I Couldn't Resist Him...

This is Eric.

Eric was hatched on April 1, 2011; he's Sam's half-brother (same father); he's a whiteface mutation 'tiel, except for one white feather on the back of his head that makes him pied; and he is SUCH a sweetheart!



My mom owns Sam & Eric's parents, so he's been around, but I've never mentioned him because he wasn't officially mine until today. What got me thinking of keeping him was when he came over as close as he could to me from inside his cage and put his head down to beg for preening. I couldn't resist. I opened the cage - against my better judgment - and took him out to pet him. I got stuck scratching and petting and preening him. And just like with Ducky, I went "Omygosh, SQUEE YOU ARE TOO CUUUUUTE!" Next thing you know my mom put him and another baby bird in my room in Sam and Ducky's cage for socialization. From there it was all downhill, because he was right there when I woke up, went to bed, wandered randomly through, etc. Always with the cute little 'tiel head-tilt and baby sounds. You must understand, neither Sam nor Ducky are cuddly. Sam's a look-don't-touch type (my fault for not keeping him cuddly ) and Ducky's too hyper to sit still for snuggling, so I've spent the last two days (okay fine, the last week) gushing over the cuddly little 'tiel that moved in.

And then I named him.

And then I shared food with him.

And then my parents asked if I was keeping him (in a way that sounded an awful lot like what they'll say when I eventually have a boyfriend... )

So now, I have three birdies instead of two.

YAAAAYYYY!!!!

OOoohhhwww what a cutie!!! Aren't the snuggly ones fun?!

Yes, they're the best!

Don't take me wrong, I love Sam and Duck to bits, but when they're being adorable I can't just scritch them or put them in a death-grip hug because it annoys them to no end

Eric is adorable! I love the look of a whitefaced tiel! Congrats!

SO cute!! Congrats on the new addition! I love cockatiels when they're friendly. All my friends have antisocial tiels so I've got none to love around here...
and are you sure eric is a boy? he looks like a girl to me. (but I'm apparently really bad at telling. I thought my lil pied tiel was a boy for years and now I'm starting to think my gcc isn't a girl.... )

moa wrote:

SO cute!! Congrats on the new addition! I love cockatiels when they're friendly. All my friends have antisocial tiels so I've got none to love around here...
and are you sure eric is a boy? he looks like a girl to me. (but I'm apparently really bad at telling. I thought my lil pied tiel was a boy for years and now I'm starting to think my gcc isn't a girl.... )

They don't get the white face until they're older. I have a picture of Einstein before I got him, and his face looked exactly the same as Sam's.

This is a picture of Einstein when I first got him:



(Note the lipstick on his face from the breeder )

His face wasn't completely white yet.

Now look at him!

I'm so jealous, I wish my parents bred parrots, I'd have a new baby each week

RogerP wrote:

Eric is adorable! I love the look of a whitefaced tiel! Congrats!

Thanks!

moa wrote:

SO cute!! Congrats on the new addition! I love cockatiels when they're friendly. All my friends have antisocial tiels so I've got none to love around here...
and are you sure eric is a boy? he looks like a girl to me. (but I'm apparently really bad at telling. I thought my lil pied tiel was a boy for years and now I'm starting to think my gcc isn't a girl.... )

I was wondering about whether Eric was actually an Erica too. He seems pretty vocal, so that's why my mom and I think he's an Eric. Until s/he's about 6 months and goes through his/her first molt and looks like Einstein (or doesn't) we won't know for sure.

zazanomore wrote:

They don't get the white face until they're older. I have a picture of Einstein before I got him, and his face looked exactly the same as Sam's.

good to know! wow einstien really did turn out handsome I was just thinking because of the barring on the tail. somebody once told me that females are usually the ones with that, anyone know if this is true?

zazanomore wrote:

I'm so jealous, I wish my parents bred parrots, I'd have a new baby each week

oh gosh. my thoughts exactly!

moa wrote:

zazanomore wrote:

They don't get the white face until they're older. I have a picture of Einstein before I got him, and his face looked exactly the same as Sam's.

good to know! wow einstien really did turn out handsome I was just thinking because of the barring on the tail. somebody once told me that females are usually the ones with that, anyone know if this is true?

The baby whiteface 'tiels all have barring on their tails, but once they go through their first molt the males lose the barring and get brighter. Females look basically the same as adults as they did when they were babies. Some mutations, like pearls and whiteface-lutinos (solid white), have different or no markings that set the males and females apart.

evil chicken wrote:

This is Eric.(...)

I'm so happy for you and for Eric! Congratulations We have more Tiels in Paradise!
Eric is totally the type to fall in love with

p.s. Guys Evil and Roz are you gonna surprise us with something every day? I start enjoying that

Margaret wrote:

p.s. Guys Evil and Roz are you gonna surprise us with something every day? I start enjoying that

The surprises are surprising to us too!

Soo cute!! I wish MY parents bred birds...

Eric is a very, very beautiful baby! Congrats!

Congrats on your not so new baby I know just how snuggly they can be I am going through the same thing with a little female white face lutino she is just adorable and getting harder to put into the breeder cage daily, but I will get past it with all of the hectic mess of transporting the Zons (I hope).

OMG Eric is sooo squishy and cute! I love baby birds. : ) Congrats on your new baby.

zazanomore wrote:

This is a picture of Einstein when I first got him:



(Note the lipstick on his face from the breeder )

His face wasn't completely white yet.

Now look at him!

I'm so jealous, I wish my parents bred parrots, I'd have a new baby each week

Personally, I think the lipstick is a good look!

Eric is too cute! What a baby face!

Aww he's so adorable! Its making me want another tiel (and my conure haha)

Julsiebean wrote:

Eric is a very, very beautiful baby! Congrats!

flappinhappy wrote:

Congrats on your not so new baby I know just how snuggly they can be I am going through the same thing with a little female white face lutino she is just adorable and getting harder to put into the breeder cage daily, but I will get past it with all of the hectic mess of transporting the Zons (I hope).

ScooterNScotty wrote:

Eric is too cute! What a baby face!

coldtrance wrote:

Aww he's so adorable! Its making me want another tiel (and my conure haha)

Thanks guys!

Jan wrote:

OMG Eric is sooo squishy and cute! I love baby birds. : ) Congrats on your new baby.

Haha... "squishy"... that he is, I suppose!

Jan wrote:

zazanomore wrote:

This is a picture of Einstein when I first got him:



(Note the lipstick on his face from the breeder )

His face wasn't completely white yet.

Now look at him!

I'm so jealous, I wish my parents bred parrots, I'd have a new baby each week

Personally, I think the lipstick is a good look!

Yes, the lipstick definitely makes the look!

Awwww, what a sweet baby!!! I have to admit, I'm just a little jealous.

Have fun with little Eric!! You deserve it!

Vicki5280 wrote:

Awwww, what a sweet baby!!! I have to admit, I'm just a little jealous.

Have fun with little Eric!! You deserve it!

Thanks Vicki!

He's fun for sure! I take him with me when I check up on you guys here in ParrotParadise and I can't type - he gets mad at me if I stop scritching him. (Takes both hands: one for him to stand on and the other to pet him.) Of course, a tame cockatiel being mad adds up to flapping a bit and making some not-very-loud vocalizations. He tries to throw a tantrum but ends up being adorable.

evil chicken wrote:

He's fun for sure! I take him with me when I check up on you guys here in ParrotParadise and I can't type - he gets mad at me if I stop scritching him. (Takes both hands: one for him to stand on and the other to pet him.) Of course, a tame cockatiel being mad adds up to flapping a bit and making some not-very-loud vocalizations. He tries to throw a tantrum but ends up being adorable.

I have the same problem!! I try to type correctly with one hand and use the pinky from the hand that Yoshi's sitting on. He doesn't get mad, but it results in Nate laughing at me and Yoshi staring at my fingers and trying not to fall off because I keep knocking him off balance

LyzGrace wrote:

evil chicken wrote:

He's fun for sure! I take him with me when I check up on you guys here in ParrotParadise and I can't type - he gets mad at me if I stop scritching him. (Takes both hands: one for him to stand on and the other to pet him.) Of course, a tame cockatiel being mad adds up to flapping a bit and making some not-very-loud vocalizations. He tries to throw a tantrum but ends up being adorable.

I have the same problem!! I try to type correctly with one hand and use the pinky from the hand that Yoshi's sitting on. He doesn't get mad, but it results in Nate laughing at me and Yoshi staring at my fingers and trying not to fall off because I keep knocking him off balance

Eric still loses his balance easily too. When I pet him I usually hold him forward so he can put his beak against my face for stability, because if I try and pet him with anything but full attention I knock him over by accident.