The Caiques have laid their second egg now. With each day, they get more and more protective of the nest box, the cage and the nest. Each day is a new adventure with the Caiques and each day I learn something new. There are no websites or books that can tell you exactly what a female Caique sounds like when she is laying an egg. Well, I had to learn that one first hand. When laying this second egg (since I have been watching her like a hawk to make sure I didn’t miss this one), Zorro made a noise I had never heard before. She also now uses this noise to protect her eggs from me and Dweezel (sometimes he is permitted to view and fondle the eggs, but other times he is not even permitted in the nest box). the noise is similar to the “trying to scare you away” noise, but quieter, higher pitched, and in short bursts rather than one drawn out note. She tilts her head to watch me, keeping the egg(s) under her neck for warmth, and makes this sound. Then she will raise her rump, in an effort to protect the egg(s) even more. She will even grab my hand gently and move it away or sometimes give me a small nip to get her point across. I was able to keep them out of the nest box for a minute tonight (by shoving a t-shirt in the entrance hole and praying it held its ground) so I could candle the eggs to see if they had any striations on the inside. Unfortunately, I did see striations in both eggs. Striations can be a sign of infertility, but I will keep my hopes up. Stranger things have happened, so I am not going to assume anymore that all the eggs will be infertile for sure.

The eggs:

Zorro warning Dweezel to stay away from the eggs:

The Parrotlets have laid another egg but there will be no pictures for a couple weeks. I am hoping that they take good care of this one and I am going to really limit the amount of times I check the box. I am so anxious to see babies from this pair, but I know I need to have patience and leave them alone so they can do what they do best.