Together with her mate Ares and their close friend Dione, Capella moved into my bird room in the beginning of May 2002. Before that day, the three poor birds had been waiting for somebody to adopt them. They have been kept in a cage of the animal shelter of my hometown. It wasn't their former owner who has brought them to the animal shelter. It was a friend of him who did so because he was too gutless himself. According to this friend of the owner, the owner was totally fed up with the ugly Ares, Capella and Dione. It could easily be seen that he didn't like his birds very much. Their cage in which they have been delivered was a mess and the poor ladies Dione and Capella were disfigured due to some injuries they had to suffer from in their past.

For example, Capella's right leg has been broken (see photo on the right), but it seemed as if her former owner didn't bring her to a vet for treating the hurt bone. The two parts of her broken bone grew together in a wrong position, so Capella wasn't able to use her disfigured foot and toes for the rest of her life. Her toes were crooked to the left part of her body and she could not use them for climbing. Landing on slippery or unsteady grounds was not easy for the handicapped bird.

In addition to that, her spine was crooked what possibly was a direct cause of her broken leg. Capella was not able to stand or perch in an upright position, so her spine most likely became deformed over the years. I was so glad to see that Capella was full of energy and joy of living despite her useless foot and crooked spine. Her shiny yellow plumage fitted to her attitudes, she was like a little whirlwind. Never before I have seen such a beautiful lutino! Capella's eyes mirrored her intelligence and all the crazy things that went on in her head. Her favourite waste of time was chewing on the bark of cork oak. The photo below shows Capella with her beloved mate Ares.

On 05/20/02, Capella became egg bound and her inner mucosa turned inside out with the egg because had a rough surface and therefore was too sticky. I stood right next to her when it happened. Within a few seconds, I gripped her, ran to my telephone and phoned my vet. Just five minutes later, Capella was lying on his operation table and he put her inner parts of the cloaca back inside. After she came out from anesthesia, Capella immediately wanted to fly around - she still was very lively and everything seemed to have gone right. My vet and me, we were so confident and thought she would make it. One day later, Capella passed away despite all our efforts to save her life.

Even though she was a member of my flock for only slightly more than three weeks, she conquered my heart with her hasty and at the same time endearing behavior. I will never forget this handsome budgie girl who was living on the fast lane when she was in my bird room. Hopefully she stays true to her gushy way of living over there on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge!

Meaning of the name
A few years ago, I decided to name my first lutino hen after a yellow star that could be seen in winter from the northern hemisphere: Capella. This star is about 42 light-years away from Earth and emits a yellow light like our sun.