Stevie, the Wonder-Bird

By Natalie Antinoff, DVM
Diplomate, ABVP (Avian)
Gulf Coast Avian & Exotics
Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists

They arrived at another veterinarian’s office one Saturday. Small and vulnerable, the three baby cockatiels shared a nest and the same birth defect – failure of the eyelids to open. The veterinarian on duty reviewed the desperate situation, then called me to see if there was anything that could be done. I suggested surgery, but told him that these surgeries are often unsuccessful. An hour later, he called me back, saying that the owners had decided to put all three birds to sleep. Being a cockatiel owner myself, I asked if they were willing to donate the birds to my care. That is how "Stevie Wonder" came into my life.

Stevie lived at work for those first few weeks where I could watch him closely. While I had every intention of taking him home, he began to make his home in my clinic. In just a few weeks, he warmed up enough to tell us that he was a "pretty bird," and to call out "‘Hey, Stevie bird." He could wolf whistle, and he quickly picked up the "charge" whistle – the one they do at baseball games! One of our technicians decided to teach him "pop goes the weasel," but she could only get the tune right if she whistled the whole song first. Imagine our laughter when Stevie whistled the whole song one day! Soon, he began to "compose" his own songs – for example: "Yankee Doodle went to town, POP goes the weasel" and "Jingle bells, jingle bells, CHARGE!" He started saying, "Hey, turkey," a phrase he picked up from another bird that was in the hospital for only one day. Occasionally, he bit if he was startled (sometimes we all forget he is nearly blind!), but when he did bite, he would immediately say, "OW! Bad bird!"

Stevie soon took up permanent residence in the avian and exotics ward of our hospital, where he was joined by another abandoned bird. Stevie now gets visited by most of the employees every day. Some of the employees stop by on their way to clock in and out, as well as on their lunch break, and he is often found on someone’s shoulder. It has been a wonderful way to get all of the employees comfortable with handling birds. He "pays rent" by helping us to teach clients how to hold and administer medications to their own birds. But he seems to think his "job" is to make people laugh. One situation will always stay in my mind…

Sometimes with very critical patients, we bring the owners back to the ward to visit their pets. One young couple was unfortunate enough to have both of their rabbits hospitalized at the same time, both quite sick. Although one was recovering, the other was losing his battle, and these owners were struggling with the very difficult decision about euthanasia. After an emotional visit which lasted about an hour, a time filled with tears and questions, they were ready to leave. Stevie, who had been silent and unnoticed through the entire visit, suddenly decided to "cheer them up" with his favorite tune, Yankee Doodle. As we all started to chuckle, he placed his head deep into his food dish and continued whistling even louder — for better acoustics! By now, these sad owners had gone from tears to laughter, and as they left, they were smiling despite their sadness. Stevie seemed to know the exact moment to inject humor and laughter.

Who could have guessed that a blind cockatiel would bring so much good? He’s helped to train our staff and our clients. He livens up the workplace, and even brings laughter from the forlorn. This little blind bird has been a bright spot in so many lives!

Copyright Natalie Antinoff