Human obituaries
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2002:
Phil Caidin, 77, died of cancer on February 17 in New York
City. An air gunner in World War II, Caidin worked in sales for
many years at Gimbels, but discovered his true calling as “The
Birdman of Central Park,” as the National Enquirer called him, when
in 1957 his first bird, a white albino parakeet, flew out an open
window into Riverside Park. During the next 40 years Caidin rescued
more than 100 parakeets, “dozens” of lovebirds, and seven parrots
who were at large in New York City parks, along with a Peking duck
and countless dogs and cats. The duck made headlines in 1983, as
Caidin waded into freezing ponds in midwinter day after day to feed
and befriend him. A 23-day pursuit of a 20-inch-tall conure and a
yellow-headed Amazon parrot made The New York Times in 1994.