"Not necessarily," he says grimly, thinking of Millie Bulstrode's late mother. "Still, I suppose anything that can be communicated with."
He nods sharply.
"Precisely." Still bemused, "I'm familiar with the word; I simply don't understand its application to... the circumstance."
He nearly upsets his potion snorting at the idea of one of Lucius's albino peacocks being asked to deliver a message, and the resulting Deeply Offended look. "Far be it from me to defend Sirius Black from the charge of being a flash bastard, but I suspect it had more to do with hiding from the Ministry in overly temperate locations. He seems to be using a sparrow at the moment, rather than the formerly inevitable toucans and birds-of-paradise. Much though I hate to admit it, he may have the right idea there. In a Muggle community as we are, a smaller and more common bird than an owl might invite less notice for daytime travel, and be easier to roost." He pauses. "I know why I don't like him; why don't you?"
I had a feeling you'd have responded by now! (kicks lack of notifications)