Whether you’re looking for a “starter bird” like a cockatiel or an endangered Hyacinth Macaw, or just a new toy, perch or cage to keep your best feathered friend happy and entertained, Bird Crazy has something for you. Located at 8878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in Kearny Mesa, Bird Crazy is one of the few bird stores that raise different species together, leaving many to sit on open perches in the shop’s showroom, explains Lenny LaRiccia, president of Bird Crazy. He opened the store in 1986 after loving birds since a sickly childhood, when birds became his favorite companions and his passion. Now he keeps about 20 pairs of varied species in his home aviary. “My father always said that if there was a bird with a broken wing, then Lenny would bring it home,” LaRiccia says with a laugh. Bird Crazy’s mission is not just to sell birds but to educate customers about the care and conditions required by these highly intelligent, sensitive creatures, many of which, LaRiccia says, have intelligence equivalent to that of a chimpanzee or dolphin. He points out that many birds can live to be 70 to 100 years old and are likely to outlive their guardians. He and his staff actively discourage and even refuse to sell certain birds into inappropriate situations, he says. They also offer a one-year trade-in to protect both birds and buyers. “For a lot of birds, you have no business having a family,” since some birds are wrong to keep around children, he says, while others like cockatoos make great family pets. Some may become one-person birds, difficult for others to handle. Serving as greeter in chief when this writer visited was a five-month-old Greenwing Macaw, elegantly clad in scarlet feathers. Inside the main room are numerous perches populated by different bird species, including large Greenwing and Blue and Gold Macaws, the rare Queen of Bavaria or Golden Conure and the rosy Leadbeater’s Cockatoo, chattering and playing together and enjoying attention from customers who wander from perch to perch admiring the birds. Not all birds on display are for sale, since LaRiccia encourages his staff to bring in their own birds and dogs to socialize with the store’s flock. Perched at the side of the store are four of manager Darcy Houser’s birds. Her female Triton cockatoo, Andy, enjoys twirling on a wire with her pale yellow crest unfurled and wings spread. Andy, an affectionate bird, jumped back onto her perch and then into LaRiccia’s arms, rubbing his face with her beak. Birds are social creatures, he points out, and benefit from interaction with people, other birds and even dogs. “Many of our bird owners have dogs. Why not let the birds get accustomed to them as early as possible?” he says. Almost all birds talk nowadays, since they’re raised by hand in captivity. Even some of their finches, a species not known for talking, have learned to talk in Bird Crazy’s bird-talking environment, he explains. When customers come in looking for a first bird, LaRiccia and his staff steer them toward a cockatiel because it’s relatively hardy, easy to care for and loving if adopted young. Bird Crazy hand-feeds all its young birds a special mash by spoon, safer than a syringe for birds. “When you hand-feed them they’really sweet. Then we start them with millet, which is a sweet fat treat. It’s important that a just-weaned baby bird gets more fat,” explains Jessica Ambriz as she feeds five-week-old cockatiels. Bird Crazy also boards birds and, every few months, offers classes on teaching birds new tricks and on stopping birds from screaming. Over the last year LaRiccia found himself taking in, often as donations, all kinds of birds, including ducks, chickens and even an East African crowned crane that people could no longer keep. He’s proud that he and his staff were able to rescue and find homes for the suddenly homeless and sometimes sick birds. They work with a local couple who take in distressed birds and rehabilitate them. While the basic items required for bird care are relatively simple — a cage, perch, food, toys and calcium source — the most important are intangible. “You need time, attention and love. And you have to adjust the animal to the life it will live,” LaRiccia explains. For more information, visit their Website at www.birdcrazy.com, or call (858) 576-9858 or toll-free (888) 576-9858.