A young couple in Koper, Slovenia are the proud parents of a wild sparrow that refuses to leave their side, even though she always has the freedom to go anywhere she wants.

Alesh and Janja, a young couple from Koper, in Slovenia, adopted their “child”, Chibi, when she was about 10-days-old. A friend of theirs found her while walking her baby. She was lying on the ground next to another dead sparrow, and her parents were nowhere to be found, so the woman took the baby sparrow home. Unfortunately, she had her own baby and couldn’t take care of another, especially one from a species she knew nothing about. That’s where Alesh and Janja came in; they didn’t know anything about sparrow chicks either, but there was plenty of information online, and they were willing to put in the work.

Photo: Chibi the Sparrow/Instagram

In the beginning, Chibi needed to be fed every half an hour, and her human parents weren’t sure that she was going to make it. Luckily, they did an amazing job! Chibi grew into an adorable sparrow, learned how to fly, and adapted to her small indoor universe. But Alesh and Janja knew that they couldn’t keep her cooped up in their apartment forever. Chibi deserved her freedom, and they were ready to give it to her.

The first time they took Chibi outside, they had already said their goodbyes and were ready to see her fly out into the proverbial sunset to be with other sparrows. She did fly off, but only to stretch her wings and check out her surroundings. Her parents didn’t expect the tiny sparrow to come back, but that’s exactly what she did, using their shoulders as landing pads.

Alesh and Janja describe Chibi as a very curious bird that loves to discover her surroundings up close. At the same time, she is very attached to them, and will always come to spend time with them, and even wake them up in the morning. The only time she’s by herself is when she’s sleeping. That’s her alone time, and her parents know not to disturb her.

Even though Chibi has her own custom-made cage, it’s always open, and she uses her parent’s entire apartment as her home. She has adapted her flying to the apartment, so instead of bolting around like a bullet, she hovers and makes sharp turns to maneuver the tight spaces.

The only time Chibi left her parents for more than a few moments was when she flew off after another sparrow and didn’t know how to return to them. They searched for her for 11 hours, and just when they had given up hope, they saw her sitting on another man’s shoulder. They had apparently had dinner together as Alesh and Janja were going crazy looking for her. Since then, whenever she goes missing, they know to first check other people’s shoulders.

 

For more of Chibi the sparrow, follow her exploits on Instagram and YouTube.