After Wasabi (Peas) died, Jen mentioned that the event was sad for the other Finsters. Now, I try not to anthropomorphize my birds, but anyone who reads this blog knows that I've been worrying about that every day. But, even though I feel "I hope none of the Finsters are sad," I try to describe the worry differently. Like, "I hope none of the Finsters had paired up exclusively with Wasabi (Peas) and is feeling more vulnerable now that he's gone."

Subtle difference, eh? Grin. Interestingly, even Paul Theroux — who recently wrote an article about his geese, and against anthropomorphism, in the Smithsonian Magazine — didn't always get it quite right. It's hard not to assign human motives and feelings to animals that clearly have motives and feelings of their own. At least, it's hard not to use the same words. You can read Theroux's article online: see "Living With Geese" from the December, 2006 issue.

Oolong has been on my mind lately: she spent a lot of time with Earl Grey, and she spent most of the day sitting with Wasabi (Peas) the day before he died. Also, she spent the night with him in the hospital cage, since I didn't want Wasabi (Peas) to be sick, in an unfamiliar cage, and alone, all at the same time. But she seems to be doing fine.

Here she is with Szechwan (Pepper), on the (dirty) white concrete perch. The two of them were snoozing there yesterday afternoon until I woke them up by taking pictures.

You will probably notice that they are both very, very naked. Szechwan (Pepper) is completely bald, and is showing off the fact that his beak is too big for his head. Oolong is slowly getting all the feathers plucked off her head, from the back to the front. You can also see both of their left ears, click for a close up that has them both circled (pops). Don't let Szechwan (Pepper)'s dark-colored skin fool you: that's a little ear hole in the side of his head!

Truth is, I haven't noticed any patterns in the Finsters' pairings. Sometimes it's one pair, sometimes it's another, and I'm pretty sure they all sleep in the same nest box together. Szechwan (Pepper) is probably singing more often than Cinnamon, but both males are singing their Hunka Hunka Burning Love songs. So, while I suppose the other Finsters miss Wasabi (Peas), they don't seem sad about it. So, while I suppose the other Finsters know Wasabi (Peas) is gone, their behavior hasn't seemed to change because of it.

[By the way, this is a fantastic photograph. I have a five-year-old digital camera that has lots of nifty manual settings, and a 10X optical zoom. But the truth is, the Finsters don't pose long enough for me to use manual settings. I used the zoom for this photo; everything else, including the flash, was on auto. This time, I got lucky.]