Once, I had a mustache parakeet and it was quite the adventure.
He was given/sold as a second home to me from an elderly, ill Jewish man from Brooklyn NY named Ron. He had a green cheek conure named Elmer and a lizard, as well. He showed me downstairs to his 1 bedroom apartment and proudly showed me both his ex wives photos and his kids. Brushing past his oxygen tanks and many bird stands I saw a man who really loved birds his whole life and I knew his heart was breaking to give up his new young Mustache Parakeet, “Groucho,” who was his dream bird. He informed me that his doctor told him he could no longer have birds due to his failing lungs and health.
Groucho was not very old, maybe 6-8 months old and was parent and human raised, which is what I believe to be the perfect combination. He was terrified and had almost no color at that point, as mustache’s develop their coloration during the first 3 years of their lives. He was confirmed male already and was missing his leg band. When I asked about the missing band, his old owner told me, yeah, he isn’t married, making a joke. “Oh, he talks, by the way.” Said Ron.
Groucho stood on top of the travel cage the whole way home from Brooklyn to my apartment in Manhattan. “You are going to love your new friends.” I told him. I was totally right. When we came home, Groucho was immediately interested in my quaker parrot, Niblet and our male Indian Ringneck, Bill. He didn’t say anything that night, or the night after, but he sure was sweet and loved to eat. Especially corn.
Groucho quickly bonded with Bill, the Indian Ringneck. They had a bond like brothers at first that became very close. Niblet bonded to Bill too. Groucho and Niblet didn’t like eachother because of this- as they both were bonded to Bill. Indian Ringnecks are not monogamous, but quakers and mustache’s are, so it was like a soap opera love triangle, never a dull moment. I called them the “Three Gay Musketeers.”
Groucho did start to talk a few nights in, at night, as he was getting sleepy, which I have found is pretty typical for young birds learning to talk. He would get into his comfortable spot in his cage and start talking… like Ron. This went on for a few weeks. He spoke in a clear, male, deep voice. I couldn’t understand most of it. As time went on, he stopped talking and became more bonded to the Bill. Bill was completely parent raised, afraid of hands and nearly wild. This wildness rubbed off on Groucho, who was very much in the middle. It seemed true that Asian Parrots have a tendency to be wild very quickly. Mostly, this worked for me. I had a very close relationship with Niblet, the quaker, and that was enough. The three boys were very happy as a little flock and would actually stay put on their cage and playtop all day every day except for their trips to the shower daily and outside to the patio on nice days. Groucho was a beast with his beak. He loved to destroy any wooden toys with a vengeance, so I would be sure to keep them in steady supply. I even got a subscription handmade bird toy order each month, mostly because of Groucho. One of my favorite things about Groucho was his adorable “HONK.” He could get pretty noisy sometimes but it was really not overwhelming like it is with Angel, my hand reared female Indian Ringneck Parakeet.
Groucho developed his color slowly over the next two years. He went through a particularly brutal molt which looked very concerning on his first Christmas.
Eventually, he became stunningly beautiful, with a varying green body and dark wings with yellow. His chest turned a deep salmon pink, his cheeks marked with black and iridescent purples and blues. His eyes turned a medium slate gray blue and when I say this bird was gorgeous, I am not kidding. The best part was what I called his “Candy Corn,” Beak!
Groucho at 2 years with my son, Charlie
Groucho survived through the loss of Niblet, our flighted quaker parrot that got out in a freak thunderstorm situation and was lost in seconds forever. He adapted when we adopted two more birds, another quaker, named Beans and our white female Indian Ringneck, Angel. Beans filled the place of Niblet in the love trio and Angel bonded to me. Groucho started showing some attention to Angel, however as she got older, and began to regurgitate for her. He would talk on occasion, mostly to blow kisses, in my voice. As he bonded more and more to Bill, he stopped talking almost entirely. I loved him all the same, singing about his bell bottom pants, unibrow, mustache, pretty pink chest and of course, his “Candy Corn,” beak every day and driving my family crazy.
It made my heart so happy to see Groucho sing, blow kisses (He would say “Gimmie a kiss, MWAH!” and motion to give kisses, but was not the best talker.) He loved a shower in the sun on a summer day on the patio, a corn on the cob and some birdie bread and he loved his Bill. When we moved from our small apartment in NYC to our house in upstate NY, Groucho and his two male friends and Angel came along and everyone seemed to settle in so well but it was not to be.
Groucho as a Baby 
Bill and Groucho at a year old 
Groucho at 2.5 yrs old 
Flight recall training in NYC 
He was always good for a kiss!
After Beans was attacked and dragged away one night while I was at an overnight sleep study, Bill and Groucho became completely unhinged. They desperately looked for Beans and though they were flight recall trained, they refused for the first time to return for dinner after their flights around the house and instead, opted to search for their lost friend in the trees right next to the house. In rapid succession, they were plucked by hawks, while I helplessly called them from 20 feet away.
This is why I am not avidly against wing trimming. If Bill’s wings were trimmed, he would likely still be here. As would Groucho. Instead, they were taken and eaten despite being daily recall trained and well flighted. You would think I would have learned my lesson with Niblet, the quaker I lost the year before for the same reason- he was flighted and though flight trained daily, he got started by the oncoming summer thunderstorm, got out and flew up 8 stories of apartment building, which would have been impossible if trimmed. You would think I would have learned when my avian vet firmly told me it was a bad idea i was flight training my birds. She clearly* told me she hears stories daily of lost birds and trained birds getting nabbed by predators and or lost forever. It is a serious risk to let your birds flight recall outside, even in the suburbs in a small yard, even yards away from you. Even large birds. We had a McCaw taken off someone’s shoulder here in the county as well. The owner had that bird 17 years.
Once Groucho was lost, Angel basically lost her mind. My flock of 4 was 1 and she was broken, and who could blame her. I felt so terrible, I still do. Every day I miss that group, that flock of birds. They were so happy and they made us so happy too. They could make a mess but it was a pure joy to have them in our lives and really, they were pretty well behaved. My quaker made me laugh every day and I felt his loss the most. Groucho was not the closest to me, but he was just so sweet and lovable, though quite bossy towards Bill at times (he wouldn’t let him eat!) it was just birdie hormones. Groucho never bit us, not once. He had a sweet disposition and was mostly concerned with food and being with Bill at all times. As for Ron, the man who I kept in touch with to send him photos of Groucho from time to time… he passed away from his lung complications when Groucho was about two. I will always feel blessed that Ron let me have Groucho, and always be disappointed in myself for not being better and keeping my flock safe for many more years.
If I were to give someone advice about the mustache parakeet, I would say to get one that’s hand or at least partly hand raised and be aware it’s going to bond to either a human or a bird, so choose carefully, like many birds. If I hadn’t had the other birds, Groucho would have been a big talker and wanted to be on my shoulder all day long, which can be a lot if you want to get literally anything done in life. This fact was proven when our quaker died, whenever I left the room he would do his “Honk,” and demand I pick him up and take him with me. He did not like to be alone.
Do you want to watch short videos on Groucho and our other birds? Check out our 3BirdsSoap tiktok account, which has about 100k followers!
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