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Show x i' , ( .. .. . J'- v ""-; 1 I .' I i , J COLORFUL halfmoon parrot perches on play stool. Halfmoon's make good pets Since the Halfmoon Dwarf Parrot, or Petz' Conure, became readily available in the United States, it has enjoyed enormous and evergrowing popularity. The halfmoon is a bird in incongruity. While it is unquestionably beautiful, it is also a comic, given charmingly foolish behavior. Despite the brilliant shades of glimmering green, from chartreuse to emerald, the deep blue of its crown and portions of its flight feathers, and its orange forehead, it has no obvious vanity. A tame halfmoon and they are very agreeable to taming and training will unconcernedly stand on its head and shoulders, or lie on its back and scratch itself contentedly, or perhaps nibble on its toenails. Even its natural sounds are uninhibited a hilarious conglomeration of creaks, squeaks, squawks and grumbles. An aggressive, pugnacious bird, capable of acute agility and powerful flight, the halfmoon can also be extremely meditative and delicate in its actions. Halfmoons almost always make good talkers, the limitations usually being those of the teacher's patience and control, rather than the birds inability. It should also be understood that no talking bird understands what it is saying, closer than vaguely and indirectly in-directly associating words with deeds, objects, and the time of day. Despite this, a bird with a varied repertoire can be a source of constant delight. It is hard to overemphasize the charm of dwarf parrots. Only a few years ago these birds were seldom brought out of their natural habitat, which ranges from Western Mexico to South America, and yet today their popularity in this country is exceeded only by the better-known parakeet and the gentle cockatiel. |