My Parakeets Love Bucky Covington

Buttercup and Phoebe
Originally uploaded by mo pie.

I'm letting my parakeets enter the pool late, on the grounds that they haven't had access to spoilers. Since they're parakeets. (And while I'm on the subject, we do have another late entrant to the pool in the form of Editrix. Feel free to make your picks throughout the week, before the next results show, to be added to the pool.)

The parakeets will be ranking the contestants with a max of five points from each bird. I downloaded MP3s of the top twelve, so I’ll be playing them for my birds in alphabetical order. Thanks to Rickey.org for the files! (Except Melissa’s, which I had to find elsewhere. Rickey hates Melissa, I guess.)

Ace
A couple of tweets from Phoebe. Buttercup is hopping from perch to perch. A squawk from Phoebe. Phoebe is rubbing her head against the perch sensually. That’s how I feel about Ace too, Phoebe. That’s a 3.5 from Phoebe, and a 2 from Buttercup. Total score: 5.5.

Bucky
Phoebe headed straight to her bell and is ringing it. Buttercup is dancing around again. They still seem to enjoy Bucky. Now they’re both looking at me. Oh! Phoebe just stuck her head inside the bell! She’s ringing it with her head! That is a full endorsement from Phoebe. She’s doing it in time with the song, even. Buttercup is fluffing herself up slightly but is otherwise unmoved. A 3 from Buttercup, a 5 from Phoebe. Total score: 8.

Chris
Buttercup is nibbling Phoebe’s head. They are both chirping happily at this development. They are fluffy. More nibbling. Buttercup is going to nibble her way through this entire song, I think. Soft chirping. Fluffiness. Now some hopping around. More grooming. I have no idea what to think about this, but I think that’s probably a 3.5 from each, for a total of 7.

Elliot
They are fluffy and singing to each other. They hate Elliot a lot less than they used to, I think. How fickle. Now they’re chasing each other around. Buttercup just blinked at me. Now they’re chasing each other some more. Phoebe is looking at her bell, contemplating ringing it. Ring ring ring! Wow, Phoebe changed her mind about Elliot and is giving him a 4.5. Buttercup gives him a 2.5. That’s a total of 7. Tied with Chris!

Katharine
Buttercup is fluffing herself up and chirping. Phoebe is grooming herself. Now Phoebe is eating birdseed. Katharine: dinner theater for parakeets. Buttercup is grooming herself. They seem pretty bored by Katharine, which is sad because I love her. Oh, now Buttercup is scratching her head sensually on the perch. I think Buttercup is hot for Katharine. A 3.5 from Buttercup, a 1.5 from Phoebe. Total of 5.

Kellie
Phoebe is still eating. Kellie is so far exactly as interesting as Katharine. Now Phoebe moved to a different food dish, and is eating something different. Which means nothing, really. Buttercup just looked at me, chirped once, and pooped. I guess that means she doesn’t like Kellie. 2 from Phoebe, 1 from Buttercup. Total of 3.

Kevin
Phoebe is chirping. Now they’re nibbling each other. I think I caught them at an amorous parakeet moment. Oh, now Phoebe is chirping enthusiastically. I think she’s into Kevin and is giving him a 4. Buttercup gives the official grooming score of 3.5. Total of 7.5.

Lisa
Phoebe is bobbing and weaving on the perch. She just chased Buttercup off the perch. Phoebe rings her bell once, then hops away. What is that, a 4? Buttercup is sitting in the food dish. She just tilted her head at me. I’d call that a… 2? Total score: 6.

Mandisa
Buttercup is making an “I love Mandisa” face. Maybe I’m projecting. Buttercup is now sitting next to the bell, wondering what will happen if she rings it with her head. I’ll tell you what: Phoebe will cut you. Buttercup fluffs herself up happily. Phoebe is sitting on one leg. She’s chirping very loudly. Squawk! I’m sitting on one leg! I have something to say! I can’t speak parakeet, but it seems positive to me, overall. I would say a 4 from each bird for a total of 8.

Melissa
And Phoebe heads for the bell. Two dings! Buttercup is stretching. Now Phoebe has hopped over to where Buttercup is. They’re looking at each other intently. Is this a parakeet staring contest? That was anticlimactic. I think Phoebe is a 3.25, and Buttercup is a 2. Total score of 5.25.

Paris
Phoebe is singing, singing, singing. Buttercup is fluffy but quiet. Now she’s sitting on one leg. I have no idea what that means. Maybe she’s comfortable with Paris. Oh, they’re both on one leg. They both find Paris comforting. Phoebe is chirping and head bobbing a little bit. Buttercup looks like she’s falling asleep. A 3 from Buttercup. A 4.25 from Phoebe. Total of 7.25.

Taylor
Phoebe is drinking water. Buttercup is eating a treat stick. Oh, we’re getting bell ringing from Phoebe. Now she’s stretching. Fluffing. Bell ringing. Her head’s too fluffy to fit in the bell. Enthusiasm! Buttercup is sitting on one foot and is doing her tennis ball trick. That’s where she fluffs herself up so much she looks perfectly round, like a tennis ball. Happiness is a round parakeet. 4.5 from Phoebe. 3.25 from Buttercup. Total of 7.75.

There are two ties. I’m giving Bucky and Chris the edge. Bucky because he got the full head-in-the-bell treatment, and Chris because they hated Elliot so much last time. Their final rankings:

1. Bucky: 8
2. Mandisa: 8
3. Taylor: 7.75
4. Kevin: 7.5
5. Paris: 7.25
6. Chris: 7
7. Elliot: 7
8. Lisa: 6
9. Ace: 5.5
10. Melissa: 5.25
11. Katharine: 5
12. Kellie: 3