Yeah, we don't handle him a ton, but he gets constant attention, or at least company, most days, and he spent most of his life with at least one other bird. My wife says that before she got Kylie, he could grumble out a couple of words, but once he had a partner-in-crime, he stopped worrying about talking to the humans, though he always liked us more than she did. I was worried how he'd do after she passed, but honestly the little jerk seems to enjoy being a fabulous old "widower".
Kylie had a rough start, bought by a lady who didn't understand birds, fed her poorly, and when Kylie got noisy the lady shut her in a closet and wondered why she seemed to be plucking her feathers and doing poorly. My wife got the crack(!) in her beak fixed, then just gave her time and attention and a proper diet until she came around, eventually letting them share a cage. There was some mating-ish behavior for a few years, but it didn't look "aligned" properly, she never properly nested, and Spike preferred to stomp the eggs; I doubt any of them were viable anyway. We just made sure she had all the calcium she would need, looked out for eggbinding (happened once, and some warm water did the trick), and took the clutch away after a few days.
She was never as outgoing as other 'tiels, but as best we can tell she was content, and she was bonded to Spike. I am told the lady asked about getting her back after seeing the two of them together on the porch, at which point my wife mentioned she'd happily give her back if the lady wanted to pay the vet bills and follow a few rules (simple ones, frankly... we are pretty lax bird owners TBH).
My wife actually got him before we met, but he's been my buddy for over 18 years, and my office roomie for the past 5. He doesn't really fly anymore, but he's still loud and funny and always moving around his cage. He's also drawn the attention of the local hawk on at least three occasions, including one where it lazily swooped into the glass window and was stunned for a minute or two. They are not allowed actual contact, but he is also friends with our big pittie/shepherd/husky/etc. mix.
At one point we had four birds in two cages. One budgie, an undersized little sweetheart from PetSmart, lived to 7. His cagebuddy, a big sturdy, grumpy budgie from the same local breeder/shop as Spike, was almost 11. Spike's frienemy/mate, was a rescued gray-white cockatiel named Kylie. She passed away a couple of years ago, we assume somewhere in her early to mid 20s.
Parrots [moved to c/parrots]
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