BIG news! I got a male for Isis Redbelly! In truth, this was a real bad time for me to get a bird because my doctor says I have lupus (I am going back in half an hour for more bloodwork) and, taking into consideration my COPD, the specialist might tell me I have to get rid of all my birds. But I had been looking for a mate for her since July/2014, when she first came to me and her previous owner said he was willing to take her back along with a mate if need be (although, at this point in time, I don't see this as a certainty any longer because he is now going to be working from home and plans on traveling). I saw an ad in CL that was offering a male redbelly (it had pictures on it and I could confirm that it was, indeed, a male redbelly) in exchange for a reptile (can you believe it?!) so I sent him an email asking him if he would be willing to sell the bird instead for cash and buy a reptile with it and he said yes. His wife said he bought this bird from another guy but I suspect there is something fishy because he was only asking for $250 and he reduced it to $200 without me even asking for a discount. I was real complicated today because I was dropping two feral cats for neutering at 7:45 am, have a doctor's appointment at 2:30 pm, had taken in a blind feral kitten last night which I have to bottle-feed AND, to put the icing on the cake, I hardly slept a wink last night because one of my dogs (the idiot golden retriever) threw up all night long (and I am not exaggerating on this, I got up three times and my husband got up another three to clean up the messes) so I needed driving into Brooklyn from NJ like I needed a hole in the head! But the fact that he was willing to exchange the bird for a reptile had me so worried (obviously NOT bird people -to say the least, right?) that I dragged my husband out of bed at 6:30 am (I got up at 5:30) so we could get everything done and still have enough time to go pick him up.
I really do not think this people knew what they had because redbellies are not that easy to come by and, when they do, they are pretty expensive but although the bird has no leg band (suspicious suspicious suspicious), he looks young -beak is the teeny tiniest bit overgrown (he was been free-fed a cheap seed mix, mostly sunflowers) but his feet look very good (no claws or toes missing or crooked) and, although his plumage looks a bit dull (the red in his belly is more orange than actual red and the turquoise in the body is muted, same as the grey on his head which doesn't have the 'steel' shine to it that should) he is not plucking. His wings are clipped but he can fly and he regaled us with, at least, 8 different kinds of whistles as well some words (we couldn't understand them but it was a soft man's voice) on the trip home. The man's wife did not know his age or even his name (ay ay ay!) so I begged her to ask her husband to send me a little e-mail with, at least, his name. He came with no cage but I already had one ready and waiting next to Isis' and he is now perching in the middle of it and his head seems to have been permanently sideways so he can look at Isis And I don't blame him one bit because Isis is one pretty lady!
I'll let you know how he does as we go along.