Some birds find twigs or shiny rocks. Julius? He found a bottle cap.

And apparently, it’s the greatest treasure in the history of ever. It started when we were cleaning up the kitchen and accidentally dropped a plastic bottle cap on the floor. Before we could even pick it up, Julius spotted it from across the room eyes wide, feathers up, full “treasure mode” activated. He swooped down (with all the grace of a feathery bowling ball), grabbed it in his beak, and immediately started strutting around like he’d just discovered pirate gold.

For the next hour, that cap was his whole world. He tossed it, twirled it, dropped it just to pick it up again, and made sure to show it off to everyone especially Abbi, who looked less than impressed. At one point, he even tried to hide it under his wing like a secret. Every time we thought he was done with it, he’d go right back for another round. You could practically hear him saying, “Mine. My precious.” By the end of the day, he was sitting on top of his cage with the bottle cap tucked beside him like a prized possession fluffing his feathers proudly every time someone looked his way.

We tried to swap it for one of his toys, but no luck. The bottle cap is clearly superior.

So, for now, the cap stays. Because if there’s one thing Julius has taught us, it’s that joy doesn’t always come in fancy packages sometimes, it’s just a shiny little piece of plastic and a bird who thinks he’s struck gold.