Who’s that striking white bird with the yellow-feathered crown and tail feathers perched outside the Mirage barbershop? “That’s Chino,” says David Karaien, Mirage’s owner.
More formally known as White Chino, the friendly cockatoo has been keeping company with customers since Karaien bought him from a friend nearly six years ago. “The guy told me that he’d need a few days to get used to me, so [instead of bringing him home] I brought him here, and he got used to everybody and ended up staying.”
Chino rests securely on a broom-handle perch outside next to the table and chairs where men congregate in front of the shop window. “He loves it outside and loves the rain,” explains Karaien. “When it rains, he screams [with joy], opens his wings, and dances around.” At night, he dines and sleeps in a spacious cage in the back office. Come winter, he’ll spend his days wandering around the shop floor, visiting customers.
“Everybody loves him,” Karaien smiles. “The people who go to the restaurant next door sometimes stop by and bring him something to eat.”
Has anyone tried to pirate Chino from his perch? Karaien says no as he gazes at the six barbers busy with customers inside. “I think, with all of us here, they’d be making a big mistake.”