Ill-Gotten Cranes

A trans-masculine avian enthusiast immigrant who does occasional art and game-related things while studying restoration ecology. My partner and I have 4 birds, and we ascribe to the "adopt, don't shop" rule, including being generally against the breeding of parrots. Since we're currently only supported by state benefits and occasional contract jobs, things like Ko-fi donations are highly appreciated, but not something you should consider if you yourself struggle financially. <3

[chewybitart]

Smol leetle burbs?

Yes, I think yes definitely

[chewybitart]

I really love how simple the pallet for this piece is

[chewybitart]

Sunshine made of feathers 💖💖

[illgottencranes]

Curry continues to love peekaboo.

[illgottencranes]

Curry’s learning!! I don’t think he’s ever preened another bird before, though I think he’s wanted to without quite knowing what he wanted.

Now Windy actually wants him to, and he’s mostly ignoring her to nibble on the seagrass wall 😂

(Sorry for the low res - this is a stealth video from across the room!)

[illgottencranes]

These two finally figured out allopreening - I have a guess that a good proportion of the chittering to date has been Banana not understanding why Angel was trying to get so close to him. XD They still squabble a lot over trying to exist in the same space (including an incident the other night when Angel went to bed on a swing and Banana experimented with hanging upside down from the top arch of the same swing so that their heads were rubbing and neither was happy), but now there are also a lot of PDAs and happy preeny squeaking. 💜

[illgottencranes]

Windy is so good at playing! ^_^

[sdzoo]

…and then I said, of course I’m not a puma. Have you seen the tufts on my ears? #LynxSpaDay 

Remember to treat yo self 💅 

📷: Mike Wilson 

[bewareofbird]

Do I really have to say this is a bad idea?

Apparently I do.

God, I hate this site.

There’s a video going around of two budgies strapped to the back of a cat.

1. If you watch the blue one in particular, you can see how hard they’re breathing. These birds are not enjoying this.

2. That cage looks incredibly flimsy. One panic and I wouldn’t be surprised if it broke open just from the budgies jumping and flapping. Which immediately puts them in danger of either being killed by the cat or escaping outdoors.

3. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again and again: DON’T PUT YOUR PREY ANIMALS WITH YOUR PREDATOR PETS. This is never cute or okay.

4. What if the cat bolts? What if the cage falls off? What if, what if, what if, there are just too many things that could go wrong here. 

5. I can’t believe two of my biggest animal-keeping peeves have been married in one post. Don’t let your cat outside without a harness.

tl;dr: DON’T DO THIS.

[illgottencranes]

Gosh that was such a disturbing video

[todaysbird]

why do people make a blanket statement and call geese ugly. have you looked at geese. personally i find good old canada geese very pretty but if they aren’t your taste…theres very many beautiful geese! for example:

barnacle goose

african pygmy goose

ross’s goose

brant

hawaiian goose

(x)

[nawys-moved]

is it rude to ask for more ross’s goose pics?

[todaysbird]

Here Are Some Delightful Chaps For You

[illgottencranes]

I just about freaked when I noticed there are barnacle geese here!!

[illgottencranes]

Angel LOVES a good glass-bath! It always sounds like he’s trying to drown himself given how much he sneezes haha. It often leads to Windy taking a shower too, since she’ll get splashed and start bathing 😂

[illgottencranes]

Banana started melting overnight - I’m always intrigued to see the feather condition hidden on new adoptees, especially when they come from poor conditions. Even though Banana’s owners were fond of him, he was kept in a pretty barren, small cage, with no UV light, fed only seeds, and not often let out to fly. Some combination of that led to this extremely bumpy feather!

His tail feathers also have this bare length right by the tip, where he would constantly rub them against the bars while clinging to the side.

[illgottencranes]

These two are like color swatches.

[illgottencranes]

Photos not to send to Angel’s former owner to show how well they get along 😂

(They do also play and sing together a lot too, they just keep trying to occupy the same space at the same time!)

[illgottencranes]

Proof that they actually are friends 😛

[illgottencranes]

A muscular man

[illgottencranes]

Last addition to the flock for the foreseeable future! Angel is 7 years old and came from a loving home with lots of bird accommodations. He was rehomed because his mate had just died and his owner’s cockatiels were very unnerved by him, so it seemed better to relocate him to a home where he could have a budgie pal and also get lots of attention. ❤️

He and Banana started making out immediately upon introduction. ☺️

[illgottencranes]

We had a visit from the Curryfrog last night

[illgottencranes]

When Windy was still in a separate cage, Banana enjoyed loafing like this above her (often providing her with a spot of shade for her afternoon nap). And that’s why we sometimes call him flatbread!