South Yorkshire Times January 19, 1934
Joey the Lovebird
Gay and Gallant and What a Talker !
Meet Joey! Light of heart, gay of plumage, small but good – a wisp of concentrated happiness. That’s Joey. You will be charmed with his company.
Joey is a “love bird” or to give him the proper but less elegant title, a Budgerigar. If you are polite and Joey approves your advances, he will shake hands with you and wish you a cheery “Good Morning” in his own language, which is not unlike ours. Not merely a “tweet tweet” as a canary would express it, but a real honest to goodness “Good Morning.” You will be able to distinguish the word. He will also chortle.
Joey is one of a family of 18. Bred and reared by a young Wath enthusiast, Jack Cooper of 12 Barnsley Road. He tells us something of the nature of this lovely creature, and of its habits in the native state.
About “Budger”
The budgerigar is native of Australia. In its wild state it inhabits the salt bush flats and feeds upon seeding grasses. It rests during the Australian summer in hollows scraped in the eucalyptus tree and – here is a curious thing – no nesting material is used. “Clutches” of four to five white eggs are laid on alternate days, the bird commencing to sit on the first egg. Incubation takes about seventeen days, and so at one period the nests are a mixture of eggs and birds. The average length of a bird is about eight inches and here are many variations in colour from the green wild bird. Mr Cooper’s beautiful collection includes birds of laurel green, sky blue, rich cobalt, white suffusion, daffodil-yellow and mauve. It is said that a cinnamon winged variety has been evolved recently. The forehead and crown feathers are usually bright, and an adult bird carries a “face mask” under which a necklace of black circular spots encircles the throat. There are usually six of these spots, only four of which are easily discernible. The birds are delightfully marked, and on account of their beautiful plumage are rapidly becoming rivals to the canary.
Show Successes
Mr. Cooper took up the fancy three years ago and after buying a pair of birds from Sheffield found to his surprise that he required two pairs before they would breed. Gradually his collection grew and at one period he had as many as 66 beautiful specimens. Just now he has 18, three of which carried off the “Haynes” Cup at Doncaster on New Years Day.