Huge GCC Behaviour Change?!

[Vetgirl95ER]

I have a 3 year old male Green Cheek named Marley. He has always been super sweet and cuddly with me and friendly with the rest of my family. He snuggled with me and spent 80% of his time out of the cage, on my head or shoulders.
Recently he has had a big change in his attitude towards me and only me. He isn't any more or less affectionate with anyone else in my family but he now seems to be terrified of me. If I walk up to his cage to say hello he hides in the back and if I open it up and go to pick him up he's run away frantically. He usually comes around after a minute and steps up but them he flaps his wings like he's trying to get away and sometimes jumps right off my hand and runs across the floor back to his cage.
His behaviour really concerns me because we recently lost our parrotlet. The parrotlet we believed died from a stressful incident, not disease, but I'm hoping that their is nothing wrong with Marley. He otherwise seems completely healthy, he eats tons and drinks his water and chirps when he sees the ducks outside. He still plays with his toys and loves cuddling with my cat. Should I be concerned about this change and how can I help?

 

[Dinosrawr]

I'm sorry for your loss

Have you changed anything about your appearance? New piercings? Bright clothing? Dyed/cut your hair? Wearing glasses? Has anything in his immediate environment change? Sometimes the most minute change can set off an alarm with a bird and make them change their behaviour towards you.

How long has it been going on for? Did it JUST start, or has it been going on for a week or more? If given time, he may just simply get over whatever it is that's affecting him. If not, you may just have to simply take a step back and rebuild some trust by talking gently to him while he's in his cage, using a perch to have him step up to come out, and working on target training towards your hands to reinforce that they are safe, positive things to be around.

 

[SilverSage]

That was basically the exact same thing I was about to say. If it has been going on for a bit it is most likely due to some chance get I you, either real or perceived. Perhaps something you did recently that was so inconsequential that you didn't notice, frightened him, or perhaps your new glasses, earrings, etc. if either of these are the case, you simply need to take a step back and re-tame him to yourself

Another possibility through is a change in how you feel. With the loss of your other bird, or perhaps other situations in your life, if you approach the bird in a sad, stressed, worried, or angry state, even if you don't feel that way about the bird, and even if you don't realize you feel that wa, it is possible for your bird to pick up on that and be frightened by it, or simply not want to be with you while you see in that mood.

Usually I suggest a vet visit with sudden behavior changes, but since it is only toward one person and not across the board I would say something changed somehow and you either need to change something about how you approach him or just take the time to let him learn to trust you again.