Friendly Greeting

One winter morning, while I was pegging some clothes out on my clothesline, a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos flew overhead making a loud din with their usual screeches. Just for a laugh I called out, “Hello cocky” to them. Suddenly one of the cockatoos flew down very close to me and replied with a “Hello cocky” of his own to me.

Then it flew back to join the rest of the flock. After I’d recovered from my shock, I realised that it must have been an escaped caged cockatoo that had joined a flock of wild birds. I waved to them as they flew away from me still screeching merrily and wished the escapee well with its new life.