# Against all odds, our cockatiel returned to us



## falonso (Nov 28, 2012)

My wife and I live in the Chicago area, and on Thanksgiving morning our pet cockatiel, Tango, flew out the window. We were horrified, and we were able to track him down only to see him chased out of sight by a hawk. We were left not knowing if he was dead or alive, until Sunday when we got a call. Through a bunch of one-in-a-million shots bundled into one, we were able to get our bird back. A guest at a local Hotel had found him frozen and motionless in the parking garage and nursed him back to health. 

Here was the full (written) version of the story: http://www.livingwithmywife.com/tangos-thanksgiving-adventure/

I just made a video version as well, and tried to include some footage of us trying to get him out of the tree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApolOMxhDSg

I hope you like the story, and I hope it helps anyone who has lost a bird to not give up.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

wow i am amazed you got him back, he is one lucky bird


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

Whoah! Lucky you! Glad he was found! **Shakes her pom poms in glee**


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## AMSD (Nov 2, 2010)

Incredible story! So glad he is home safe! He is gorgeous


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## stevechurch2222 (Sep 25, 2011)

What a wonderful story,Tango is gorgeous.My wife and I have a male white face named Snickers and a male cinnamon white face named Cinnamon.We are getting a male/female pearl white face and name him/her Snowflake,who will be about 13 weeks old when we get him/her.


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

What a great story, very well written! Tango is adorable and I am so glad to hear of a happy ending in such a situation!


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## Hels (Oct 31, 2012)

Wow what a story!! I'm so glad you found your precious little dude 


Hels

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

What a good story!

I'm so glad Tango came home to you again, i think we can all imagine the panic of losing a bird.


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## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

This story is so touching, Tango is such a fortunate bird...


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2012)

Wow, very lucky  I HOPE his wings are clipped now!!


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Wow, that was very lucky! Tango had an adventure and a half! I am glad it all ended well.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I already read Tango's story on another forum, but I enjoyed the video version as well. Very touching.


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## falonso (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks for reading/watching it!



Juliet said:


> Wow, very lucky  I HOPE his wings are clipped now!!


Yeah, Julie (the person who found him) clipped his wingsm after she found hi. I liked when he was able to fly, but even if your careful 100% of the time, accidents will happen. I think we will keep them clipped now. 



Echolalia, I'm glad you liked the video!


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## Clair (Jul 31, 2012)

Holy cow! I dream about our birds all the time and one of my recurring nightmares is of our tiel flying away. So glad you got Tango back.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

just keep in mind, even clipped birds can fly away. best be just as careful with a clipped bird as you would with a flighted bird


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## parsley (Oct 15, 2012)

Thanks so much for posting the story and videos, just a great story!!! So glad you got your Tango back!


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

What a lucky bird! I'm glad you've gotten him back!


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Wow, what a story! I'm so glad it has a happy ending.


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

Im going to read the story at home(Im at work now),but,anyway,glad youve got your Tango back.All the best X x


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## xNx (Jun 6, 2012)

Glad you got your pet back... you should be a narrator


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## falonso (Nov 28, 2012)

xNx said:


> Glad you got your pet back... you should be a narrator


Haha thank you very much, I didn't think I did a very good job narrating it.


Btw, the chicago tribune covered the story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...anksgiving-cockatiel-20121203,0,7938910.story


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## xNx (Jun 6, 2012)

Well done  That bird is super tame, I have a tame lovebird but I haven't had a chance to (try) train my Cockatiel as I live away on a university campus.


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## billabong (Nov 22, 2012)

falonso said:


> Haha thank you very much, I didn't think I did a very good job narrating it.
> 
> 
> Btw, the chicago tribune covered the story:
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...anksgiving-cockatiel-20121203,0,7938910.story


I'm not surprised the Tribune covered it - you did an excellent job narrating, and also composing the video. It was a lovely, moving story. Tango is delightful ... you have inspired me to teach my white-face, Nandy, some tricks.

It is heart-warming to see a cockatiel loved so much.

Regarding his wings, I love to let mine fly free in the house. He is fully flighted and does not attempt to fly out windows or doors ... but it would be a different story if I went out first - I think then he'd be sure to try to follow.

Oh, and by the way, Nandy used to do all the annoying things like picking keys off the keyboard and wanting constantly to be the centre of attention, oh and did I mention chewing cables? Now, finally, at age 7, he has settled, and has accepted that he needs to sit quietly when I work at the computer. It was a matter of saying "No" firmly, and just putting him somewhere else when he did the naughty thing ... but it seemed to take forever for him to get it. Now, he is the almost ideal companion when I'm at the computer. I say "almost" lol.

Many thanks for sharing such a beautiful story.


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## sarah (Jul 11, 2011)

i had tears in my eyes reading this. i'm so glad Tango is with you back again. i went through the same thing last year when my bird flew away, but we never got her back. we managed to catch her twice only to lose her again. but i'm happy that some stories have a happy ending.


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## joaniekay21 (Nov 5, 2012)

Thank you for sharing, very inspiring story


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## Bubbel (Nov 11, 2012)

Good thing you never gave up! I would do anything for my little babie! Very touching story! :clap:


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## thistle (Sep 21, 2012)

Beautiful story. So glad you got your baby back.


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## Abby (Jul 30, 2010)

So glad to hear this! That is amazing.


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