As you may have read in my first post on Paco in this series of personality profiles, each of our Three-Cans is incredibly unique, with their own vivid personality that distinguishes them from the others. In today’s post, our gorgeous girl Paz (formerly Paco – see Gender Mysteries Part II) gets the spotlight.

PAZ’S STATS:

Nicknames: Pretty Girl, Sweetie Sweets, Love

Likes: target training, LOVES grapes & blueberries, and tearing up crunchy leaves

Dislikes: kites, sails, and other unidentified flying objects that threateningly enter her skies

Paz is the toucan who has been the slowest to trust and bond with me. My guess is that she was rarely handled in her past home, probably due to her shy, often skittish nature. When she first arrived, it took some time to simply get her to come down near us, as she would hop up to her highest perches, way out of our reach, whenever we entered her enclosure. She has since mastered the “down” command and now trusts me enough to come down to eye level for play and training. But unlike Paco and Pepe who will get right in your face without a dab of caution, Paz is still slightly nervous and I always take care with my energy and motions to not startle her as I continue to earn her trust. We are currently at the point in training where she is allowing me to kiss her beak, feet, & stomach, as well as touch her feet with my open palm. I’m hoping that she will soon become comfortable being held, but I have patience and realize that she needs me to progress slowly to stay within the bounds of her small comfort zone.

Watch Paz (sorry, this is older, I call her Paco in the video) demonstrate her mastery of the “down” command:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDH2yakJHjU&feature=youtu.be

Also true to her skittish nature, Paz is the one most easily frightened by changes to her environment. She is often the first to start croaking whenever something spooks her, convincing Pepe to join in with her contagious concerns. I have learned that with new toys or objects that may be seen as scary, I first bring them into Paco’s cage next door, where she can observe his self-assured interactions and gradually become relaxed with the situation before it enters her house. Over the past 5 months of working to desensitize the Three-Cans to a variety of people, objects, and situations, I am pleased that Paz is learning to take change in stride and is becoming more confident.

Originally, as you may have read in my Gender Mysteries Part I post, I felt almost 100% certain that Paz was a male because she is noticeably larger in size than Paco and Pepe. She is a champion eater, often polishing off more of her fruit each day than both of the boys. She has a big, fluffy head and while they are all stunning birds, there is something about her plumage that makes her even more magnificent-looking. Her name, which means “peace” in Spanish, suits her sweet, delicate personality perfectly.