background we learned from the volunteers of the adoption unit.

     She had been acquired as a chick by a lady who completed her hand feeding and raised her for around 20 years. The lady got a new boyfriend. Apparently there was some jealously issues between the parrots and the boyfriend. You guessed it; “by-by birdie”.

     The good part of this story is that the lady called PSSL and got this bird and its room mate (a Scarlet Macaw) into the adoption program. It’s hard to imagine giving up a parrot like Cap’n. While she growls when she doesn’t get her way and, like most every Amazon, she can be moody; overall she has a very sweet and gentle nature.

     She didn’t seem to respond to or even recognize her previous name. Our intention was to find her a new meaningful name. Most of the time she will be playing the part of a sailor/pirate’s parrot.

     We did a little research into the classic piece of literature, Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Marcus remembered that the lead character, Long John Silver (the one legged cook turned pirate captain) had a parrot that was with him throughout the novel.

 Delving into the book confirmed that this parrot was a Nape, the same type as our new adoptee. Further reading revealed that the Nape was a female. This famous bird’s name: Captain Flint. Named after the pirate who buried the treasure that becomes the central focus of the novel. Silver referred to her as Cap’n for short. We couldn’t hope to find a finer name, so “Cap’n” she became.