Crew Log for S/V Freedom - a Gemini 105 - Jim and Deb Faughn
Jimmy Buffett - The original Parrot Head
| Our traveling companion on our cruising trip is a Senegal parrot named, “Jimmy Buffett.” Since Jim (my husband) and I love the singer/song writer, it seemed fitting to name this sweet bird after one of our favorite artists. We bought him from a very reputable bird breeder named Carol Field in St. Louis as a baby in 1995. Since it had not been weaned, we hand fed it until it began eating solid food. |  Jimmy Buffett with Deb and me anchored off of St. Augustine, FL. This is also the picture used in the August 2007 Lattitudes and Attitudes article wrtten by us. |
| For those of you who are truly into avian science, the lineage is shown to the right: | The
Senegal---Poicephalus senegalus |
| The Senegal
Parrot (Poicephalus senegalus) is a Poicephalus parrot which is a resident
breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west
Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which
make up its diet. It is a gregarious species, continuously chattering with a range of whistling and squawking calls. Senegal Parrots live an average of approximately 25-30 years in the wild, and have been known to live for 50 years in captivity. Senegal Parrots are about 23 cm long, weigh about 125 to 170 gm.They have a relatively large head and beak for their overall size, and feathers form a short broad tail. Adults have a charcoal grey head, grey beak, bright yellow irises, green back and throat, and yellow underparts and rump. The yellow, orange, and green areas on a Senegal Parrot's front form a V-shape resembling a yellow vest worn over green. Juveniles have dark grey, almost black, irises. Senegal Parrots are not sexually dimorphic, but there are some hypotheses which sometimes might help to determine the gender of adult birds:fake watches The V-shape of the vest is usually longer in females; in females the green area extends down over the chest to between the legs, whereas in males the tip of the green area ends midway down the chest.The female's beak and head are generally slightly smaller and narrower than the male's.The under-tail covert feathers (short feathers under the base of the main tail feathers) are generally mostly yellow in the male and generally mostly green in the female. Males are generally, but not always, larger and heavier than female birds. Text by Eric D. Hilton. |
 Jimmy Buffett likes to help Jim on the computer too. |
| Suitability
as pets: Hand reared birds make very good pets. They are small
enough to handle and can be accommodated in a medium sized parrot / parakeet
cage. Not too noisy and will learn to talk and imitate sounds such as the
creak of the garage door, the ping of the microwave, the ring of the telephone
etc. Not with the accuracy of pitch and tone as would an African grey, but
quite entertaining. My hand reared Senegal likes to whistle various tunes
but not always getting the notes in the correct order. Our Senegal also
has about a 20 word vocabulary, along with the sounds he makes around the
, chewing and playing with their toys. Their curious and friendly nature
makes them good boat. He seems to only talk in the early mornings, while
we are sleeping ( or trying to sleep). Some of the words he has picked up include: Jimmy, Jimmy Buffett, Give me a kiss, Good Morning, Good Night, Pretty Bird, Good Bird, What’s Up, In addition, he makes quite a few sounds: cell phone, phone from the landline, creek in pantry door, alarm from the townhouse, autohelm noise, sounds of a number of birds including the gulls recently, wolf whistle, clicks, Of course one of his most notable items is the trick that he does which is to swing in loops on the ring in his cage to get attention. When he wants Jim to pick him up, he will raise one of his feet up in the air as if he wants to get onto your finger. |
Temperament: These playful and independent birds enjoy climbing family pets, although they should be handled regularly to ensure they remain tame. The relatively small size of these birds and their quiet nature make them suitable for apartment living. They can learn to speak many words and can be taught to perform tricks. Senegals are one of our most popular slightly larger birds, and for many good reasons!
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Average
weight of all: 144g. s = 17.8 g. (n = 26)
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Chip: Jimmy Buffett has been implanted with a chip for identification. The "chip" is registered with Avid - 800-336-2843 - located at 3185 Hamner Ave., Norco, CA 92860. Of course, we have the number in our records. |
 Jimmy Buffett - Taking a bath in his water dish. |
 Jimmy Buffett with Christy who was visiting from s/v Veranda. |
Web Page by Jim Faughn