N
Norbert Wrigglebottom
Memories of a Jackdaw called 'PYJAMAS'.
As a tiny, orphaned baby, he loved to really snuggle down on my shoulder when I had my fleecey pyjamas on. He fell asleep like that every night for the first few weeks, hence how he got his name, 'Pyjamas'.
He absolutely adored bath time, and the further he managed to splash the water, the happier he was!
He loved playing with cigarette papers, and would watch intently when I rolled my own cigarettes.
One day, he grabbed the little rolling machine, then ripped a load of papers out of the pack and stuffed them firmly in to the rolling machine. Then he grabbed a beakful of filters and stuffed them in to the machine as well, then snapped it shut with his beak and stood on the coffee table looking at me all proud.
I bought him his own papers, his own filters, and his own machine and he spent many happy hours 'rolling cigarettes'. I drew the line at buying him a pack of Golden Virginia though
My very dear friend turned up one day with a present for him, a toddlers first jigsaw. The board had removable animal shapes with a snall handle on each one. Within half an hour he learned how to remove the animal jigsaw shapes, and how to put them back in the correct place.
My carer, had been wanting to make friends with him for weeks. One day to her delight he called her over to him ''Come'ere! Come 'ere!'' Delighted, she went straight to him and held out her hand. He promptly pecked her hard on the fingers and told her to ''Bugger off'' then laughed.
Pyjamas loved to dance. He danced somewhat like a belly dancer. he would sit on my arm, and I would sing to him, and he would sway his body from side to side but his head never moved. He would stare at me solemnly as he swayed.
I left him unattended in the bathroom for less than two minutes and returned to find he had thrown most of my make up down the toilet followed by my top set of dentures. He cackled with laughter the whole time that I was pouring bleach and boiling water over my toilet-dunked teeth.
He took a dislike to my perfect condition, much loved, collectable, vintage Teeny Tiny Tears doll. So he poked its eyes out with his beak and poo'd on her face.
He poo'd on me. Regularly. Especially when I was going out. Usually just before I was about to go through the door.
He absolutely hated being caged, so it was only very rarely that I closed his cage door. I got up one morning and went into the kitchen to discover he had completely emptied every single item out of my cutlery draw and carried it across the kitchen to place each item in his cage.
Including a full sized stainless steel ladle. The ladle was longer than the cage door was wide or tall. Don't ask, because I do not know; but he managed it.
A typical Jackdaw, if it wasn't nailed down he would steal it. If it was nailed down, he would try and remove the nail.
Realising it was pointless letting him have a cage that he never used other than to stash his stolen loot in, I let him have my double bedroom as his 'cage'. He shared the entire room with three rabbits. He loved to torment the bunnies by stealing their food, especially the broccoli. He never ate it, he just used to grab it, fly up on to the pen sides and pelt them with it. He 'Broccoli bombed' the bunnies daily. Unfortunately for them, he was a damn good shot. 'BOINK!' right on the bonce, every time.
I kept thinking he would have a happier life in a home where he would have other Jackdaws for company, but I just loved him so much I could never let him go when it came to the crunch. He loved me too. I was his 'mama' and his friend. I adored him, and he adored me.
The night he was to make his journey to the Rainbow Bridge, he called me by my name and flew into my arms as soon as I was within his sight. He went into a severe siezure and when it finished, from that moment on, just rested quietly snuggled up on my lap with his beak resting on my hand until he quietly and gently left to make the most special journey of all. His journey to the Bridge.
I still miss him terribly, I will never, EVER forget my time, that wonderful time I spent sharing my world with a jackdaw.
He was cheeky, he was naughty. He was funny, he was a terrible thief. He could be a bully. He showed no remorse or shame. Ever.
He was by far the brightest, most intellegent bird I have ever known in my life.
PYJAMAS.
I will love and remember him and miss him forever.
But I am so glad that for a while, he was part of my world.
In deepest loving memory of my Jackdaw, my friend,
PYJAMAS.
Anne
As a tiny, orphaned baby, he loved to really snuggle down on my shoulder when I had my fleecey pyjamas on. He fell asleep like that every night for the first few weeks, hence how he got his name, 'Pyjamas'.
He absolutely adored bath time, and the further he managed to splash the water, the happier he was!
He loved playing with cigarette papers, and would watch intently when I rolled my own cigarettes.
One day, he grabbed the little rolling machine, then ripped a load of papers out of the pack and stuffed them firmly in to the rolling machine. Then he grabbed a beakful of filters and stuffed them in to the machine as well, then snapped it shut with his beak and stood on the coffee table looking at me all proud.
I bought him his own papers, his own filters, and his own machine and he spent many happy hours 'rolling cigarettes'. I drew the line at buying him a pack of Golden Virginia though
My very dear friend turned up one day with a present for him, a toddlers first jigsaw. The board had removable animal shapes with a snall handle on each one. Within half an hour he learned how to remove the animal jigsaw shapes, and how to put them back in the correct place.
My carer, had been wanting to make friends with him for weeks. One day to her delight he called her over to him ''Come'ere! Come 'ere!'' Delighted, she went straight to him and held out her hand. He promptly pecked her hard on the fingers and told her to ''Bugger off'' then laughed.
Pyjamas loved to dance. He danced somewhat like a belly dancer. he would sit on my arm, and I would sing to him, and he would sway his body from side to side but his head never moved. He would stare at me solemnly as he swayed.
I left him unattended in the bathroom for less than two minutes and returned to find he had thrown most of my make up down the toilet followed by my top set of dentures. He cackled with laughter the whole time that I was pouring bleach and boiling water over my toilet-dunked teeth.
He took a dislike to my perfect condition, much loved, collectable, vintage Teeny Tiny Tears doll. So he poked its eyes out with his beak and poo'd on her face.
He poo'd on me. Regularly. Especially when I was going out. Usually just before I was about to go through the door.
He absolutely hated being caged, so it was only very rarely that I closed his cage door. I got up one morning and went into the kitchen to discover he had completely emptied every single item out of my cutlery draw and carried it across the kitchen to place each item in his cage.
Including a full sized stainless steel ladle. The ladle was longer than the cage door was wide or tall. Don't ask, because I do not know; but he managed it.
A typical Jackdaw, if it wasn't nailed down he would steal it. If it was nailed down, he would try and remove the nail.
Realising it was pointless letting him have a cage that he never used other than to stash his stolen loot in, I let him have my double bedroom as his 'cage'. He shared the entire room with three rabbits. He loved to torment the bunnies by stealing their food, especially the broccoli. He never ate it, he just used to grab it, fly up on to the pen sides and pelt them with it. He 'Broccoli bombed' the bunnies daily. Unfortunately for them, he was a damn good shot. 'BOINK!' right on the bonce, every time.
I kept thinking he would have a happier life in a home where he would have other Jackdaws for company, but I just loved him so much I could never let him go when it came to the crunch. He loved me too. I was his 'mama' and his friend. I adored him, and he adored me.
The night he was to make his journey to the Rainbow Bridge, he called me by my name and flew into my arms as soon as I was within his sight. He went into a severe siezure and when it finished, from that moment on, just rested quietly snuggled up on my lap with his beak resting on my hand until he quietly and gently left to make the most special journey of all. His journey to the Bridge.
I still miss him terribly, I will never, EVER forget my time, that wonderful time I spent sharing my world with a jackdaw.
He was cheeky, he was naughty. He was funny, he was a terrible thief. He could be a bully. He showed no remorse or shame. Ever.
He was by far the brightest, most intellegent bird I have ever known in my life.
PYJAMAS.
I will love and remember him and miss him forever.
But I am so glad that for a while, he was part of my world.
In deepest loving memory of my Jackdaw, my friend,
PYJAMAS.
Anne
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It really was an eye opening, incredible journey with Pyjamas, and he truly showed me how vastly intelligent the corvid species are. I actually had a postmortem done on him by my vet the following day, as I could not see or find any possible reason for his sudden demise. It turned out he was basically a living time bomb, and passed due to a massive brain haemorrhage. He was an incredible bird, and a wonderful teacher 
And magpies and crows!