Solomon is a normal grey. He's the first cockatiel I ever had the pleasure of caring for. He was a tiel that a tiel breeder gave to a budgie breeder who gave to me in 1995. He was full-grown and estimated to be 3 to 6 years old. I figure he was closer to 3. The tiel breeder didn't want him anymore for some reason.

He never got hand tame, but he shows his appreciation by singing and playing whistle games with me.

It's not easy, but the birdies' determination to overcome their challenges makes it all the more important to come at their issues with optimism.