Mischief in the making

When Chris and Traci Nordang found Rio the green wing macaw on the Best Friends website, they fell in love and wanted to adopt.

Back in their Colorado home, they already had a blue and gold macaw named Sam, and for a long time now they've been wanting to adopt another bird. Rio seemed just what they were looking for. Only problem, when they called to proceed with the application they learned Rio had just been adopted. But in the end, that might have been the best thing that could have happened.

There was another green wing at Best Friends that they didn’t know about. Mischief the macaw came to the Sanctuary when her family could no longer keep up with her needs. She’s beautiful, she’s friendly, and most important, she’s about as mellow as they come.

You see, something they didn’t know before was that Rio doesn’t do well in high energy environments. And considering the fact that Traci and Chris have five kids in their home, it probably wouldn’t have been the peace-and-quiet place Rio needed. (Rio’s new home is a terrific match, however!)

The more they learned about Mischief, the more they felt she was the right one. It was time to come and meet her. Sure enough, Mischief stepped right up and accepted them as friends from the start. If there were any doubts about Mischief being the bird for their family, Mischief settled those easily enough. She was exactly what they’d wanted.

Back home, Mischief has settled right in with everyone, Sam the macaw included. Even with all the impressive energy five kids can dish out, Mischief takes it all in stride and pulls her own goofy antics alongside the rest of them. She loves to dance and bop around and throw out phrases that keep them smiling. One of her favorites tends to be, "You think you’re funny?" Well, they certainly think she is!

Goes to show that sometimes what you start out looking for and what you find aren’t always the same thing, but sometimes that leads to the best outcome in the end.

Written by David Dickson

Photos by Molly Wald and courtesy of the Nordang family

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