COSTA MESA : 2,500 Flock to Touring Bird Bazaar

Sunny, an 8-year-old parrot, wouldn’t land a spot on the “Stupid Pet Tricks” segment of the David Letterman show, but he drew a crowd Sunday at Bird Expo, a bird swap meet held at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Sunny didn’t say a lot--just “Hello” and “I love you”--but it was enough to charm spectators.

At least 2,500 bird enthusiasts shopped amid the squawks, shrieks and whistles of thousands of birds, including an exotic trio of white mute swans, an $8,000 hyacinth macaw and common $6 parakeets.

Sunny’s owner, Robbie Harris of La Habra, said she has had unusual success breeding exotic birds and raising them to be gentle pets.

“I’ve had Sunny since he was a day old,” she said. “He’s like part of the family. He falls asleep on his back in my lap in front of the television.”

But he also lets out a squawk to let Harris know when someone is coming up the walk or when one of her newborn Sheltie puppies has escaped from its box.

Bird Expo is held six times a year, alternating its location from the Orange County Fairgrounds to the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Tiny waxwings and finches are exhibited for sale next to exotic and colorful cockatoos selling for $15,000 a pair.

“Some of the exotic birds are worth a lot of money now because the countries who used to export them have passed legislation to protect them from extinction, said Lance Bryson of Laguna Niguel, a bird enthusiast. “This is good in some ways. But not enough is being done to preserve their habitats, so more effort is being made in this country to to breed them in captivity.”

Bryson said birds are challenging the popularity of cats and dogs as pets because birds require less space and maintenance.

“Newer residential developments like the kind here in Orange County don’t have as much yard space as older homes, and people just don’t have enough room for a dog. Neighbors get upset when you take Fifi out for a walk and let her go the bathroom on their lawn. In some apartments and condos birds are the only kind of pet allowed,” Bryson said.