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Stalking the Blue Eyed Triton Cockatoo

The search for Mozart's Younger Brother!

Part 3: No Easter Chick

Updated: 11-24-2006

Recap: We lost our Triton Cockatoo, Mozart, in October 2004. He had been our companion for more than 14 years. When we contacted his breeder, we learned in November that his Triton Cockatoo parents were still alive and making new Cockatoos. His parents laid an infertile egg in January, but there was no further activity in February.

Select the thumbnail images on this page for larger images in the Photo Galleries.

In early March of 2005 there was still no baby Triton at the American Bird Company. Pat Boros, the proprietor advised us to check back in April because it seemed that all the Cockatoos at the breeding facility were laying eggs. We know that the incubation period for a Triton is about 26 to 29 days, so the first weekend of April seemed a good time to check with Pat again. Once again we got in the car and drove over to Falls Church, VA. High water on the Potomac forced us to take the Beltway instead of the charming slow paced ferry at Whites Ford.

Goffin Cockatoo chick, American Bird Co

Goffin Cockatoo chick,
American Bird Co...


Arriving at the American Bird Company we found the large Cockatoo cage which once housed "Rascal", Pat's companion Citron Cockatoo was still empty. (Rascal died about the same time as Mozart.) In the store the once empty cages were beginning to be populated with African Greys, Nanday Conures, Myers Parrots, Sun Conures, a couple of Goffin Cockatoos and a single Umbrella. But no Tritons yet.

This was not a surprise, we hadn't expected to find a Triton in the store yet. Doing the arithmetic: 29 days to hatch plus 3 weeks of parent rearing would have to transpire before a Triton baby could make its way to the store. But we were hoping to at least hear that parents were incubating an egg. We took a few pictures of these babies and Pat advised us to check back with her in a few weeks. We consoled ourselves by stopping off at the German Gourmet store, which is just up the block. They have the most delightful chocolates with liqueur fillings, not to mention the wonderful smoked hams and wursts!

Pele the eclectus wearing a plastic collar

Pele with her collar


Good news about our Eclectus. We call her Pele, after the Volcano Goddess. She has been in great pain since Mozart died with leg wounds that she has been picking with her beak. The wounds became infected and it has been difficult to get her to stop. For the past two months she has worn a collar, but even that was not enough to keep her from attacking the bandages and the wounds. Her Vet, Dr. Gieble, has had to "armor plate" her bandages by constructing a wrapper of X-ray film under the outer layer of the bandage. She hates the bandage and will go to extreme lengths to attack it. We also add additional taping overnight to "slow her down." Finally, her leg wounds are beginning to heal and she seems to no longer be in constant pain. A miracle drug being used on her is Preparation H (no joke) which seems to be promoting the healing process. The image here shows her wearing the protective collar and the bandages on her legs. You can view her on the Bird cam page. Next...

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