Strange female Sun

[songlake]

I've always read that female suns don't talk or at most can whistle while males are a bit better at talking, although not as clear as some parrots.

So Chili, my 6 month old dna'd female sun conure is talking! It's very clear what she's saying (I'm skipper), she's mimicking Skippers talk. They are very bonded and skipper often feeds her and preens her. But I just seen her try to mount Skipper!

I'm wondering if maybe the breeder got leg bands mixed up and Chili is a boy. She was a part of a clutch of 3. Only one in there was male and it was smaller than the two females. At first the breeder kept Chili in the cage and let us play with the other two, she said Chili was the male. So we picked out one we liked and when the breeder got the dna paperwork and checked the leg bands she said Oops, that's the male I was keeping. So then we decided to get Chili since she was the most colorful of the two "girls".

So Chili is also practicing other words which we aren't sure of what she's saying yet..It could be nearly anything. Could she be a HE and the breeder messed up leg bands? Do female birds try to mount male birds?!

 

[Dinosrawr]

That's interesting - I guess the only way to truly find out is to get an actual DNA test done again. They're quite cheap when done through a company here in Canada (cost me $13) and all it requires is feather samples or a small blood sample. I just collected feathers that Avery had dropped over time, a few of which were blood feathers that came out while flying one day on their own.

I've never really based talkability with conures on sex, Avery was a late bloomer with talking but I swear she won't stop talking for hours on end sometimes. My boyfriend will give me the weirdest look when I have her on my laptop and we say things to each other for hours on end... I honestly forget I'm even talking to her sometimes ! She loves listening to me and responding with her words and sounds. I know different species are more predictable with how they talk, like Cockatiels, but I'm not so positive with conures.

As for the mounting... that definitely seems like male behaviour to me! Females tend to do the lowered body, odd sounds, and rubbing against you with their cloaca. It's happened to me before with a friend's conure... all I heard were these weird sounds and felt this rubbing against my neck before I realised what she was trying to do! She also has a male conure who tries to mount the female conure constantly. I've never once seen the female try to mount the male. I know female dogs will hump other dogs to establish boundaries and dominance, but I don't think that's how it works in the parrot world

 

[hacatta]

well i don't know about the talking but mounting is something females do too.
i got 2 females and 2 males ,one male always looks like a weird failing duck beneath her when they are doing it.
and they are all 4 sexed.
my mother also had 2 green cheeks that turned out to be both female and also mounted each other.

 

[songlake]

Oh ok then Chili is still probably a girl, just hormonal or something since she's in her first molt (looks like the ugly puppy stage).

Thanks for the answers

 

[Frumpydumple]

Erik does that too.

We always guessed he was male, but he climbs on top of your hand like a male bird AND he reverses on your hand like a female bird. It's weird.

He reverses more than he mounts too.

He is aggressive and he can talk a bit.

I don't get it...

 

[Sterling1113]

My white eared conure, kiwi, is not DNA tested just assumed female. She will mount and express male behaviors to her male cage mate, a DNA'd GCC. However with me she will express female behaviors and coo and try to build me a nest. She also talks and makes a variety of sounds. So I wouldn't base the gender on anything but a DNA test IMO. Especially with birds like conures where you really can't tell any other way. ( some birds you can guess by beak size, head shape etc..)

 

[songlake]

I think she's female, I was just shocked seeing her mount Skipper who is the oldest male in the house, alpha bird?! lol She's just a female who can talk clearly I guess

 

[Dinosrawr]

Hahaha! Well, you've got a nice talking female alpha on your hands then