According to the Daily Mail:
Seven months ago Sisso damaged his right wing and although he has been gradually nursed back to health he is unable to fly. Before the harness came along all he could do was flap aimlessly on the ground.
See another sweet pic and read more over at the Daily Mail. Kudos to Cuteporter Jamie R. for this one.
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Go, little bird, go! You can do it!
Awwwww. The only thing better would be video!
Yay for helping humans!
I have a horribly hilarious mental image of the other end of that string being attached to a stick, allowing Sisso to only fly in circles–kind of the birdie equivalent of a horse exerciser. If that’s the case, I hope when Sisso gets back on his feet, er, wings, that he’ll remember how to fly in more directions than ‘around’.
The article is precious! I gather that they feed the little guy every hour. I have a hunch that if he flies in circles it will be because he refuses to leave.
i feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I hope he learns to fly better than my cockatiel… his idea of ‘landing’ is to fly to the wall nearest where he wants to be, and then stick his feet out in front as he “back-flaps” to slow down, then “screeees” all the way down.
Once (once) in 10 or so years, he managed to land back on his cage…we all cheered so loudly we startled him into flapping off again 
.
And lo the light shone all around
On a wing and a prayer
He’s headed to Bethly-town
It’s a festivus miracle there.
He’s wearing a red sweateaw to help him “fly!”
Sisso: I love my sweateaw! I love my sweateaw!
This is the absolute, most superlatively sweet thing I have ever seen!!! Giving the poor flightless birdie the feeling of still being able to fly!! Can’t stand it — I’m starting to tear up here!
Blackbird singing in the dead of night / Take these broken wings and learn to fly / All your life / You were only waiting for this moment to arise …
Remember the McDonalds commercial when the cat had the french fries at the end of a fishing pole tempting the humans walking along the sidewalk?
Sorry – that’s the first thought I had when I saw the pic…. LOL!
oh my GOD that’s so CUTE….and SAD…
*heysplode*
I was having a really bad day and that photo and news story really cheered me up. Go little swift, go! Swift is a really great name for a bird species. Now I’m sitting here making up cool bird species names: The Common Zoom. The Red-Bellied Zipper. The Northern Quickie. Ok, that last one has a double-entendre.
Boidlet to ground control. Boidlet to ground control. I’m coming in for a landing….in styyyyyyyyle!
oopsie! before i scrolled down to look at the whole picture, i thought it was a bunny! my mistake! it is still cute either way, bun or birdie!
How cute! The persons who made this harness are so sweet. I’m glad this little birdie can feel like he’s flying again.
Awwww, so great. I hope one day the lil birdy will be able to go back in to the wild
Why does this remind me of a Bon Jovi video?
That is so fantastic! Too cute! Go get ‘em, Sisso!
Hey Wend!
I have a cockatiel just like that! For the first couple of years as a baby, he would fly backward off his cage and the couches. Once he finally figured out how to go forward, his landings were less than perfect. He would always land on his tail-feathers and bouncing right off his intended destination!
This kind of reminds me of ‘Kiwi’ in a way…
Redd, all I needed to see was “I have a horribly hilarious mental image of that string tied to a stick…” to which my sick, twisted mind went to finish the sentance:
“…string tied to a stick, which a human bobs up and down for kitty to play with.”
Sorry, Sorry, Sorry people. I am really touched by the pic and the story, truly. It’s all Redd’s fault the minute he mentioned a string tied to a stick.
This is what you could do with those millions from the Washington state lottery! (Remember that awesome commercial and the accompanying commentroversy?)
he looks like a mobile.
Clearly, this tweetie is in military training. That’s a life vest and he’s going to become a SEAL… once they find flippers teeny enough for his wee little feets.
omg..what a sweet story..hope the sisso will learn to fly again..soo cute!!
he looks sooo happy…i could see it in his eyes!!
Slighly OT, but I find it rather ironic that the Daily Mail – a favourite source of cute animal pics and heartwarming animal stories – is an utterly loathesome little rag fond of blaming all Britain’s ills on immigrants and gays. It’s a shame the paper doesn’t extend to humans the empathy it seems to have for animals.
Rant over, and I now return you to teh cute.
birds dont need jumpers!
Oh, and don’t scroll down if you go to the website to see the other picture. It’s so not CO comments, peeps.
LOVE swifts. They look like they have a built in smile.
Wendy and Yenny — I, too, had a sweet cockatiel with a similar problem. Little Amy’s wings were clipped before she fledged, so she never learned to fly properly. If startled, she’d jump up and “fly” backwards a little ways. On the rare occasions that she was able to negotiate forward movement, she’d also “land” on the wall and do the slow slide down, or she’d get to the window screen and manage to cling until I rescued her. She never learned how to effect intentional flying. God rest her sweet birdie soul. She passed away at age 20 this past spring.
@Casino
But this little birdie obviously needs a jumper cable to get him started!
260Oakley FTW. Ugh… LOL!
What a great story! Nice peeps, joyful birdie, totally warms my heart. <3
Beautiful.
He’s smiling! For reals! Not built in!
I think this is really sweet BUT I had to laugh at the idea of damage to the RIGHT WING! I kind of like the idea of limiting the control of the RIGHT WING.
Oops very creative & innovative. Thanks.
Well someone had to say it!
I believe I can fly.
I believe I can soar.
Spread my wing and fly away!!!
You are the wind beneath my wings! Awww!
Yay for the little birdie!!!
Our cockatiel in very fond of landing on my head…not that I’m tall or anything, but I guess she hones in on me and that’s the biggest landing area…
@260Oakley, how about a cabled jumper? http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/PATTanniversary.html
Wend, your description of your boid’s attempts at landing had me laughing until I cried. Thanks!
Maybe it’s the cold meds, but I’m picturing some entrepreneur developing this into an infomercial gadget for humans to strap themselves into and not only develop their weak wing, er, arm muscles, but maybe to rid themselves of the dreaded chicken wing tricep area.
Regardless, how cool that they thought this up . . . and that they spend so much time and energy on a single little bird. Sweet.
um… *wipe* I… um… seem to have something in my eye.
Great…competing earworms! Beatles, Bette Midler, and whatever-their-name-was boy group!
cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute
This little birdie appears to be into it!
cool !
I LOVE that there is swift therapy! Those guys are so hard to help in a rehab situation, what a great idea to use a harness for test flights!
Here I’m thinking that we really need that sweater/knitted category. I wouldn’t mind if we even call it “jumpers.”
@littledogrescue – Sorry for the loss of your birdie. 20 years! I didn’t know they lived that long.
new earworm, Tom Petty:
I’m learning to fly
but I ain’t got wings
coming down
is the hardest thing
@littledogrescue… I extend to you my sympathy on the loss of your bird. They bring so much joy into our lives everyday, and we miss them so much when they are gone. ((hugs)) to you.
Oh, I feel like an evil minded person. I just got a mental image of the end of the rope attached to a ceiling fan…..how cruel of me :E I have to admit….I laughed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcDbIA6mXWo
this is the Washington State Lottery commerical that Martha was talking about, so so so good. this totally reminded me of it too…
I love that penguin flappins his little fin/wings!! How adorable!
Hooray for this birdie and the kind humans helpin’!!
Here I come to save the daaaaaaaaaay!!! Take THAT, Mighty Mouse!
Wow, what a really great quality post. In theory I would love to write as well as this also – it takes me time and lots of effort to formulate a good post… but what can I say… I put it off for ages and then never seem to get anything written.
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