Does Anyone Else's Do This?

fiddlejen

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Mar 28, 2019
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Sunny the Sun Conure (sept '18, gotcha 3/'19). Mr Jefferson Budgie & Mrs Calliope Budgie (albino) (nov'18 & jan'19). Summer 2021 Baby Budgies: Riker (Green); Patchouli, Keye, & Tiny (blue greywings).
Does anyone else's parrot try to Fly You Around?

Sitting on my shoulder she will start fussing until I look at her. She stands and flaps her wings to tell me to get moving. Once I stand, she orients in the direction I should go... and then as I move, she stays firmly attached to my shoulder but flapping along, as if She is FLYING ME.

… to add to this... it's not about, where She Wants to go. It's where she Thinks I am Supposed to go next. My routine is about as irregular I can make it given that I work 40-hrs and Stay-At-Home … but she is determined that she knows what I am Supposed to do next, and darned if she isn't gonna not only move me along, but even FLY me There and Back.

She is so determined to do this that occasionally when I head the "wrong" way she'll up do a startled jump-fly off my shoulder. I've given her a startle just by heading to the other side of the room, or pausing to open a curtain that she did not plan for.

When she had just gotten herself all set-up for the work of "Flying" me in a different direction!
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Does anyone else's parrot try to Fly You Around?

Sitting on my shoulder she will start fussing until I look at her. She stands and flaps her wings to tell me to get moving. Once I stand, she orients in the direction I should go... and then as I move, she stays firmly attached to my shoulder but flapping along, as if She is FLYING ME.

… to add to this... it's not about, where She Wants to go. It's where she Thinks I am Supposed to go next. My routine is about as irregular I can make it given that I work 40-hrs and Stay-At-Home … but she is determined that she knows what I am Supposed to do next, and darned if she isn't gonna not only move me along, but even FLY me There and Back.

She is so determined to do this that occasionally when I head the "wrong" way she'll up do a startled jump-fly off my shoulder. I've given her a startle just by heading to the other side of the room, or pausing to open a curtain that she did not plan for.

When she had just gotten herself all set-up for the work of "Flying" me in a different direction!

LOL- Mine isn't much for flying (she can, but doesn't like it), but when she wants something badly she DOES do this crazy hold-on-and-flap -thing(be it, on me, or on her perch). I always attributed it to showmanship lol, but maybe it is more literal than that! haha
 

chris-md

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Feb 6, 2010
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Parker - male Eclectus

Aphrodite - red throated conure (RIP)
Yes, Parker will sit on my hand and try to steer me by leaning really hard in the direction he wants to go. especially if he thinks he (meaning me) is making his way to where he thinks his favorite person is.
 

SailBoat

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Jul 10, 2015
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DYH Amazon
Yes, Parker will sit on my hand and try to steer me by leaning really hard in the direction he wants to go. especially if he thinks he (meaning me) is making his way to where he thinks his favorite person is.

Oh yaaa, and with the mid to large Parrots, when they are flapping and leaning, its really clear regarding direction. I have also found that if you slow and ask them, which direction or to this perch or that perch, they are more than willing to provide direction.

After a deep soaking bathe, Julio is not a flier and this method of travel is common as is his determination of where he wants to go!
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
yes, parker will sit on my hand and try to steer me by leaning really hard in the direction he wants to go. Especially if he thinks he (meaning me) is making his way to where he thinks his favorite person is.

yes 500% to this..

I do ask mine where she wants to go and 80% of the time, its VERY clear lol! I give her 2 options ( blank, or blank) and she will lean towards one.
 

cnyguy

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Apr 23, 2010
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Syracuse, NY
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Quaker parrot, Ralph
Ralph doesn't try to transport me anywhere, but when he's perched on me and wants to go somewhere faster than I'm moving, he'll lean well forward and grumble at me. I suppose he may be wondering why I don't fly where we're going instead of walking. :D He does point me in whatever direction he wants to go. If I ask him if he wants to go somewhere specific, like to look out the window, he'll nod his head if he does or will say graaaccckk if he doesn't. He's very good at making known what he wants to do.
 

wrench13

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Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
Salty is not a pointer, but if he is on my shoulder and wants to return to his daytime play boing/toy chain, he lightly, very lightly, pinches the high bridge of my nose. Thats the signal to head back. If ignore it, he does his pre-flight crouch and wings are freed up for flapping.
 

T00tsyd

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May 8, 2017
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Green cheek conure - Sydney (Syd) Hatched 2/2017
Oh no. Not yet. I feel I am under orders all the time already. He does kind of get restless and make me wonder what he wants. Perhaps I am still in training and I thought I had reached gold standard already.
 
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fiddlejen

fiddlejen

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Mar 28, 2019
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Sunny the Sun Conure (sept '18, gotcha 3/'19). Mr Jefferson Budgie & Mrs Calliope Budgie (albino) (nov'18 & jan'19). Summer 2021 Baby Budgies: Riker (Green); Patchouli, Keye, & Tiny (blue greywings).
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Turns out that Sunny doesn't Merely have my not-really-a-routine figured out. Rather, she actively Reads My Mind, and then wants to hurry-me-up.

Saturday night as we sat-up enduring the fireworks-noise and watching TV, there were a number of moments where I variously decided i needed to: --get water-- --go to bathroom-- --change to a different pajama shirt-- etc. But at each of these notable moments I was myself feeling quite settled & having thus decided, then did Not intiate my action. After a few minutes of thinking about but Not actually Moving, Sunny would stand herself up on my shoulder and flap like a frantic airplane-takeoff, until I finally got up to do whatever I'd been thinking.

Obviously this benefits her in that, the sooner I complete whatever my task, the sooner I return to being her relaxed human safety-perch.


I think their mind-reading abilities must be one of those things our birdie-overlords normally hide, in interest of keeping us guessing as their Servants...
 
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Inger

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Bumble - Pacific (or Celestial) Parrotlet hatched 02/19/17
Oh this is very interesting! I’ve never noticed Bumble do it, but at 33 grams it might be easy to miss. I’m going to start paying attention!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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