Sixty years ago, my father had a budgerigar that my brother and I named “Bobby the wanking budgie” (Masturbation among birds is ‘natural’ and should not be punished, say experts, 1 June). Its favourite toy in the cage was a hanging mirror with a bell on it, and Bobby often became so excited by his own image that he would cling on to the mirror and give it a good hammering, accompanied by frantic bellringing, appropriate comments from his listeners and giggling from my mum: “Dirty little devil!” Very amusing, except when the vicar came around one afternoon. Mum was mortified. Bobby probably thought: “I’ll show this bloke what bellringing is!”
Denis Compton
Worcester
Birds are not the only creatures capable of self-pleasuring. In the 1970s we had a hamster that was flexible enough to do the job orally. (And my mother had a budgie named Timmy who would occasionally give himself a good time in front of his mirror.)
Peter Johnson
Leicester
I always had my suspicions about parrots, but now it seems they are just being polyamorous.
Ian Barclay
Angmering, West Sussex
Perhaps John Cleese’s parrot was genuinely “tired and shagged out following a long squawk”?
Chris Ainsworth
Rawtenstall, Lancashire
