By Maddie Naeve

Whoever said dogs are a girl’s best friend, never had a bird. Freshman Dani Pitts has two birds, a blue and gold macaw and a sun conure. She was inspired to adopt her first bird after she went on a vacation and visited an aviary. While she was around the birds she fell in love with the idea of having one of her own.

After their family’s return Pitts began scavenging for a bird. She later purchased a sun conure. Sun conures are a popular bird species because of their availability along with their exotic colors. Pitts then became infatuated with her conure and knew she wanted to get another bird but this time looking for something larger. She knew what bird she wanted going into the search, a big beautiful blue and gold macaw. What stuck out to Pitts most about a macaw was their ability to mimic their owner’s voices. The Pitts’ new their was a lot of commitment going into adopting this species of bird, because they can live to be around 60 years old.

“We have a room in our house for our birds, and they stay pretty quiet,” said Pitts. Sun conures and macaws are notorious for their loud voices but she took steps to minimize the noise. Having two birds may seem overwhelming, but an owner’s love for their pet trumps the negatives.