Very Strange Behaviour

[indobird]

My little male blue-crowned hanging parrot has developed a new and disturbing behavior. He's biting off leaves in the aviary, carefully chewing them into feather-like shapes, and shoving them among the feathers on his back. They stay on him for awhile but inevitably fall off. It's a bit sad, really. Anyway, what is he up to? There's no female parrot (a lot of female finches) in the aviary so it's not to impress a girl, though it's so bizarre I feel it must be some kind of mating ritual.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your suggestions.

[asharee]

I have no idea but i think your birdie has issues

[Robyn]

I think you'll find it nesting behavior. These little guys share the same behavior as the love bird in as much as they carry nesting material in their rump feathers to line their nest. He is probably doing it because its time for him to breed. Have you considered getting a girl for him.

[finchbreeder]

I agree with Robyn, sounds like he wants to go to nest. Some birds react to the time of year and conditions being suitable, and neglect to notice the lack of a mate. If you want to breed him and can do so getting him a mate would be good.
LML

[indobird]

Thanks for the advice. I went out yesterday and bought two more little parrots, who the guy in the bird market claimed were female. He wasn't the same guy who sold me the original "pair" that turned out to be an adult and juvenile male, but so far my two little males don't seem at all interested in the newcomers, so who knows. I may have just introduced two more males into the aviary.

I really hope they're females because they've been badly behaved so far. They were biting my recently fledged finches yesterday. The poor little finches returned to their nest at the end of the day, which is a step backward from the previous few nights. Obviously, they weren't feeling as happy and comfortable.

Anyway, we'll see how it goes. Everyone was a little out of sorts yesterday, which I suppose is to be expected as they revisit the pecking order.