Kendi was happy to see me when I got back from Philadelphia. I was really glad that she didn’t seem too traumatized by both of us being away over night. She had to spend the night in her daytime cage. It’s not like it’s inhumane. Heck, it’s not even inconvenient for her. It’s a spacious cage, and, like any parent feeling guilty about going out of town, I got her two new toys before I left. But, anyway, it was out of her routine.

Parrots express their affection by trying to groom the people they like. Kendi has taken to “doing my hair”. She sits on my shoulder and rearranges the strands of hair she can reach. She chews on it too, just for good measure. This is a parrot’s idea of reciprocity for the neck and head scratches that I give her. Senegal parrots also spend a lot of time playing with their toes. Well, not really playing, but chewing on their talons to keep them in good shape and at the same time using the talons to make sure their beak is clean. Some parrots will let you file their toenails a little, if they really trust you. All this stuff is bonding activity for birds like K-Bird (yes, we did rip off her nickname from K-Fed. What about it?)

So, when I got back, Kendi didn’t seem upset, but she did want to have a “nice preen” just to be reassured that I still love her. I scratched her neck and head and the underside of her beak…but all the travel had worn me out a little so I started to drift off to sleep. I could feel Kendi’s beak lightly going over my fingernails. I thought she was cleaning under my nails because I’d mashed up some banana for the dog and I figured I had some stuck under there. At times, I could feel her biting at my nails a little bit, but not hard. Oh, I guess she’s just trying to show friendship by doing my talons, I thought sleepily.

The clock chimed, I opened my eyes, and found that she had trimmed all of the fingernails on my left hand down the tips of my fingers! The truth is, she did a pretty good job, although there were some jagged spots. This wasn’t the look I was going for!

But, I couldn’t be mad at her. She was sitting in the palm of my hand, all fluffed up, and looking very pleased with her efforts.

I guess I just won’t let her do my nails again!