November 1999 post to the Jardine's mailing list:
I'm sitting here with two energetic wet caique boys drying off by doing some body surfing & giving me a great back rub at the same time.

Jardy was equally happy to have his bath & sat anxiously leaning forward on my hand as Piper, the brown headed parrot took one of her leisurely baths which requires her to jump out of the tub & rush off to rub herself on the toaster cover & then back to the bath bowl again & again.

Finally it was Jardy's turn & he sat in the bowl soaking up water, holding his head raised as he relished the misting spray that I rained down upon him. This bowl is a nice wide diameter bowl in which the water is about an inch deep.

Apparently Jardy thought of a better idea....sitting on the countertop was a clear 2 quart mixing bowl that I'd used earlier to melt chocolate & then rinsed thoroughly. Jardy climbed up on the edge of the bowl & bent down to stick his beak in the miserly residue of water left in the bottom of the bowl. Then he stretched across & took ahold of the other side of the bowl with his beak (it's only 7 1/2" diameter) & let his body slide into the bowl where he fit rather snugly. A bit of fluffing & he climbed out again and jumped into his regular bathing bowl.

Since I'd observed his safe technique of going in feet first, I filled the mixing bowl up to the 2 cup measure while Jardy watched.

He immediately went back & climbed up to the top of the bowl & duplicated his previous maneuver only this time, he was sliding his belly down into water. He sat in there and fluttered as best he could (very tight quarters with his head & tail at an upright angle)....he had a very good time stuffed into that bowl.

I'm left wondering if he truly likes that bowl with confining sides or if he's letting me know that he wants a deeper bath...??? Whatever his preferences, he sure looked funny folded into that bowl.

Marilyn & the black, soaked, Jardy.

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