The Podcast: Exotic Birds of Bham
Exotic Birds of B-ham (part 2)
More Exotic Birds… this time mostly psittacines, or parrots if you’re nasty.
Summary
This episode is called Exotic birds in Bham (Take 2) OR — If these birds could talk… OR… Bellinghistory out of the mouths of parrots and sucklings??
At any rate, this episode is about exotic birds as pets… particularly parrots, with weird parrot stories we’ve collected from BellingHISTORY. Today’s historical selections are not likely to be found in the history books… and really, they are of no real consequence when it comes to Bellinghistory, but surprisingly stories of our chatty feathered friends have come up again and again in research of other things. So we thought we would string a few together for your entertainment.
You’ll meet a few Pollys and a parrot thankfully named Mildred, hear the stories of beer guzzling bar birds and Whatcom County’s oldest feathered friend.
Squawk!
Listen
Or… listen to the episode at …
Ephemera
Resources
“Alt’s Parrot Returns.” Bellingham Herald, July 1, 1908.
American Federation of Aviculture: Established in 1974. Website accessed April 2023. https://afabirds.org/2018_WordPress/
“The Bird with the Largest Vocabulary in the World.” Nature’s Scrapbook, April 2023. http://naturesscrapbook.blogspot.com/2012/02/bird-with-largest-vocabulary-in-world.htm
Burtt, Edward H., Max R. Schroeder, Lauren A. SMith, Jenna E Sroka, and Kevin J. McGraw. “Colourful parrot feathers resist bacterial degradation.” Biology Letters. April 23, 2011:7(2):214-6. Published online Oct 6, 1910. Accessed April 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3061162/
Daniel, Bev. “Mildred the Parrot Has Welcomed Lots of New Years.” Bellingham Herald, December 30, 1968.
Donahue, Michelle Z. “14 Fun Facts About Parrots.” Smithsonian Magazine. January 5, 2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-parrots-180957714/
Eardley, Carole. “County Resident May Have Been Born 150 Years Ago.” Bellingham Herald, April 25, 1963.
“Fred Ault is Found Dead in Bed.” Bellingham Herald, December 30, 1911.
“John Charles Daly.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, April 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_Daly
Kovalchik, Kara. “Why Do We Call Parrots ‘Polly’?” Mental Floss. March 4, 2014. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55350/why-do-we-call-parrots-polly
McManman, Don. “Shopsquawk: Bird Lovers Just Wacky About Beasts.” Bellingham Herald, September 30, 1985
“Parrot.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, April 18, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrot
“Polly Loves to Talk, Sing but Is Sometimes Exasperating.” Bellingham Herald, Oct 23, 1949.
Reddin, John J. “Parrot, 128, Has Crush On TV Newscaster. Faces of the City.” Seattle Daily Times, June 21, 1961.
“Squawk.” Bellingham Herald, October 31, 1974 (Obituary of Mildred the Parrot)
“Thief Elopes With Ault’s Parrott (sic): Fred Is in the Dumps and Cannot be Consoled.” Bellingham Herald, June 30, 1908.
“What’s Wrong with Caged Birds? How Birds SUffer in the Pet Trade.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Website accessed April 2023. https://www.peta.org/issues/animal-companion-issues/cruel-practices/caging-birds/
Aaaand….
We are pleased to now know that The Underground is still a thing! So if you want to go party at the site of Fred Alt/Ault’s bar and pour one out for him and Polly, you can!
Just for fun, see why Mildred was crushing on John Daly:
What’s My Line - Fred Astaire (Apr 3, 1955) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feLh7iKQ9bU
Finally, a gallery of vintage postcards featuring parrots for your amusement:
We want to thank Devin Champlin and the late, great, Lucas Hicks for the use of the ol’ Gallus Brothers tune “Too Bad West Coast Blues.” You can find that tune and more on bandcamp at https://thegallusbrothers.bandcamp.com/ and https://devinchamplin.bandcamp.com/ and you can find Devin at Champlin Guitars in Bellingham! <3 <3 <3
More podcast episodes/show notes:
In this episode we discuss the early history of Bellingham’s historic Hotel Leo, aka the Leopold Hotel. From its earliest days as the Byron House through its take-over and expansion under PNW beer baron Leopold Schmidt. And since it’s spooky season, we include stories about some “potential ghosts” that might be wandering the halls…