Karen
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Posts: 97
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Post by Karen on Jan 5, 2009 13:31:14 GMT 10
I have often wondered if birds can tell the difference between male and female humans.
Going by various stories and posts it seems they can - but how? We don't have any obviously colour differences on our "cere" or anywhere else to make it visually obvious.
Can they "smell" the difference?
I have had 2 female birds who have offered themselves to me - a human female - to mate with. One was a rainbow lorikeet and the other a budgie. Were they confused? Did they just not know? Or were they simply in the state of animal lust that they did not care?
I thought I'd start a poll to get your opinions as I am personally very intrigued by this.
Please also post your opinions and/or experiences in bird sexual behaviour towards humans.
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Post by vankarhi on Jan 6, 2009 5:19:17 GMT 10
I am not sure if they can actually tell the differences. I don't know if it is the tone of our voices........women usually have higher tone voice than men. But my female galah definetly knew a male human from a female human........and only flirted with the male humans, but had no issues with being patted by female humans.
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Post by clara on Jan 6, 2009 5:43:36 GMT 10
what i can say only is my femelle and male grey have the same beavior with me  Amicalement. |
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Post by angelicvampyre on Jan 12, 2009 14:15:06 GMT 10
Elmo perferrs females over males, he can get a little annoyed with the males but is all sucks and kisses with females. I have heard of African Greys perferring one sex over the other the case that sticks in my head is Alex the African great who's owners/ research person was a female but he always perferred the male lab assistants.
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Post by vankarhi on Jan 18, 2009 21:26:10 GMT 10
I was talking to a customer the other day and we got onto the topic of birds.......(in a paint store lol) and she said she had a female galah who loved men, she flirted etc with men ....... had no issues with women, but definetly knew a male human from a female human and acted flirty with human males.
Interesting hey.
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Post by Laraine on Jan 23, 2009 11:32:39 GMT 10
I've got a handraised red rump (John gave it to me) who hates me but loves my son (and loved my late husband). She bites me everytime I put my hand into her cage to feed her. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you LOL.
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Post by megzly on Jan 30, 2009 10:40:22 GMT 10
I think they can.
Bird Crazy, you mentioned about the female birds offereng them selves to you, i think that this could be normal and just a bonding process because two female birds- if kept together with no male will do the same thing.
mabye humant emit pheremones, a scent or something that distinguishes sex.
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Karen
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Posts: 97
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Post by Karen on Jan 30, 2009 11:00:16 GMT 10
So by offering themselves they were just confirming our bond? Both girls were (Boris still is) my house pet and we loved each other dearly. I'm glad I started this subject as it is very intriguing.  |
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Post by madaussie on Jan 30, 2009 11:06:51 GMT 10
I think they know our cockatoo (homer rest in peace big boy)he bonded to my daughters and wife great but as for me there was always a difference in him and any male for that fact he loved females ,
j
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Post by vankarhi on Jan 31, 2009 19:48:18 GMT 10
yes it is an interesting topic.
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Post by David Annetts on Jan 27, 2010 20:36:57 GMT 10
It's hard to say, l think that they should be able to... They might even be able to hear a difference from a male and female voice... Good question, l might ... think about this for a bit...
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Post by carlsandclan on Jan 28, 2010 21:11:49 GMT 10
I think they can! Or perhaps certain species can more than others? AJ (galah) flirts like mad with my husband and my father. Gets along great with me and the girls, but if hubby is around, he is first choice!!! She even makes these little 'whimper' noises with hubby (and my dad, on the rare occasion he handles her) but NOBODY else!  |
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Post by Robyn on Jan 31, 2010 21:04:41 GMT 10
I am not sure i agree. With all the parrots i own most, be it male or female will spend equal time with myself or hubby. Male Major Mitchell adores my hubby & tolerates me. Male white cocky loves anyone from babies to oldies. The only bird that hates my hubby is Minty the quaker but he loves me. We have approx 40 Parrots at the moment & i would say by my observation of them all is that a companion parrot will go to the person they feel most comfortable with.
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Post by lilfaery on Feb 8, 2010 5:45:15 GMT 10
I owned a cockatiel once that could tell the difference between my son and his wife when he heard one word from either before he saw them.
The two of them had taught him to wolf whistle; my son's whistle was fast and shrill whereas my daughter-in-law would do a slow, low toned wolf whistle.
When they would come over for a visit, and I would greet them at the door out of sight of my bird, he would respond as soon as he heard one of them say "hello". He would do a wolf whistle in the tone that was appropriate to the one who had said "hello".
At least it shows they recognise people. I've also noticed some birds prefer one gender over the other - usually a bonding thing. So yes, I think they know the difference. They are very intelligent.
Cheers, Shauna ;D
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Post by kennydamaschke on Feb 11, 2010 15:19:55 GMT 10
i believe they can tell the difference for sure, but they dont know which is which and quite frankly i dont think they care.
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Post by vankarhi on Feb 11, 2010 16:05:15 GMT 10
no they probably don't care but I think they are attracted sometimes more to one sex than another.....whether it be because of past experiences ;D
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Post by finchbreeder on Jun 10, 2010 12:40:04 GMT 10
No I do not think they can. Those that bond do so to the person who is closest to them, when they are young. It goes on your behaviour not your sex. Well that's my opinion anyway.
LML
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Post by asharee on Jun 10, 2010 21:30:23 GMT 10
ollie HATES my bf.
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Aimie
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Jax
Posts: 108
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Post by Aimie on Aug 13, 2011 12:28:09 GMT 10
We had a Red Tail Black cockatoo, that we thought hated my husband the minute he walked in the door it squawked and squawked and squawked. He didn't have to even make a noise it was like it could smell him. (we didn't know its gender as it was young and still resembled a female in way of feathers) The noise would settle after a while but if my husband spoke or moved into another room the noise started again. It was awful for my husband as he could not move freely through the house or even speak. The bird (Freddie) would not act like this with anyone else. Unfortunately my husband could not live like this and we re-homed him. We mentioned it to a breeder one day and I'm not sure how correct she was but apparently it was my husbands pheromones that set the bird off, Freddie didn't hate my husband he/she loved him. LOL
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Post by twr on Aug 13, 2011 13:41:20 GMT 10
I think that some can tell there is a difference between a human male and female, but perhaps they do not necessarily relate it as a male/female difference. Maybe there was a past experience with a male voice and for whatever reason they did not like the male that owned the voice. Later on perhaps the bird associated that male voice with feelings of dislike. So maybe it is that some birds have learned particular human characteristics of someone they disliked in the past and now dislike all humans they meet that fit that those general characteristics.
I am reaching here, but I am just trying to find a reason why there are many stories out there (particularly on USA parrot rescue sites) that say this bird or that bird, that is up for adoption and does not like men (or women). There are too many such stories for there not to be some element of truth in them. But is it gender thing or a general characteristic thing? I have no idea.
With my birds, I haven't noticed a pattern of gender preference, but then I only have 3
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Ollie at 8 1/2 months. 
Rosie at 3 months.
