One November afternoon I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic heading home after work. Just ahead in the center divider I noticed was appeared to be a white plastic bag. As I got closer, I could see it was actually an Umbrella Cockatoo! I hopped out of the car, talking quietly to the parrot while leaning down with my hand out and asked it to "step up."
Traffic was just starting to move, luckily, he did step up and I jumped back into the car. He sat calmly in the passenger seat. He was very dirty and looked exhausted. I gave him food and water as soon as we got home. I already had several pet birds so I was prepared. He ate and ate. I could tell he was very thin, no telling how long he had been lost outside. I had an empty cage and he settled in. I named him Crystal not realizing he was actually a she. He loved his first bath in the kitchen sink. Crystal was a darling, very sweet and cuddly - and quiet! I placed found ads in papers with no results. A trip to the vet for a checkup and scan for a microchip, no chip. I told the vet how I had come to find her.
December 23 - a phone call from the vet's office. They had clients come in with a new puppy. During the visit for shots, they mentioned they had lost a cockatoo in early November and couldnt live without a pet. Put one and one together and there was a chance it was the same parrot. The doctor asked if Crystal had an all-white nail on her left foot, she did. A scar under her right wing, she did. I told him to give the clients my phone number. As we talked, I began to feel that was their Snowy so I invited them to come see. I walked over to her cage and said "Hi Snowy." She immediately responded with "Hi Snowy, hi girl, how you" - the first words she had said while with me, and word-for-word exactly what they said she said all the time.

They asked if they could come the next day even though it would be Christmas Eve. I replied, "of course." When their car pulled into my driveway, Crystal shrieked. When I opened the front door, she flew off her cage and straight to them. There was no doubt now that she was their beloved Snowy. There were lots of tears and hugs. I knew she belonged to them but I was also very sad to see her go. A snowy Christmas I will never forget.

sue
YUCAIPA, CA