Proud Pet Owner

My roommate and I purchased birds a few days ago. They are Zebra Finchs- not the most beautiful birds, but cheap and relatively quiet (noise level was taken into consideration, as we have 3 other roommates). I have always wanted a flashy, bright colored bird who could sing and talk, but these ones are just as fun. Perhaps I will buy a flashy one once I graduate.

My roommate's bird is a male, named Finny, and mine is a female, named Grace Kelly. They are spoiled birds, with fake branches to hop on, a trapeze swing, a wicker nest, a seed post, and a mirror (which they love). Their favorite place to sit is on top of the wicker nest, staring at themselves in the mirror. Finny, we have come to realize, is the bully. If Grace Kelly is by the mirror, Finny will peck at Grace Kelly until she moves so he can stare at himself in the mirror. If he pecks and she still won't move, he will simply fly up and land on top of her and ease his way in between her and the mirror, thus pushing her away and giving himself ample mirror space.

They are funny little creatures, and will echo each other's calls. They have about 3 or 4 different sounding calls, and one of them sounds like the lamb figurines we used to have at our house when I was 7. Give the lamb a little shake, or turn in upside down, and it baaaaahd for you. These finches sound just like that. She's a natural little alarm clock, going to sleep at a decent time (a signal that I should be hitting the sack too) and waking me up with her cheerful little chirps. We'll see how long my pet-less roommates put up with our lamb imitating birds. I have 14 days on Petsmart policy to return Grace Kelly if she becomes too much to handle. I can't imagine her becoming so, at least for me.