We actually have three birds, who are all members of the Parrot (Psittacine) family. Sasha and Calvin are Cockatoos (the white and Pink & Gray birds to the right), whose ancestors came from Australia, Merlin is a Scarlet Macaw whose primary habitat is Central and South America. All of the birds were born (hatched) in the US, as importation of wild birds has been illegal since 1992.

Sasha is a female Greater Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and is the oldest at 11 years. Calvin is a six year old male Rose Breasted Cockatoo. Merlin is a male Scarlet Macaw, whose primary habitat is Central and South America. Merlin is a year younger than Sasha, who was born in 1996.

Do they talk? Absolutely! Merlin has the largest vocabulary, and is ready and willing to learn more. In addition to the usual “Hello” and “Good Bird”, he also says, “What’s up?”, “Hi Sasha”, “Step Up (when he wants to be picked up), and “Uh oh” when something falls and hits the ground.

Sasha responds, “Cockatoo” when you ask her what kind of bird she is, “Hello Catherine” when addressing Catherine and “Hi Bird”. One day Sasha was outside and a Blue Jay perched on a fence next to her. Sasha turned and greeted the bird with a wave and a “Hi Bird”. The dumbfounded Blue Jay immediately took off!

Calvin says, "What a Cal!" or "Wacha doing?", but his forte is making noises and doing tricks. All of the birds will show off and spread their wings on command, and make a 360 degree turn when you tell them to “Spin”. Merlin is also an accomplished basketball player. He has an accuracy rate of about 90% when he puts a whiffle ball through his basketball net.