UMBRELLA, PLEASE. Widget, a Quaker parakeet, is having a hard time getting in the mood for a shower this particular morning. She goes with her owner, Froggi VanRiper of St. Louis, Mo., a high school teacher, to class every day.

WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? Olly, a Congo African grey owned by Megan of Alberta, Canada, cocks his head for a closer listen.

NOTHING BEATS SNUGGLING WITH A FRIEND. Chaz, a maroon-bellied conure, snoozes on the couch with Chico, a green-cheek conure. The best of buddies live with Delta Holder of New Brunswick, Canada.

SUPERB FELLOW. Vader, a Superb Parrot owned by Greg Sujecki of Melbourne, Australia, shares a 20-meter flight aviary with his mate and other parrots.

I AM BATMAN. Marlene and John Lucas' black-masked lovebird, Batman, tries to steal a sip of coke.

MARGARITA MIRACLE. Cookie, a green-cheek conure, astonishes onlookers by walking across a drink. His owner, Laura Hockla of Stafford Springs, Ct., captured the moment.

I'M TURNING MY HEAD AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. Jesse James, a sun conure belonging to Pam Hardy of Canada, tries to comply with the photographer's request.

JUST DROPPING IN. Yvonne Hendrix of Redway, Calif., says her blue-front Amazona NBM (No More Birds) likes to preen her eyelashes for her.

SAY UNCLE, SAY UNCLE! Betsy preens an appreciative Bell. The white-fronted Amazons live with Susan Weber of Little Ferry, N.J.

DID I MENTION I HATE THIS COLLAR? Grady Mae, a green-cheek conure, disliked her anti-feather-picking collar so much that her owner, A.J. Fisher, took it off after this photo was taken and "let her work out her own issues." Her feathers are now growing back in after two years of bald patches.

YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW MY TAIL LOOKS BAD. Blazey, a pearl pied cockatiel owned by Houston Brooks of Spring Hill, Tenn., shoots a look of apology for her frazzled feathers as she nibbles on a toy ladder.

YOU HAVE FOOD IN YOUR FEATHERS, RIGHT...HERE. Beaker assists Bunsen with a hard-to-reach area under his chin. The two male Pacific parrotlets belong to Stephanie Harrison of New York.

IS IT CHILLY IN HERE? Eclipse, a budgie owned by Michelle of Ontario, fluffs to stay warm.

THIS IS WHAT A WET MACAW LOOKS LIKE. Oscar, a harlequin macaw, enjoys a summer shower in Minneapolis where he lives with Brianna Jordet.

FORECAST: SOGGY. Ginger and Fruity, two sun conures owned by Heidi Moore of Mechanicsville, Md., share a shower perch during a downpour.

GOT A PASS? Two African greys owned by Mohammad Sohail of Karachi, Pakistan, ask for credentials at the entrance to their cage.

IT'S IN THE BAG. Rudy, a red-bellied parrot owned by Saroj Bono of Panama City, Fla., peeks out of a wonderful new nest he's just discovered.

WELCOME TO MY ABODE! Annie, a Goffin's cockatoo owned by Gloria Golden of St. Louis, Mo., offers a visitor a friendly greeting.

BOTTOMS DOWN. Finn, a Pacific parrotlet belonging to Cydney Petit of Lexington, Ky., eases into her bath south end first.

TIKI BIRD. Ixchel, a Nanday conure, donned a flight suit complete with grass skirt to hit the beach with his owner, Tara Tuatai of Brisbane, Australia.

HAT HAMMOCK. Sunshine, a heavily pied peach-face lovebird, finds the perfect place for a snooze on a hot summer day. Her owner is Jeremiah Iverson of Honolulu, Hawaii.

PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ! Sooky, a 15-week-old Molucccan cockatoo, shows Snowball, a two-year-old Goffin's cockatoo, that he might be younger but he's much bigger, so watch out. They live in Dallas with Heather Crellin.

LETTUCE HEAVEN. Emmett m Korbel, a black-headed caique owned by Diane L. S. O'Gara of Cape Coral, Fla., gets wrapped up in his greens.

ATTACK OF THE PINK VAMPIRE BIRDS. Lynne Septon's galah parrots spread their wings to catch every drop of their spritz bath.

DON'T LOOK NOW, BUT... Amelie Roussel's dusky conure, Babe, spots something interesting at home in Mirabel, Canada.

I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE ME. Mateo, a lutino cockatiel owned by Erin Orchard of Bettendorf, Iowa, flirts with the camera.

LIFTOFF! Newman, a Timneh African grey owned by Danita Morrison of Vancouver, British Columbia, finds an airplane that will get him anywhere he wants to go.

I LIKE THE NIGHTLIFE. Romeo, a peach-face lovebird owned by Miranda c. Saint Albans, W.Va., poses against the backdrop of a sparkly toy.

OUR SPECIAL TONIGHT: LETTUCE IN A CLOTHESPIN. Apple, a budgie owned by Kelsey Head of Australia, enjoys his cos lettuce to the point of crossed eyes.

YOU CAN PICK YOUR TOES...But you can't predict when your owner, Cindy Jones, is going to catch you in the act. Pico is a white-bellied caique who lives in Houston.

ONE FISH, YELLOW FISH. Pugsley, a peach-face lutino lovebird owned by Mike of Muncie, Ind., marches toward his cage with his favorite toy fish.

ALL MY CHILDREN. Goldie and Sundance proudly stand guard over their four babies, all owned by Kelli Dowdell of Muncie, Ind.

FLY FOR YOUR LIVES! Squeaky, a peach-face lovebird, flies on command toward his owner, Lynn Blalock of Sebring, Fla. - or possibly in fear of the big chicken advancing in the background.

SHALL I GET THE PHONE? Senna, a Bolivian conure, keeps Marie Harington company in her home office in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.

READY FOR A COLD ONE. Zia, a three-week-old green-wing macaw, tries to convince her owner, Sherry Johnson, that she's of drinking age.

COULD WE GET A LONGER PERCH? Peeps and Pickles, white-bellied caiques owned by Maria and Dave Riccitelli of Randolph, N.J., run out of space.

GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE. Jade Murphy's cockatiel, George, becomes one with his banana tree in Perth, Australia.

SERVICE, WE NEED SERVICE HERE! Bob, seven days old, waits to be fed along with big brother Koba, four months old. The blue-front Amazons belong to Nicole Lyons of Ontario.

OUR LITTLE KNUCKLEHEAD. That's what Jason and Andrea Ashe affectionately call Lola, their white-bellied caique, who likes to hang upside down.

THE WHOLE GANG'S HERE. Cheekie Kon-Tiki, a Senegal parrot owned by Haley Costello of Toronto, finds all his cagetop space is being taken up by a bunch of stuffed shirts.

RARE BLACK PARROT. Keely, whose breed is also known as a lesser vasa parrot, belongs to "S." and "V." of Canada.

LOVEBIRDS CAUGHT KISSING! A grainy photograph captured by telephoto lens from a car parked across the street provides proof positive that Haroon Butt's lovebirds are "involved." They make their love nest in Lahore, Pakistan.

SEND US your favorite parrot photo by Oct. 10, 2008 for the November-December 2008 Your Birds photo contest, and you could win up to $50 worth of bird supplies from The Perch Store! Please limit entries to one per family and e-mail your JPEG (no thumbnails, BMPs or links to photo albums, please) to yourbirds@parrotchronicles.com. Photos must be at least 250 by 250 pixels in size (the larger the better). Include your bird's name and species and your name, city and state. Winners and runner-ups will appear by Oct. 20, 2008. Good luck! By entering the contest, you grant ParrotChronicles.com the right to republish your submitted photo in print or electronic form at any time in the future. -------

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