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Pirate brings treasure of parrots to Jackson County Fair Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Chris Biro, top, of Amboy, Wash., gives a kiss to Red Claw, a mitred conure - one of his many parrots - at the Jackson County Fair on Wednesday. Biro, a former army drill sergeant and electrical engineering major, tours Pacific Northwest fairs with a show called Pirate's Parrot Show. He's performing at the county fair through the rest of the week, teaching kids about parrots and little bit about pirates. By J.T. BUSHNELL To his attentive audience, Chris Biro is a pirate. "Is that a real sword?" a child asks him at the Jackson County Fair Wednesday. "Do you think pirates walk around with fake ones?" he answers. "What good would that do? Come on." "What's in the treasure chest?" another calls. "What do you think pirates put in treasure chests?" he says. "The reason it's in a chest is so you won't find out what it is." Biro, 38, likes to pique the children's curiosity. If they're curious, they're interested. And if they're interested, they're going to learn about parrots. You can't be a pirate without a parrot. And, as Biro has learned over the last 15 years, you can't teach about parrots without being a pirate. Biro tours the Northwest, putting on unique educational shows about parrots. He often has summer weeks booked four years in advance. He'll be at the Jackson County Fair throughout the week at a spot east of the Compton Arena, performing at 1, 4 and 7 p.m. today through Saturday and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday. "It's cool," said Anthony Ryan, 10, of Jacksonville, who has four parrots at home. "You can learn about birds and stuff." Biro, who has 75 parrots himself, lets the birds do a few stunts during his presentation, but the focus is educational. "People love the educational format," says Biro, who lives in Amboy, Wash. "In today's world, the theory is to pump it up and put as much energy into it as possible. So when I do a show like this, more laid back, it's a nice surprise for people." He also lets the audience hold and pet the birds after the show. This is rare, he says, because most parrots are untrained and can bite 10 times the force needed to sever a finger with their beaks. The parrots, which typically live more than a century, are not tethered or caged during the show and often fly away in the middle of a presentation, providing exciting aerial shows that Biro encourages the audience to watch. And they always return to the pirate ship. You can't be a pirate without a pirate ship. Biro pulls an old 40-foot sailboat on a trailer and uses it as the backdrop for his presentations. He has learned through experience that to make a living doing his type of work, the pirate theme is necessary. He has grown his hair past his shoulders and maintains a stubble beard. A large gold ring hangs from his left earlobe and a miniature silver ax hangs from his right. He practically lives in his costume, complete with swashbuckler boots, pants, shirt and a hat with a skull and crossbones. Not what you'd expect from a former drill sergeant and electrical engineering student. Biro spent four years in the Army and afterward studied electrical engineering at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. Biro discovered his passion for parrots when he visited his older sister in 1986 and became determined to befriend her boyfriend's parrot, Jeremy. He did so well he was given the parrot. After receiving endless comments while riding his motorcycle with Jeremy on his shoulder, he began selling photos of the parrot at markets and swap meets. He developed the picture scheme into a show and started taking it to fairs, libraries and birthday parties. The pirate outfit came into the picture on Halloween. He bought a pirate costume, put his parrot on his shoulder and went to nightclub after nightclub taking first prize in the costume contests. He tried out the costume at a fair and took home double the money he usually made. He finally focused his efforts on the show and did away with the pictures. When he added the pirate ship, fairs started re-booking him before he left the fairgrounds. "I think what he's doing is awesome," says Jackie Cottrel, of Stanwood, Wash., who often helps Biro with the shows. "He's getting the message out that people need to think before buying birds." Unfortunately for Biro, the parrot that started it all is no longer with him. "Jeremy's with the ex-wife," he says. "It happens to pirates, too." Reach reporter J.T. Bushnell at 776-4468. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.