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Over the years I have lost many birds for various reasons, but there comes a time when you lose that very special little feathered friend which is hard to say goodbye too. I never knew at the time how attached I would become to such a tiny living being, it was one of the best things I did in my life. This is the story of Beebies.

I never knew anything about Heck's Grass Finches at first until I bought a lonely male from a pet shop who drove the staff nuts with his screams of loneliness. His gorgeous chestnut, grey and white colouration and black markings were so eye catching, I had to have him. I brought him home and quickly assembled a cage for him, and then proceeded to find him a hen (I named him Freddie). It took 4 weeks to find him a companion, which were 2 juvenile Heck's Grass Finches. It turned out that one was a hen and the other was a male, which I named Lady and Teddie respectively.

Freddie looked after both birds as if they were his own offspring until he finally paired with Lady as she grew older. One day they built a nice, well hidden nest and Lady began laying eggs, but I noticed after about 10 days she was not sitting on them. I placed her eggs in to an incubator, thinking nothing would happen whilst candling her eggs daily. Over the coming days I saw that one of the eggs were developing an embryo and could see the heart beating.

On the 11th of December 2011 the egg hatched 😁 I was so excited. I named the bird Beebies as I had no idea of its gender at the time. Lucky for me, I had some Kaytee hand rearing formula which I had bought prior. I fed him day and night, and he lapped it all up eagerly. Watching him grow was so rewarding, and then his feathers began to grow. Although he was a noisy little bugger, he was the cutest little guy ever. Once he found his wings, he'd follow me everywhere.

He would have his food, then would spend all his time with me, just sitting all over me. Where ever I went, he came too. He used to help me prepare the food for the other birds while inspecting the bowls, having a nibble at the same time of course.

My mother did not like little animals much because she was kind of frightened by them, but she did take a liking to Beebies as you can see her holding him in the photo below.

Of course, the kids loved him too 😁

As Beebies grew, he found he had a voice. I would often whistle tunes to him, and then he would fly into my kitchen and would try to imitate the tunes I whistled to him. Quite often I would hear him whistling the tunes and would fly back in waiting for me to whistle them again then fly back to the kitchen where he would continue where he left off. I realised Heck's Grass Finches are extremely intelligent, and their social skills are complex. This species are very careful with who they trust, and they are very emotional, territorial and remember everything. While they are giving you their heart, they are taking yours without you knowing. 

If you are wondering if they know what you are talking about, I can tell you, they can easily learn the meanings of certain words. Beebies learnt the meaning of around 50 words (that I know of) in his lifetime. I pet them all to the test, and he passed all tests with flying colours. He also knew when I was feeling sad.

He was very much loved by everyone who saw him, and he loved attention. He would let you smooth him for hours on end, with around the back of his neck being his favourite place. He was never locked in a cage, he was a free flying bird all his life. Listening to him learning to sing was a pleasure I can not explain. I did have to hide my houseplants, or he would eat them all, lol.

From an early age, he discovered he liked crisps. I'd often find him in my packet of crisps, helping himself. I literally had to hide the pack so he could not get to them, but he would sure search for them.

It's funny really, I never saw him as a pet but rather a much loved family member. He was the perfect companion, and I could have never asked for anything better. They say the best things come in small packages, they were not wrong 😃

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Aww Beebies was gorgeous, I can see how much he was loved.  I am so sorry for your loss. I hope someday to have a special bird like that.