The Amazing Dusty the Cockatiel

Dusty (photo by Gail Koelln)

My husband, Jim, and I were fortunate to travel to Italy this past October for three weeks. It was our first international vacation since way before the COVID-19 pandemic. All went relatively smoothly and it was a wonderful and much-needed get-away. And it was all possible because our young adult daughter, Emma, was willing to take care of our elderly cockatiel, Dusty, while we were away.

A little bit of background will help tell the rest of this story. Jim and I got Dusty from a local pet store in the early 1990’s, and at the time I didn’t realize that buying and then keeping a parrot captive is not good for birds or the environment. (I know better now and would likely not buy another bird or perhaps would adopt one in need of a good home.) Dusty was already tame when we bought him because a worker in the pet store took a liking to him and walked around with him on his shoulder throughout most days. I soon learned how to handle him and to this day he will come out of his cage to me or Jim when he feels so inclined.

Dusty is an extraordinary bird in a number of ways but most strikingly because he is now 34 years old (going on 35 in February 2026). In addition to his amazing longevity (I call him our “energizer cockatiel”), he is also very smart, as are all parrots. All three human members of our family witnessed just how smart he is during our time away.

Dusty in a happy mood!

Although Emma adores Dusty as much as Jim and I do, she has overall had less daily contact with him until recently for various reasons, including being six years younger than him (she’s his “little sister”). Dusty is extremely attached to his human “flock,” but is especially excited to greet me and Jim every morning. His cage is in my home office, so we keep each other company a good deal of the time. Once we left on our trip and were gone for a few days, Dusty started behaving strangely and Emma was sure he knew we were missing.

Emma is not familiar with handling Dusty directly and was worried that he would get out of the cage and she would be unable to retrieve him or keep him safe. Therefore, some of his regular routine changed, including not being able to come out of his cage and being awakened later in the morning. He began to “freak out” a lot and would scamper around the cage in fright and cry. Unfortunately, Emma didn’t know how to handle this behavior. Luckily, we were able to communicate with her via WhatsApp while we were away.

We had Emma try a number of things, such as leaving on music or bird sounds for him, but nothing was working. Then Jim had the good idea (and LoraKim confirmed it might work) for us to have a Zoom call with him. So, we gave it a shot.

As soon as we got on to Zoom with him (with the camera on), Dusty immediately calmed down and responded to our voices. We’re not sure if he could see us, as his eyesight is no longer very good, but he definitely could hear us. I suggested that Emma record our “meetings” with him and play the recordings when we were not available to speak to him live. So, every evening we had a live “Dusty meeting” and at other times he “watched” the recordings. Dusty remained calm for pretty much the rest of the time we were gone and all was well. We were amazed that this worked so well (thus a new nickname, “The Amazing Dusty”)!

This true story clearly demonstrates how smart even the smallest of parrots can be and why they are best left to live their lives in the wild. We would never release Dusty here in New York, as he would not survive without our care (and strongly emphasize that pet birds should be well cared for but not released). However, the next time you think about getting a companion animal, please consider those that are bred to be pets, such as dogs and cats, and adopt if at all possible. Changing people’s attitudes towards pet birds of all species will help stop the demand for what are really wild animals. This will in turn eventually help stop the illegal and legal trade in wild birds and perhaps wild animals of all types.

Wild cockatiels in Australia (photo by Jim Bendon)