She died last November. She had been perfectly healthy and then the next morning she was dead on bottom of cage. She was only seven, not old for a cockatiel. She had laid an egg a couple of days before, so I guess she could have been egg bound, but there was no sign anything was wrong. I had her on long nights and she had cuttlebone. I have really missed her. She wasn’t an easy bird in some ways, but she had a great personality and loved to be misted.

I decided to get another companion for Silver and was able to get a young Latino bird, which turned out to be a female. She is incredibly sweet and gentle. You may remember that I had a male budgie who mated with Emma, but Silver never did. Once Leminy turned about four months old he got his act together and they have become a nice pair. Birds are so interesting.

I'm so sorry to hear about Emma! Her cross-species romance was amusing.

You'll need to keep an eye on your new pair. You're always at high risk for getting babies when you put boys and girls together. Your new girl will be interested in "doing it" before she's be old enough to be a good mother.