Tag Archives: behavior

What’s with this really weird hummingbird behavior?

Posted on May 14, 2012 by admin| 1 Comment

To you bird people…i live in pennsylvania, and i have a hummingbird feeder. And while hummingbirds that feed on it usually hover, every once in awhile they’ll land on it for 20 or 30 seconds. Well, I noticed a couple weeks ago, one hummingbird when it lands, will do this thing where it sorta bobs its head from side to side…almost like someone listening to hip hop music might. I thought that particular hummingbird might just have some mental or physical problem, but then noticed the other day an entirely different hummingbird clearly doing the same thing. It’s this slow rythmic bobbing of the head back and forth when perched, they may do it 10 or 15 seconds at a time. Both that did it were males.
Is this a mating attractant? Does it deal with sugarwater digestion? Is it already a known behavior to hummingbird experts? I doubt I’ve made some behavioral discovery, but if nobody on here is familar with this behavior, I just might have!

Has anyone seen or heard of this behavior?

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Posted in Bird Feeding

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Which of the following examples of behavior provide evidence of animal cognition?

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin| 1 Comment

a. chimpanzee stacking up boxes to reach a banana
b. ravens pulling up a string to obtain attached food item
c. injury-feigning behavior of ground-nesting bird
d. the cognitive map of jay that enables it to retrieve food from its many catches
e. all of the above show evidence of information processing and animal cognition
i was leaning towards E as well because the first 3 options clearly demonstrate cognitive behavior

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Posted in Bird Nest Boxes

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Why do birds like to hide inside of something, is this a nesting behavior?

Posted on March 27, 2012 by admin| 1 Comment

I have seen a couple of birds (males mostly) who like to climb inside paper bags, boxes etc. When they do this usually they make noises as though they are whispering to themselves. This usually leads to aggression if they are disturbed. My conure is only two months old and has started this behavior. He also does this when he is covered up at night. Any idea why they do this?? Serious answers only please!

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Very very very Odd budgie behavior. What’s your take on it?

Posted on March 22, 2012 by admin| 5 Comments

About a month ago, I got a budgie. He was very timid, so we named him Timmy. He was not hand fed. I figured getting him tamed would be a challenge, but since I know of 0 local breeders, and no Mom and Pop pet stores left in the area, it was pretty much my only option. There used to be a lot many years ago, now it’s only Petco and Petsmart, with two local fish stores.

Well, I let him acclimate to his new home the first week. Spending time with him, talking to him.. but he never moved.. the only time he would move is when he went to get food or water. I figured he was still freaked out about the move.

Well, it didn’t help. He still rarely moved 3 weeks later, and panics every time I open the door to his cage. Any and all attempts at training have failed. Disappointing, but not unexpected… being a “bin o’ budgies” bird, my expectations weren’t that high.

Well, since he refuses to interact with me, any of his toys, and just sits immobile all day every day, I figure he must be lonely. Maybe if I get a girl, it will liven him up and give him some kind of interaction. Maybe they’d mate and I can hand feed the babies and get a tame budgie.. pipe dream, but none the less, I worry about the little guy just being immobile all day.

Well, I got a bigger cage, another budgie, a couple more toys and a nest box (yeah I know, overly optimistic). Within the hour, Timmy perked up quite a bit. They were chirping back and forth, he’d follow the other one around, the new one groomed him a bit. It was all cute and adorable.

Then the oddest thing… The new one regurgitated seed and fed it to Timmy, who ate it. Is this normal for budgies? The only time I’ve seen this is when the parents feed their young…

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Bird Behavior… I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!?

Posted on March 6, 2012 by admin| Leave a comment

Ok here is the deal, i have one male cocktail and one female. I have had both of them for about a year. Now all of a sudden out of nowhere the male bird starts either talking or singing to the female and approaches her but she move backs, or runs away. The male bird starts biting her A LOT now, first i thought the male didn’t like her but I’ve been researching and it seems that the male wants to mate but the female doesn’t??? i am not sure i bought a nest box should i put it in? i don’t know much about babies and i don’t know if i should buy a bigger cage….. should i put the nest inside of the cage? i need help and fast!!!!!
P.s the male bird raises his feathers on his head and threatens me and bits me when i approach him, i went away for summer vac. could it be that he forgot me and if he did what should i do to keep the relationship!?!?!?!
I cant seperate them because when i do both the male and female call each other

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Parrotlet behavior – how to raise my baby??

Posted on March 3, 2012 by admin| 3 Comments

Our family just adopted our first bird – a Parrotlet. What is the best way to socialize and train this new addition to our family? He is almost 6 weeks old. I am still hand feeding him some. He is starting to eat Petamine and I have given him some fresh foods. My questions are:
–How likely are these birds to talk? Do you know of one that says many words or phrases?
–How much should I allow my parrotlet to be out of his cage, and what is the best way to handle him?
–How different is this species from a budgie or similar bird?

I did a lot of research before choosing a bird, but the information for Parrotlet’s seems limited. All the websites I have found say virtually the same thing. Anyone with any experience that they can share, would be greatly appreciated!!

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Do you feed the birds in your yard?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by admin| 4 Comments

I purchased a tube feeder for the goldfinches and a tray feeder for the finches and sparrows, but I feel like I’m throwing nature out of whack by skewing the odds and providing a regular source of good seed. Their behavior isn’t as natural as when they forage on their own and I worry about the spread of disease.

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