Wordsworth the Cockatiel

...has arrived! The latest (and presumably, for a while, the last) of the family of animals in my apartment is named after either William the poet or his sister Dorothy the diarist, depending on its sex; the clerk at the store thought female, but I'll wait to hear what my vet says. I bought the cage and accessories first and set up the "real estate," then got the bird. Wordsworth is a beautiful gray and white cockatiel with orange cheeks and splendiferous long tailfeathers. Since she was hand-reared, she was immediately comfortable perching on my finger and liked it right away when I stroked her back; she bonded with me quickly and is very companionable. My elder cat Claire has barely taken notice of her arrival, and Wordsworth herself seems unconcerned by the other animals (including Benjamin the rabbit and Tugger the hedgehog). That's one advantage of her coming from a store -- there, she was surrounded by hubbub, so slight noises and such don't faze her at all. Like any healthy cockatiel, she is a lively, curious bird who loves to explore and play and is decidedly expressive, happy to make eye contact and to cock her head quite adorably. Her reaction to the change in her life seems to be, "Hey, this home and parent thing is awesome!"