Two sweet umbrella cockatoos

Poor Clancy the umbrella cockatoo suffers from name envy. His best pal in the whole world is another male umbrella cockatoo named Sugar. In fact, they share the same cage. Whenever anybody comes near, Clancy rushes over to blurt out his favorite thing to say in the world. Here’s a hint. It’s not his own name. "Sugar, Sugar, Sugar!" Sigh. Poor fellow. The real Sugar realizes he has a cool name, since he likes to say, "Hi Sugar!" You know, it’s a shame we can’t all be called Sugar.

Rescued umbrella cockatoos

These two cockatoos came to the sanctuary from an overwhelmed bird rescue in Denver, Colorado. They’re a fun couple of birds. Clancy loves to jump around and spout out his favorite refrain —"Sugar, Sugar, Sugar!"— soaking up most of the attention. Sometimes, Sugar will shuffle over and make sure you notice him, too, but a lot of the time he’s content enough to hang out in the background.

Cockatoos as pets

Cockatoos can be wonderful companions, yet they aren’t for everyone. If cockatoos become unhappy, they can scream. Loudly. Even a nice guy like Sugar can voice his gripes now and again. For example, he was outside one day and caught sight of a lady using a wheelbarrow. Shocked and appalled at such a blatant display of weirdness, Sugar screamed at the evil wheelbarrow-carting lady. Don’t get the wrong impression about him, though, or cockatoos in general. With the right fit, they can be very affectionate friends.

So. Want to add a little "sweetness" to your life? Come and meet these two. Just don’t be surprised if you walk away feeling a sudden draw to the candy aisle.

Make a gift to help other animals in need.

Photos by Troy Snow