No hair, don’t care. Rhea the lovebird @rhea_thenakedbirdie is baring it all on Instagram and preaching self-love while she does it. The little birdie has a virus (Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease) which made all of her feathers fall out. Her mom, Isabella Eisenmann a 23 year old graphic designer, adopted her from her vet in Boston, Massachusetts. She knew she was something special from the very beginning.
Isabella started Rhea’s Instagram account in 2016 after adopting her that summer. The account quickly went viral, attracting bird lovers from around the world. Currently, she’s got over 411k followers and uses the account to sell t-shirts and promote body positivity.
Thankfully, Rhea doesn’t have any major health problems from her disease and besides an annual blood test, she rarely makes vet visits. The only truly negative side effect is how hard it is to keep warm. The little birdies fans send her hand-knitted sweaters to stay toasty, and some of them get to be pretty elaborate.
While Rhea can’t be buds with any other birds because of her highly contagious disease, she does have a bestie. Nickie, the 11 year old Yorkie lives with Rhea and co. and keeps her company. The two form an unlikely pair, but we won’t put our species-normative bias on them. Love is love, after all.
The tiny chick has a huge personality, she’s quite vocal when she’s excited, chirping and dancing naked throughout the house. If she’s feeling antisocial, however she hides out in her coconut.
Rhea’s friends with our fav Chiweenie, Tuna. A brother from another mother, the two share a striking resemblance. Both animals use their Insta-fame to preach self-love, and, that different is beautiful. They’re the underdog pinnacles of unconventional beauty and we love them for it!
