I'm pleased to announce the hatching of baby jenday #2/1995, at exactly
7:03pm EST. The baby had been pipping since yesterday, but I didn't
expect it to come out until tomorrow.
This was an unusual hatch, as it occurred during the day, while we were
both home at the time (most of the babies seem to hatch during the
night, or while we're at work).
We were eating dinner in the basement (it was too hot to stay upstairs),
and we heard a huge ruckus from overhead. It sounded almost like a
bird-fight, but the noises were wrong. It was definitely coming from
INSIDE the nestbox, so we both ran upstairs to investigate. The sounds
the parents were making were strange--they were alternating short
high-and-low-pitched screams in unnatural voices, as fast as they
could--EeekAaaakEeeekAaaakEeeekAaaak. I've never heard anything like it
before. All 3 other birds in the room were also making wierd noises, but
nothing as odd as the parents' screams.
When we got there and opened the box, the baby had JUST popped the "lid"
off the eggshell. "His" head was still in the cap portion, and his
bottom was still in the main shell. All we could see were wet shoulders
and wings, but we could hear him chirping away! The screaming we heard
was apparently either Rio and Paco announcing the baby's hatching, or
else enthusiastically encouraging him to come on out. To my knowledge,
they've not done this before--it was quite dramatic.
As soon as I opened the box, they both stepped back away from the egg so
we could get a good look. When I told them they had another pretty baby,
they beeped and chirped, and settled right over the egg to cover it up.
They never fail to amaze me...
--Kathy
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