As it seems she never was a fan of action. Since I knew Phoebe she was a lady who belonged to the calmer sort of budgies and she prefered a leisurely way of life. The best thing about this was that she was too lazy for fighting with other birds and therefore she got along very well with the rest of my flock. Unlike the other hens she wasn't touchy at all and prefered to relax while other females argued.

After Phoebe was born in the year 2002 she moved into a wonderful and caring home. She used to hang around in the living room of my cousin and her husband. Of course together with lots of other birds, because they don't like to keep budgies solitary. In this fond surrounding Phoebe was happy and soon made friends with her owners. She became a tame bird - but only when fancied it. It was her who decided when a closer contact was desired. When the tiny Madame had a good mind to perch on someone's hand she just jumped on it. Or what was even better: She loved to be carried around by humans because this was so convenient. ;-)

One day she fell in love with one of her fellow budgies. Even though Phoebe was a bit chubby she made it and became Speedy's wife. He was a charming sky-blue budgie who never stoped pleasing her by offering her food or caressing her neck. Despite he was such a watchful and caring husband she often had an eye on other males. As it seemed she was an independet budgie lady who had to check her current value on the marriage market. When Speedy started to suffer from health problems (his left wing caused him trouble) in the beginning of 2006, he lost his ability to fly. After several crashes he has been brought into a new home (my bird room) which is safe for handicapped birds - of course his wife was with him. At first my cousin and her husband planned to get their budgie pair back as soon as Speedy would be able to fly again.

Time passed by and weeks became months. Both birds settled in and felt very comfortable in my bird room. In summer Phoebe had a hot flirt with a feathered vacationist and also made friends with Nik and Isobella, a gentle hen who belonged to my flock these days. As it turned out later, her husband Speedy would most probably never be able to fly again. Since they loved him so much and scared he could die in a crash in their home, my cousin and her husband decided to leave the pair in my safe home. That's how Phoebe and Speedy became official members of my little flock on 10/10/2006.

After a while, Phoebe fell in love with Bubi and left Speedy who also found another love. They were both happy and I enjoyed watching Phoebe and Bubi being together. Even though Bubi often flirted with other hens, Phoebe was his favourite. Sometimes she became a bit angry when he spent too much time with one of the other hens. Then she beat him up a little bit and showed him that she is the number one and that he should spend more time with her.

By the end of 2008, Phoebe's beak colour started to change right under her cere. This colour change became a structural change and my avian vet tried to find out what was wrong with her beak. It seemed to be a tumour (in fact it wasn't but it looked like it) and therefore the beak became more and more curved. But Phoebe still felt fine for a very long time and she didn't suffer any pain. Then, in Juli 2011, the beak needed to be cut once aganin. Even though the vet was very careful, the whole beak was broken afterwards. The remaining part was very dark, in fact it was a melanoma that showed up. Regrettably, there was no hope for Phoebe and therefore she has been put to sleep on 07/22/11. It was so hard to say Goodbye even though it was the best for her...

In fact I have no idea how Phoebe's colour mutation is called. When she was younger she was nearly white all over her body and when she became older her plumage turned more and more yellow to greenish. I admit there is an influence of y European Yellowface in her genes.

Meaning of the name
In the Greek mythology, Phoebe was one of the original Titans. So she was a daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Her consort was her brother named Coeus. Originally, the name was spelled Phoibe. My budgie had a very charming tiny head and a broad body, so she looked a bit pear-shaped. That's why her nickname was pear, see photo on the right.