Raskolnikov, a literary character was reincarnated in late 1995 as Rasky our Nanday Conure.
He has better hearing than humans.
His ears are large pink holes half an inch behind his eyes visible only when his head feathers are wet and sticking up.
This happens quite a bit because he likes water and enjoys daily showers and baths
Rasky has extraordinary eyesight in good light, but can't see worth a darn if it is even slightly dark.
He is phenomenally alert when he is not sleepy or distracted by an activity.
He has a repertoire of about 50 combinations of squawks gurgles and chirps.
He can fly swiftly, high up and for long distances.
We keep him inside because once outside he flies into the distant trees and responds to calls for him to come back with his
"no, you guys fly uphere" squawk.
His fully extended wing span is over two feet.
He displaces a lot of air when he flies.
Even at rest it is a foot from his beak to the tip of his tailfeathers.
His torso is, in contrast, compact, smaller than a fist.
By holding his wings in various poses and preening his iridescent feathers in different ways he can alter his appearance.
Occasionally, he displays his tail feathers in a fan, but is now back to looking like he does in the pictures above.
He is missing a nail on his front right claw, but it's no disability.
He is extremely agile.
Between flying, walking and climbing he can get around closed curtains and hanging beads.
Even a door that is slightly ajar but not closed tight is not a problem for him.
He pushes it open with his beak.
He is strong for his size.
His beak and nails are sharp and his jaw is powerful.
He can grip things very tightly with his beak, and bite hard.
Usually he just uses his beak to facilitate his movement or to gently get a hold of something to move it, or taste it.
He is a good kisser.
He can hang upside down and performs tricks in the Randy and Rasky show.
He has a long tongue of about equal width and thickness and sensitive taste buds.
He eats seeds, grapes, peanuts, Avi-Treats and Nutri-Berries, and most of what we eat.
He loves noodles, bread, cheese, eggs, bananas, orange juice, cereal and yogurt.
Once a friend came over when Rasky was planning on quietly eating and sleeping and Rasky tried to drive him out of the house
by screaming and swooping down on him.
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