What A Difference A Branch Makes

For the first few days after I had put the branch in Friend's box, he had only used it to hide behind when I changed out his food and water, but he soon discovered that he could climb onto it for a more natural perch. He would sit right beneath the screen, but when I removed the screen, he made no attempt to fly out.

It was important to keep his hours on a proper schedule of light and dark since Grosbeaks are migratory birds, governed by the duration of daylight. Each night when the sun went down, I'd tell him, "Time for lights-out-on-parrots!" before I toggled the switch. In the mornings, I'd let sunrise wake him. In fact, I soon discovered that breakfast was his most important meal of the day. Even before it was light enough for me to get up, I could hear through the closed door the sound of sunflower seeds being cracked. But there was no other sound...no chirp or tweet had he uttered. He was eating and he was lightly active, both encouraging signs.