Tovi, the Terrible He came to our house to be Kiwi's friend because Kiwi used to feel so lonely and to call us so much that he got hoarse when we went out for the day. We asked a bird expert and a breeder about their compatibility, and everyone assured us that they would make good companions to each other even in the same cage eventually. We were a bit worried at the beginning that Kiwi might hurt the smaller Tovi. On the contrary, Tovi became a real bully, and now Kiwi has to run away anytime Tovi stalks him! But, he never hurts Kiwi, just threatens him with flashing eyes and by showing how wide his beak could open to bite Kiwi! Then Kiwi flies away. Nonetheless they keep each other company with their constant contact calls. And when one of them is taken to the garden or bathroom, the other one calls worriedly.

Tovi was already six months old when we got him. He was parent reared and had a sister as a girlfriend when we saw him. So he is a real bird who scorns Kiwi who had an identity crisis and didn't know any Kakariki language. Although Tovi comes to our knees and hands to get some treats, I think that he will never become as tame as Kiwi who enjoys human company and stays on us for comfort. Tovi  loves walking on the roof  upside down. He did roof walking not only on his previous cage but also Kiwi's cage, a travelling cage and a small carrier. A cage without a wire roof to him is like tea without milk to the British.

He moved to a bigger cage (W105 x D60 x H130/150 CM) with a solid roof in July 1999, so he now only does this occasionally on others' cages at flying time.  Tovi used to be jealous of Kiwi who was able to fish old food at the cage bottom under the grate because Tovi's previous cage was made to prevent this. So I gave him a cardboard box to scratch in which contained small amount of seeds and shredded newspaper. He would scratch the bottom of the box very contentedly while Kiwi looked on jealously.

The loudest Kakariki
Tovi used to be probably the loudest Kakariki for the first few months with us. Kiwi has been a very quiet bird who only makes sounds to call us in human words. So we were taken by a surprise by Tovi's ability to make such loud calls and songs. His voice is not, luckily, high pitched like Lala's, our Brown-headed parrot, but just loud for a Kakariki and he carried on for some hours each day. Once he settled, he became much more quiet, now we seldom hear him at full volume except for the first in the morning or when he is alarmed.

Tovi was also an incredibly active bird when we got him. He used to do a flying marathon every morning from one end of the house to the other. One morning I counted how many times he went back and forth, and calculated the distance he flew. Amazingly he flew more than 1 km without a break. Now he would struggle to do this. He has gained weight and lost that kind of hyper energy.

Tovi is a song bird Tovi has learnt talking from Kiwi. 'Up', 'Ok' , 'Kiwi' and 'Good boy' are his favourite words. He incorporates them into his Kakariki song which is already funny itself. We have a good laugh. Tovi is also proud of his song. When we put him in the garden in a travelling cage, he challenges a local Blackbird, 'Blackie'  who sings just 1m away from him. They have a kind of contest. The blackbird usually wins. Tovi's comical song (302kb) Tovi's clicks (128kb)

Tovi likes his new cage

Once he moved to the bigger cage, he seems more contented than ever. In this cage, he can fly around and consume enough energy not to get frustrated too much. It's better for everybody. He willingly goes back to the cage at the end of flying time, so that we can let him out more often. I used to say 'If he flies out of the window, he would fly back to Wales where he was born, to see his former girlfriend.'  Now I think that he would come back to us since he recognizes us as part of his flock. We have thought about getting him a girlfriend since Tovi seems very keen on regurgitating for his invisible hen friend. But when we considered likelihood that he might become more aggressive toward Kiwi, that Kiwi wants to have one too, and that we can't find good homes for Tovi's chicks, we thought better of it, although I can't help imagining little Tovilets perching on the top of the door with his father singing his funny song!

Having been an aviary bird previously, it must have been stressful and frustrating for him to adjust to an indoor life, which he has done very well. If we had known his stress in advance, we would have never bought him. Adjustment would have been much smoother for him if he hadn't become sick on the Christmas day in 1998. He was hospitalized for four days due to an infection, and we had to give him Baytrill twice a day for another week. He was very distressed from being caught so many times. Understandably his trust in us seemed lost, and we had to start from scratch again. Now one year has passed, he has become tamer than ever. He still doesn't like our hands, but stays on our heads, arms, and shoulders. We don't force him, we let him progress at his own pace.