Spoodles want a cracker? Oldest living parrot greets each new day with a “pretty bird!”

Amanda Beth (USA) was 23 when her mother gifted her a tiny green parakeet with a plum-coloured head, a cheeky bird who would squawk out his name: “Spoodles!” 

The year was 1997 – and Spoodles had hatched three years prior, according to his paperwork and a labelled bracelet on his leg. It can take time to bond with an animal, but soon enough, he began climbing on her shoulder and perching atop her finger, whistling showtunes and replicating the beep of the microwave.

Parakeets can live between 15 and 20 years in captivity with proper care, so Amanda Beth could’ve never predicted that Spoodles would stay beside her so long. Nevertheless, on 28 March the pair celebrated his recognition as the oldest living parrot in the world, at the incredible age of 32 years and 86 days old. 

“I always joke that he keeps not dying, so I keep feeding him!” she teased.

Spoodles’ previous owner taught the bird to speak, and when he was younger, Amanda Beth described him as a big talker – warbling out “pretty bird”, “gimme kissy”, and “A-choo! Goodness.”

And though he’s quieted down as he’s gotten older, he still greets each morning with a “pretty bird!” and shyly chirps like their microwave until the cover is taken off his cage. 

“He certainly has a cute little personality,” says Amanda Beth. “His first owner sounds like she was a really nice lady based on what he says and how he acts.”

In fact, she has always dreamed about arranging a reunion between the little bird with his previous owner, saying that “she’ll be surprised to see he’s alive, let alone a record breaker!” 

Read more stories about birds in our dedicated Animals section!

Even so, Amanda Beth has given Spoodles an incredible life in Charleston, South Carolina, along with the rest of her family and all of their dogs. 

Spoodles really enjoys spending time with his human and animal companions – from a safe distance, of course – and he’s even gotten so used to their routines that he recognizes when they open their refrigerator, and beeps to imitate the sound of the upcoming microwave. Amanda Beth also likes to position his cage so he can see all the action, particularly when they’re watching TV. 

“He tends to climb to the front of his cage and eat when we eat,” she remarked, adding that despite his advanced age, he doesn’t have a particular diet – instead nibbling on parakeet seed from the local grocery store and snacking on any type of treat that has been soaked in water. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Spoodles doesn’t have the same energy as he used to, as he no longer is a spring chicken. In the past, when he was startled he would flap his wings and whirl around the cage – yet now, he prefers to rest and watch his loved ones go on their adventures.

“These days if you take him out for more than a minute, he gets exhausted and lays down on the bottom of the cage like he’s dying,” joked Amanda. “But then 15 minutes later he climbs back up to his perch!”

And he still has a ways to go before he reaches the record for the oldest parrot ever, held by Cookie (USA) – a Major Mitchell’s cockatoo who was at least 82 years and 88 days old when he passed away on 27 August 2016.

Yet as long as he’s living with Amanda Beth, we’re sure that this charming little parakeet will continue to have a treasured time, resting and playing for plenty more years alongside his owner.

So congratulations, Spoodles and Mary Beth – you are both Officially Amazing!