Their store windows were the most fun you could have at lunchtime. Now that 33rd and Bird have up and moved out to the Bronx, you have to go a little further, but it's still worth it. There are few shops in NYC that know as much about birds as these folks do.
33rd and Bird opened their new shop in April, and it is much bigger. They sell hand-fed baby birds, bird food, products and a large selection of cages, and they do grooming and boarding as well.
While you may be a small bird lover, like ourselves, the parrots are the main draw and they feature new babies on their website for all to see.
33rd & Bird was featured in one of the stories this weekend on NPR's This American Life. It was a tale of rare bird poaching, wheelchair-bound apartment dwellers, and the SWAT team. You know, the usual :)
BUMMER ALERT! For the life of me I can't understand taking the living, breathing, FLYING product of millions of years of evolution and forcing it to live it's existence earthbound and trapped inside a metal cage. Polly want some freedom?
I spent 1 year looking for my bird and have been to every bird store in the city, including both locations of 33rd and Bird. I must say in my opinion, Bird Camp on 53rd and 2nd is the better place to buy birds. It has a much better atmosphere, the birds seem happier. The staff is super knowledgeable and are willing to share that knowledge with you to pick the right bird for you. They also take amazing care of your bird when you board them.
I have been going to them for over 3 years now and won't even buy bird food anywhere else.
the TV show i work on has a random bird in the current episode, and we're getting the cage and all the neccessary bird supplies through 33rd and Bird. which has caused everyone in my office to erupt in a chorus of "thoity thoid and boid!" every time they call for one of the set decorators. funny stuff.
The Opoponax:
Oh, gosh ... you just reminded me of a silly routine that a friend of mine says her mother used to do; it could be counted on to crack up little kids every time, even if they were shy:
"Thoity poiple boids sittin' on a coib, choipin' and boipin' and eatin' doity woims. Along came Boit with a squoit named Goit, who woiked in a shoit factory in Joisey. They saw the thoity poiple boids sittin' on the coib, choipin' and boipin' and eatin' doity woims. Boy, was they pertoibed!"
RE Jane's post of 7/26/06
I heard it this way from a fishing guide in Canada in the 50s:
Thoity doity poiple boids was sittin' on da coib eating woims and boiping. Well, along comes Hoib and his goil friend Shoily; when Shoily sees dem thoity doity poiple boids sittin' on da coib eating woims and boiping, boy, was she distoibed!
I know this is a rerun but in case anyone's looking back like I am, just my 2 cents. If you love birds--they are awesome--make sure you confirm they are bred and raised in captivity and NOT wild caught. Many (I would say even most) of the parrots and other colorful breeds are endangered in the wild for no other reason than the pet trade. Most birds on sale are illiegal. Only one out of 20 parrots survive the difficult journey to make it to the pet store and they are not treated well on the way. In addition parrots imprint onto their owners, and live up to 30 years so it's a significant responsibility to take on. If anyone ever asks me I recommend against bird ownership except for the very devoted and most responsible owner.