara Thompson, who adopted the two 45-year-old birds from Wilson Parrot Foundation in Damascus, Md.

WELCOME TO MY BALL. Pierre, a Hahn's macaw, "loves her Jolly Ball and says to tell everyone 'hello!'," says owner Elizabeth Hamel of Houston.

PORTRAIT OF SQUAWK. Catra L. Tigress of Pacifica, Calif., describes her Goffin's cockatoo, Squawk, as "a two-year-old on Harley wheels!"

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. Skittles, a sun conure who makes her home with Kelcie Merritt of Ohio, belts out a tune in the shower.

COME SWING WITH ME! Pacific parrotlet Papilo (aka "Little Papi") loves the swing provided by his owner, Christine Baker of Salem, N.H.

GOODBYE, CHRISTMAS. Kiwi, a citron cockatoo, helps Elissa Buja of Leominster, Mass., put away the decorations for another year.

PRETTY DEMANDA. Ellen Gyberg of Vancouver, Wash., captured this cherished closeup of her cockatiel last year before Demanda died.

BIKER BIRD. Booger the parrotlet is ready for touring, at least around the house of his owner, Linda Fero of Smethport, Pa.

DAPPER FELLOW. Winston is a yellow-faced Quaker who lives in Rocky Mount, Va., with Cindy Mink and family.

DO I OFFEND? Ollie, a Congo African grey, is not really checking her hygiene, just preening. She's owned by Camille Fulhage of Manhattan, Kansas.

STUCK ON YOU. Delta Holder's green-cheek conure, Chico, discovers the static properties of styrofoam after sticking his head in a box of packing material.

I LOVE YOU, HALLELUJAH! That's what Mr. Bird, a ring-necked lutino conure, tells his owner Sonshine of Ontario, Calif.

SEAFARING DEE. Summer Riggs' cherry-headed conure works in a pirate show based in Kingsport, Tenn.

SURPRISE! Sydney, a cockatiel owned by Mary Stalica of Rosemont, Ill., peeks out from beneath a towel.

HITCHIN'. Shamrock, a green-cheek conure who owns Cindy Mahoney of Hudson, N.H., seems unconcerned that his mode of transportation is a miniature moose.

SNUG AS TWO CAIQUES IN A PLASTIC BALL. Tango and Mango, black-headed and white bellied caiques, respectively, feel secure as they look out from their toys. They live in Mesa, Arizona with their owner, Dawn Cox.

AT THE STORE. Eric Pitard, owner of the Feathers Bird Store in Marlborough, Mass., shows off Bosco, a hyacinth and blue-and-yellow macaw, to customers.

BELOVED TWEETY. Only the loveliest of frames will do for Jennifer and Kevin Kiser's cinnamon pearl pied cockatiel.

CALL ME SPIKE. Actually, it's Bongo, a cockatiel with a generous yellow crest, owned by Kelly Vincent of Philadelphia.

WILL THE REAL BIRD PLEASE SAY SOMETHING? Tinkerbell, a lucida parrotlet, regards with suspicion two plastic parakeets. She lives with Stuart and Suzanne Delman of Lake George, N.Y.

PREENING "MOM". Gearbox, a yellow-collared macaw, gently styles the tresses of his mistress, Alyssa, of Woburn, Mass.

SNUG AS A BUG. Sydney, a Hahn's macaw, gets ready to blow a goodnight kiss to his owner Laura Manges of Brier Hill, Pa., as he settles into his birdie tent for a long snooze.

HEY, COME BACK! Tony the cockatiel watches his owner, Adina Fisher of Lincoln Park, Mich., leave for an errand.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT. A camera flash catches Mooch, a lineolated parakeet owned by Denise Taormina of Michigan, off-guard.

VIEW FROM ABOVE. Linda Janis' African grey, Jojo, surveys his toys from the top inside corner of his cage.

MR. GREEN. A green-cheek conure, Mr. Green enjoyed 11 years with his owner, Connie, before dying a year ago.

GIVE US A KISS. Etu and Anabel, English budgies, don't let Debra Hurst's camera interfere with their private time.

TIGHT SQUEEZE. Zeus, a Congo African grey owned by Debbie Brazell of Mobile, Ala., discovers that his water bowl is not the roomiest place to take a bath.

I'LL COUNT TO TEN; YOU GO HIDE! Kiwi, a blue-and-gold macaw, looks ready to play with Gwen the Congo African grey. They make their home with Alison Schofield of Townsend, Mass.

"C" IS FOR CORABELL. Anne Madrid's dusky pionus demonstrates how smart she is by holding up the first letter of her name.

IN HIS ELEMENT. Oliver, a lovebird, adored baths, says his owner, Melanie Hutton of Alberta. Unfortunately, his attraction to water eventually led to his accidental drowning in a toilet.