Phat Loot Phriday: Parrot Cage (Hyacinth Macaw)
I'm kind of surprised we've never done this one on PLP (in fact, I think we may have, though I couldn't find it in the archives at all, and it just changed recently anyway). But just in case you don't want to spend $10 of real money on an epic in-game pet, you can try to get this one anyway.
Name: Parrot Cage (Hyacinth Macaw) (Wowhead, Thottbot, WarcraftPets)
Type: Epic (yes, Epic) Noncombat Pet
Damage/Speed: N/A
Attributes:
Allows you to summon the Hyacinth Macaw companion pet, one of the most beautiful "parrot style" pets in the game.
%Gallery-33600%
And yes, it has a purple name. Originally, it was listed as a lower quality (Green, I think, for Uncommon, like most pets of this type). But this pet is special -- it has a super low drop rate, anywhere from 1/1400 if you're lucky, up to 1/5000 kills of the mobs below. And so Blizzard just recently made it one of two epic pets in the game, the other being the Hippogryph Hatchling from the TCG.
Other than that, it doesn't do much but flap in the air and look pretty. But it is very, very rare.
How to Get It: Unfortunately, you used to occasionally get lucky -- because it was listed at the same quality of many easy-to-find pets in the game, some players would occasionally sell it on the AH for pennies, not realizing that they'd been one of a very select group of Hyacinth looters. Which is why Blizzard upped the quality -- when people see an epic, whether it be a pet or a sword, they pay attention.
So now, unless you want to pay a ton of money on the AH, the way to get it for yourself is to grind. Grind, grind, and grind. You've got to grind on the Bloodsails down in Booty Bay -- each one of them has a very small chance to drop one. The good news is that while you're grinding, you'll gain other rewards -- each of the guys drops cash, and you'll get a metric ton of Silk, Mageweave, and a few other rare-ish and quest items (which you can sell to the AH or turn in for reputation). But those rewards can be earned in other ways, so if you want to go after this pet, the main conclusion is that you'll be grinding pirates for a long, long time. Good luck!
Getting Rid of It: You click the pet, you learn the spell, and that's about it. Although the pet is still BoE, so you could give it to a good friend if you want. And if you are really, really nuts, a vendor will give 10s for it.
