Foreclosure crisis affecting pet birds, too

Here is a little-known side of the foreclosure crisis: exotic birds abandoned or dropped at shelters because their owners cannot move into an apartment or a relative's home with the sometimes noisy creatures. Animal rescue groups say they're becoming inundated with calls from people who lost their houses desperately trying to find a new home for their macaw or cockatoo. Adding to the problems of finding new homes is the life span of the birds, which can run from 20 years for a cockatiel to between 50 and 80 years for the larger birds. Intelligent, lively birds like parrots, cockatoos and cockatiels can be time-consuming to care for, loud, and destructive to themselves or their surroundings if neglected or mistreated. Source: Reuters Photo: Julie Corsi