Inter-Species Love

I’ve never known if Pipsqueak was a boy or a girl. But, the other day, Pipsqueak the Lovebird and Shelly the Parakeet mated, so now I know that Pipsqueak is a boy. I’ve always known Shelly, (with parakeets you can tell boys from girls) was a girl and that they were buddies, and share a house for two. But, they had never been romantic before.That’s Pipsqueak on the left, and Shelly is in the back facing the camera in the picture at the right. I’ve mentioned before that Shelly has laid a few eggs, but she was never really interested in them. I just figured they were not fertile. Now if she lays an egg, it might be fertile. I’m anxious to find out what we would get if they hatch.I don’t know if they can make babies or not. But I won’t be surprised. In my humble opinion, God made the “Parrot Kind” with all the possible included, and all the variations are due to isolated populations, and isolated groups of genes, in different habitats.Horses can have babies with zebras and donkeys. Whales can have babies with dolphins, and tigers can have babies with lions. I won’t be surprised if a lovebird can have a baby with a parakeet.I mentioned the other day that Pipsqueak picks on the parakeets, except his now official girl friend, Shelly. That’s why they had an apartment for two. I couldn’t trust him with the other birds. He’s been known to bite toes off and pull out tail feathers. Lovebirds are known to do that.When I first met Pipsqueak, he was one big scab. His cage mates attacked him at the pet shop, and he was really hurt bad. I’m a sucker for an animal with a sad story. He still won’t grow feathers around his neck. He looks like a buzzard from some angles.