Charlie was getting restless. The Timneh African grey parrot opened his beak and bit at the metal bars of his cage, hoping to get the attention of his owner, Debbie Gould of DeWitt.
Around Charlie, the chirping of hundreds of other birds filled an open room of the Lansing Center for the 2004 National Cage Bird Show on Friday and Saturday.
The event, located at 333 E. Michigan Ave., drew bird breeders and bird lovers from all over the country and several from abroad for two days of selling, judging and discussing birds.
"This is the first time we've showed him," Gould said. "He's just a family pet."
Gould said Charlie's vocabulary includes: "Hello," "pretty bird," "come here," and "come on Molly" to beckon the family dog. But on Saturday, Charlie was silent in his cage.
"He's shy," Gould said. "He won't talk to someone he doesn't know."
Most of the birds at the show traveled in large groups of 30 or more as commercial owners showed off their abilities to breed or use dyed food to create uniquely colored feathers.
Sponsored by the Society of Canary & Finch Breeders, the 56th annual show drew about 300 breeders and about 3,500 birds among the convention rooms, said society member Mary Tarsitano of Shelby Township.
"The national show moves around so everybody in the United States has a chance to show their birds," Tarsitano said.
Next year's show will be in Dallas.
National show board member Charlie Anchor said most of the people who show birds own between 50 and 300 of them in order to breed certain qualities.
He said judges look at features such as the bird's coloring, the crest on top of the head, the size of the chest and the wings.
Among the rows and rows of birds, several cages had large first- and second-place ribbons displayed.
In the sales room across the hallway, bird owners placed out specimens they were hoping to sell. A large red macaw sat freely on a table for curious customers to pet.
John Niff squatted down in front of a cage to get a closer look at a collection of doves.
Although he didn't bring any birds to the show, Niff raises diamond doves in Mount Pleasant.
Breeding birds can be difficult, he said.
"I can't just go away for two days," Niff said. "Who would take care of them? I have a whole room in my house for the birds."
Niff said he got interested in birds when he was 7 years old and would catch wild pigeons.
After several days of being held captive, the birds got used to him and didn't leave when he opened the cages.
Breeding is different, however, Niff said, and sometimes inbreeding his doves to get a certain quality can have negative results.
"Their eyesight on the reds gets worse," he said. "But that's the only way you can get some of the colors."
