CLEVELAND — January is ‘Adopt a Rescued Bird Month.'

Tammi Kraynak is the founder of Parrot Hope Rescue. She started the nonprofit from her home in 2009, where it still runs today.

“We wanted them to feel at home and have somebody be here 24 hours a day to care for them,” Kraynak said. “Many times, we get some in that are kind of ill and we just want to make sure they get the care and there is someone here constantly to care for them.”

Kraynak said her rescue takes in about 400 birds a year. Each one comes in for a different reason, and many are there because they outlive their owners. Parrots can live up to 60 years.

“So they do live a long time and many of those birds can have upwards of five homes in their lifespans,” she explained. “They can live a long time and that is something that we tell people. It is a lifetime commitment.”

The Parrot Hope relies on volunteers like Shelly Lamb to foster birds that come in so they don’t have to wait for their forever homes in the rescue.

“The foster family really gets to know the bird. They are with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Lamb said. “We know what all of their wonderful qualities are, but we also know what their quirks are, their eccentricities, you know, they are really afraid of the color purple, or they only play with toys that are natural wood, or they like to be covered at night or they don’t. So we really get to know them well and that allows us to be in a really good position when it is time to find them a permanent home to identify a person that will be a great match for them.”

Kraynak said the goal of her rescue is to get each parrot adopted into a safe and permanent home while educating people about the realities of owning one of these birds.

“We have some really great educational classes to prepare people. [We tell them] to expect the noise, some wild behaviors, and hopefully they have a better understanding of is it for me or is it not for me. Yeah, there is a lot of behaviors that go with these pretty much wild animals.”