Ardath Rekha

I've been rehabbing wild animals since I was a kid, actually, as has my whole family. Once licensing was needed, my father took the requisite courses... and along the way discovered that our results blew away virtually everybody else's, including the pros. Generally speaking, any animal we get, assuming it's able to survive the trauma that brought it to us in the first place, will -- after release -- assimilate into the local population and stay in contact with us, and will generally outlive the norm for their species.

Probably our most spectacular success was a baby starling with a middle ear infection. We were advised to euthanize but didn't; he recovered most of his ability to balance, became releasable, and lived in the wild for another twenty years. We knew it was him because he still twitched a little, and he'd picked up some human vocabulary while he was with us that he liked to shout at us from the treetops. XD

I actually love the whole "cuddle me for hours mommy!" thing that baby birds do. :) Star is very physically affectionate and would rather perch on my finger, or hand, than on a regular perch (and she'd prefer to perch in my hair to all of the other options!) and she likes to nap on me. Fortunately, I'm a sedentary enough person -- or can be, as needed -- that this is actually fun for me. XD