Charlie is dead,

[Pajarita]

it was not a natural death and I cannot figure out how it happened. When I went in to feed them dinner, he was laying on his back, with wings perfectly folded and feet curled up for all the world as if he was sleeping on his back only it was in the middle of the floor. And, when I picked him up to look him over (not a single feather out of place, good weight, clean vent, etc) I saw trauma to the back of his head -which I assumed was the cause of death. But it wasn't a bite. It was a perfectly horizontal wound right smack in the middle of the back of his head so it wasn't a bite because they always have a 'curved' kind of shape and a corresponding wound for the other half of the beak (otherwise, they can't apply enough pressure to do any damage). It looked as if he had hit his head real hard against a straight edge of something hard (a corner where two 'walls' of a large cage meet?) so I thought maybe a large bird grabbed him and flung him hard making him hit the back of his head against a cage - BUT, if this had been the case, he would have some kind of trace of trauma to wherever it was that the other bird held him from -even if it was just a feather missing or out of place- but there was nothing! All his feathers were perfect, none was missing (none on the floor either) and they were all perfectly lined up as they are supposed to be.

Now, Charlie was a complete doodoo head bird which did not like anybody but the female he chose to protect (even if she did not want to be protected). He certainly did not like people but he also did not like any other bird getting anywhere close to where 'his' female had a nest - he also did not like anybody paying attention to said female and would rush, lunge and bite anybody and anybirdy that got too close. His last chosen female was Sophie CAG and even she would get testy with him even though she is one of the sweetest birds ever. So I would not be surprised if one of the amazons or the cockatoos got completely fed up with him and grabbed him to fling him away... but, if that is what happened, there was no physical sign of it. And his death must have been instantaneous because there was no bleeding whatsoever. Not a drop.

Poor Charlie was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! He had a bright red mask and chest, and a deep, bright orange and yellow perfect plumage, he was an excellent eater (he had been with me for 6 years and he was 7 when he came to me so he was still a young bird) and a good bather but he was also a complete Ahole of a bird, the kind that you completely understand why a person would give him up. He did not like anybody and nobody liked him. And he was always relentless on his attacks, making it difficult to clean and feed - I had to distract him with a rolled up magazine to change dishes and watch him like a hawk whenever I was three feet away from Sophie or his corner- and, I hate to admit it but the birdroom is better without him. Don't misunderstand me, I would have ran into a burning building to save him but he was a royal pain in the neck!

Sophie doesn't seem to mind his absence one single bit and, actually, she seems to be happier without him because, this morning, she flew to me and was doing a little whistle she does when she wants attention and, when I put her back on her 'spot', she started dancing and doing the raspberry sound she does when I sing Bad Birds to her so I obliged her and she was real happy about it... I guess she was missing the closer interaction we used to have before he nominated himself her protector.

[Wolf]

It sounds like he flew into something hard enough to kill him, but the wound is in a strange place for that. Not much sense in my trying to figure it out, I don't know the lay out well enough. All I can do is hope that it was as quick as it seems to have been, and hope that you can figure it out so that it can be prevented in the future.

[Pajarita]

Yes, exactly! What bothers me the most (aside from the fact that he is dead, of course!) is that I can't prevent something that I can't figure out how it happened. But he couldn't have flown into anything because the wound was on the middle of the back of his head and it didn't even look bad. There was just the red line, no gaping wound, no indentation in the skull, no blood, nothing but just a thin, red line! The only thing I can think of is that he was perching on the swing (hangs from the ceiling right above where I found him which was about 10 or 12 inches to the right of the large cage next to the window), had a heart attack or some other type of cardiovascular episode and hit the back of his head when he fell from it. A bit farfetched but the only explanation I can come up with... because although the zons are mean and would, sometimes, go for another bird they feel is intruding in their 'territory', I've never seen them flinging one of them. The most they manage to do (because the bird in question would fly off as soon as it sees the zon approaching) is to grab a tail and maybe pull a feather or two from it.

[Wolf]

The only other thing that I can think of is if somehow a cage door could have hit him, but it seems pretty unlikely from what I can recall. Beside it would have required another large bird hitting it pretty hard to make it close with enough force. There are just not that many things sharp enough to leave the type of mark yet dull enough to not have cut.

[Michael]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe he fell off a perch and hit his head on the way down?

[Harpmaker]

RIP Charlie. I always smiled when Pajarita called you "doodoo head". It seemed somehow fond and annoyed at the same time.

[JaydeParrot]

Really sorry to hear of Charlie's death.

I have seen a fair amount of flight related incidents. The theory I have is that he may have flew into something, a wall, cage, rebounded off it and hit either the corner of his cage or something else that had a sharp-ish edge. You may want to have a careful feel of the floor with your hand on the off chance that the floor/floorboards have a sharp edge, un-noticeable by visually looking.

Again, really sorry to hear about Charlie.

[shiraartain]

I am so, so sorry to hear about Charlie . May he rest in peace.

[Pajarita]

Thank you, guys, and yes, fond and annoyed is exactly the way I felt about him. He was a doodoo head of a bird, always a pain in the neck... but he was 'my' pain in the neck bird and I loved his nasty side as much as I loved his beauty and spirit (and boy, did he have a lot of it!). Yes, falling down and hitting his head is the only thing that makes sense - he couldn't have flown into anything and bounced of it, he was an excellent flier, it didn't happen at night and nothing had been changed as far as the set-up (not that I think that it would have made a difference).

My grandmother used to say that man gets used to even getting beaten daily and, the day when he doesn't get beaten, he misses it - and it's the truth! It's infinitely easier now to do 'his' corner of the birdroom, I don't have to worry about waiting to take the dirty dishes out and put the clean ones when he is distracted, prevent him from biting my hand or feet but I actually miss the hassle.

[Wolf]

I know what you mean. Actually, I remember you being quite proud of him, when I was there for Paquita. Yes, you told me all of his frustrating behaviors, but it was in a very loving and proud of him kind of way, and I know that you miss him a lot.