I was again lulled in to a false security by Dweezel. I greeted my feathered friends and proceeded to open the nest box, which until last night was neutral ground. Both Caiques jumped in the box to greet me and I scratched Zorro’s head as she tried to climb out of the box. When Dweezel got to the end of the box, I reached around to scratch the back of his head and he gently grabbed my pointer finger with his beak, his way of starting to play. I expected him to start regurgitating for me but instead he started to gently chew on my finger. With every bite, the pressure got more intense until I saw his eyes pin and he started to grind on my bone like a walnut shell.

I pulled my hand out of the box, the small parrot dangling from my pointer finger. I used my undamaged hand to pry open his beak and remove him from my flesh and bone. As I held his head between my fingers, I could see his eyes locked on me, his pupils so small his eyes were almost pure red. I put him back in the box, shut the lid and latched it to keep it shut.