Meet Penguin. She's a magpie.
The Bloom family rescued Penguin as an abandoned baby bird in Newport, New South Wales, where she was left featherless and clinging to life on the side of a dusty road.
Little did the Bloom family know that Penguin would return the favor with her deep and unabiding birdie love.
Needless to say, Penguin is now a cherished member of the Bloom clan.
Cameron Bloom tells BuzzFeed the story of their unlikely companion:
"Penguin was found blown out of a nest when she was about 3 weeks old. It was touch and go and we weren't sure that she was going to make it."
"Over time she grew and became stronger. Her wings developed slowly and she used to practice flying in the house–which was when we learned how much she loves snuggling in our beds."
"Once she was old enough, her adventures took her further afield and gradually she flew away from the house out into the valley, returning either minutes later or sometimes hours."
"Quite often when we would come home, we would see her perched in a tree and flapping her wings in excitement that we had arrived home. She’d then fly down and run inside the house to meet us."
"I began to seriously document her adventures through photography as soon as we knew that she was going to stay with us as a baby."
Penguin now has over 70,000 followers on her Instagram account — which is regularly updated with Cameron's beautiful pictures of this unconventional family friend.
"It began just as a bit of fun, but soon we thought it might be good to use Instagram to show our friends what it is like to have a baby magpie grow up with you...
...which takes lots of patience and time. I wouldn’t have taken on this project if I wasn’t educated in the hand rearing of a bird. I strongly suggest any injured bird or animal should be taken to your local wildlife vet for professional help."
Still, there comes a time in every bird's life when they must spread their wings and leave the nest...
"At Christmas time this year she disappeared for six weeks before returning. We always worry about her when she's gone, but know she's probably just enjoying being with others in the wild."
"She returned home for another six weeks — but just this week has gone again. Perhaps she's now mature enough to have formed new bonds with other magpies like herself..."
