Here's a pretty nice picture of Wasabi (Peas) and Oolong's tail.

Wasabi (Peas) isn't feeling very well, I'm afraid. I noticed a few days ago that he was dozing a little on the ground near the heat lamp, and I haven't heard him sing his Hunka Hunka Burning Love song much lately. But I try not to worry every time a bird takes advantage of the toasty warmth from the light bulb, and he may have stopped singing because Szechwan (Pepper) is a big (very naked) bully.

But today he's been napping a lot, and he often makes little wheezing noises as he breathes. He's still eating and drinking — or at least pretending to. But I'm worried.

Not too much to do, I'm afraid. It's bitter cold out, and the stress of catching him, and taking him out (to the vet's office) in the cold would be a bad combination. So far I'm just watching and worrying. And worrying and watching.

[Note that you can get a bird to the vet's office when it's only 18 degrees F, it's just difficult. You need to warm the car up, put a heating pad in the bottom of a cardboard box and turn it on, put a small towel (or something similar) on top of the pad, put the travel cage with the bird inside on top of that, cover the cage with a bigger towel, and close up the cardboard box. Obviously, unplug the pad when you're in transit, etc. You can't easily regulate the temperature in the cage, and you have to move fast, just in case. I've had good luck with this so far, but it definitely adds to the stress for both birds and humans.]