I'm having lots of fun with Sunny as we grow to like each other. I wonder about some of his behaviors though. I do not know if I'm a paranoid first time owner or these are serious.
Sunny has a cage with a straight wooden perch but he (?) prefers to sit on a rubber golf size ball hanging from the bars. Is there a problem with his perch that he sits on the ball? When Sunny comes out of his perch and settles on my shoulder he seems to be displaying excited behaviors, nibbling my ears, my glasses and begging to be scratched around the head. I have rubbed him so hard I wonder how he could enjoy it. Sometimes he goes at me with his beak for a moment but he will go right back to a submissive stance and beg for more.
Right now he is sitting on my keyboard knocking the keyboard with his beak in a fast repetitive motion squeaking and whistling pleasantly. He sounds like he wants something. He trills under his breath and climbs all over me pecking exploratively.
Is there a book which goes into detail regarding cockatiel behaviors and what they might mean?
Joseph
Joseph,
We don't know of any books available dedicated only to cockatiel behavior.
Birds' personalities vary so much it would be almost impossible to cover all
topics. Behavioral problems are rather typical and tend to garner the
attention.
Your Sunny sounds like a terrific companion, one that is very entertaining and somewhat demanding. We don't see a problem with the rubber ball as long as you keep close tabs on Sunny to prevent his ingesting pieces.