What is your bird's personality like?

Cthebird

New member
Sep 19, 2017
101
0
East coast of USA
Parrots
I now have a young Hahn's macaw. I used to have a Pacific Parrotlet that lived until almost 15. Before that I had a budgie.
I imagine that certain types of macaws tend to have a certain amount of similar behaviors, but certainly they are individuals and they are their own birds. I know nature and nurture also play a part in making them who they are. What is your type of macaw? And what is their personality like?

My guy is a little wild child. I think I may be slightly responsible for that, but do believe it's his own personality, too. He's a Hahn's macaw. He is a really funny and smart guy, but also a bad boy on occasion. He likes horseplay, which I know I shouldn't indulge him in, but it gives him such a joy. I think he has been a bit hormonal lately, so he's been a little nasty on occasion if he doesn't get his way or isn't the center of attention as much as he likes.

My guy is learning to say a lot of things, mostly in Czech. When he is frustrated, he seems to say everything as if it had an exclamation point at the end of it. He likes my husband, but my husband is not as able or willing to deal with him when he gets a little wild and crazy. Our last parrot, a Pacific Parrotlet, was a quiet and docile little boy. Our Hahn's is more like a grackle. He does clearly love us, though me a bit more since I am home more. When strangers come, he is quieter and even a little shy, though he does warm up to them eventually.
 

dhraiden

Member
Jul 14, 2015
603
23
Queens NY
Parrots
Green Cheek Conure (Mochi)
Gold Capped Conure (Mango)
Mango (gold-capped) = easygoing, fine with being handled, very food-oriented, kind of happy to sit around, preen and be content with things.


Mochi (GCC) = busybody, always has to be high-up to keep an eye on everybody, very bossy, doesn't like to be handled by anyone but my SO that she's bonded to. Currently quite hormonal and in a super-nesting-mode.
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
15,045
8,742
Cleveland area
Parrots
The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Well, staff at our vet's office call him Genghis Konure...
He is hyperactive, domineering, territorial, oversexed, impatient and generally ill-tempered. He was an cuddly, cooing angel until he became a rooster at 3-4 years of age. Then he grew horns. Screams, sings and chats... favorite words are GAIL and NO.
That's my boy!
 

ChristaNL

Banned
Banned
May 23, 2018
3,559
157
NL= the Netherlands, Europe
Parrots
Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
Sunny / B&G ... was retreated so deep in her shell/ zonked out most of the time I still do not know this lady very well.
The last few months she seemed to be turning into a rather inquisitive birdy with an interesting stubborn streak who loves attention and being touched a lot.
(Or she is actively copying the CAGs, who knows)
 

Betrisher

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
Barney and Madge (the Beaks: Alexandrines) are the loves of my life, but since Miss Rosetta Stone (Corella) came bounding into our lives, I've realised they're not exactly filled with the great exuberance and vivaciousness possessed by the humble cockatoo.

Madge is such a hen! She sits on her perch looking daggers at anyone who might come near (especially the poor, frustrated Barn) and if you're silly enough to stick your finger in the cage, she will do her level best to sever it (the finger, not the cage). She reminds me of nothing more than an officious, self-important hall monitor who just loves catching people doing the wrong thing and then punishing them for it. Madge screeches irritably between 7am and 7.30am and again between 4.30pm and 5pm. Loudly. As luck would have it, someone down the street has erected a two-storey studio and Madge's voice reverberates off its wall with ferocious intensity. I'm sure all our neighbours hate us! Thankfully, the woman on the corner has a crowing rooster, so I'm not alone.

Barney is an absolute sweetheart! He knows at all times where I am and calls to me merrily whenever I come out to the birds' area. He would dearly love to play Mummies'n'Daddies with Madge, only she's having none of that. The poor boy sidles up and offers to vom for her, but she just turns an icy backto him. If he tries getting close, she nips him and puts him in his place, lowering her head and pinning her eyes as he tries his best to look gorgeous for her. While Madge bites, Barney gives kisses.

The Beaks don't 'play'. At least, not in the way Rosetta does. If I give them a breakable toy, they'll beak it till it's broken, then it just lies on the cage floor, untouched. They like to swing and to bounce on their boing, but that's about it. Barney's favourite thing in the whole world is to do tricks to earn rewards, so he's very easy to teach. Madge, not so much. She'll do things begrudgingly but after a few times she just flies off and preens her gorgeous self.

Rosetta is a bundle of energy! She's utterly beautiful in every way! When she first arrived, she was neurotic and highly hormonal and even downright dangerous. She had no idea how to behave around people. Time has pretty much mended that, although she'll always be totally over-the-top and pushing everyone's buttons. That's just who she is. However we have an understanding, 'Setta and I. She no longer bites or charges at me or strikes me with her wings. I think she believes I'm an exceptional sort of tree and her favourite thing to do is climb. Up me. I don't know why, but her fave spot to do this on is the soft bits of my thighs and upper arms. It's as if she knows... OWCH!

She also likes to hang and swing from the end of my plait, which can be hair-raising. She does this, of course, accompanied by her own mellow tones shrieking at the top of her lungs. She has learned to say 'Hello' and to laugh with my voice 'A-hahahahaha'. She also mumbles and says snippets of things she must have overheard in her previous home. I don't think her previous family interacted with her much, so the mutterings sound like a faulty old tannoy.

'Setta bellows a LOT. She likes to shout while she's exercising (flapping-on-the-spot), but also in the mornings and evenings when the wild flocks fly over. I'm quite sure she's holding meaningful conversation with the wild corellas and catching up on all their news! When not bellowing, 'Setta is on the MOVE: running, jumping, climbing, swinging, playing, chewing, rolling and generally being a sweetheart. :p

The Lovies (hybrid masked lovebirds) are cute and playful. They like to bounce and swing and tussle with each other for spots on the boing or their Slinky toy. They're very hormonal and have a disconcerting tendency to do rather unspeakable things on their cotton perch. Unlike our previous colony, this lot is very territorial and attacked our pair of peachfaces so badly we had to separate them. The Lovies are not tame, but enjoy taking treats through the bars of their cage. Watching them play and interact is better than watching TV!
 

itzjbean

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2017
2,572
Media
4
119
Iowa, USA
Parrots
2 cockatiels
What a good idea for a thread!

Ember - cockatiel, almost 1 year old, when I got him he was very calm and small and clipped so he was just the cutest, tiniest thing. He came out of his shell quickly and now he loves to sit on top of our heads or shoulders, sing his happy songs and loves head scratches. He has gained some independence and if you don't pet him just right he will lunge and tell you to stop but then wants scratches again.

Boo - cockatiel, around 8 years old, I got him at 4 years old and he had babies with his previous mate. He is a good bird and will sing at you but likes being with another lady bird. He is a great daddy to his babies and he doesn't mind sitting on my shoulder when he isn't paired with a female. Otherwise he just likes sticking around her, lol

Rue - cockatiel, new to our family this past year, around 7 years old. Mate to Boo and she has definitely come out of her shell in recent weeks. She had a very small cage in her old home and so now has a huge cage. She isn't tame but will accept treats from my hand. She is more comfortable around my other birds and has become much more vocal since her arrival.
 

Parrotpalace

New member
Mar 14, 2019
5
0
Parrots
Budgies
Love birds
Tiels
English budgie
Dusky headed conure
Sun conure
Maroon bellied conure
Indian ringneck
African greys
Cockatoos
Macaws
Amazon
Rip si the moustache parakeet
Rusty is my Scarlett macaw and he is hilarious! He likes to dance at random times,ask for treats,and wave at random ominous times(if you are walking somewhere he'll say bye bye and wave his little foot. It would be cute if it didn't seem like he was saying goodbye forever to you haha)once I left my homework on the table for a minute so I could sharpen my pencil and when I came back my homework was shredded. Guess who shredded it...rusty! He is a bit nippy and quite cage territorial partly because he's a rescue.He also reacts to loud sounds by screaming.
 

tfw

Supporting Member
Nov 12, 2018
182
12
Parrots
B&G Macaw
Kass (B&G Macaw) is a sweetheart and absolutely loves head cuddles. He doesn't seem to mind strangers at all. He has always been well mannered with his bites, and has so far never done an aggressive bite...just the occasional warning light chomp if he's really adamant about being left alone, but he will more likely squawk suddenly before he will chomp down. His bark is worse than his bite, for sure. He also does these cute squeaks or gasps when he sees something exciting, like one of us or a nut or his favorite fresh foods.

We specifically chose a B&G based on their temperament. I know it wasn't a guarantee, but lots of things we read said they were more family oriented than, say, the scarlet macaw. It's not to say any breed can be family oriented, but we wanted to be sure the breed we picked would be more likely match what we wanted. So we took the chance, and got lucky with Kass.
 

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