Strange Green Cheek Conure behavior - advice appreciated. x

[conuremommy]

Hello everyone!
My GCC has been exhibiting some behaviors that I would love to figure out, and the hours of internet searching have yielded very different explanations, so I thought I should ask some fellow Conure lovers

1. Boris will nuzzle against my head, lean on me and try to cover himself with my hair.
2. When he nuzzles me, he often starts to shake his whole body and when he stops, he makes a loud kissing noise. He hasn't been taught kissing noises so I don't know what this means.
3. Just recently, he comes up close to my face and makes a very strange, high pitched sound that sounds like he is vomiting, but he doesn't actually vomit and does not appear to be in distress.
4. He likes to headbutt me and also butt me with his beak.
5. He sits on my shoulder and wiggles from side to side.

You may notice that I have given him a male name and I do presume that he's male because he is very protective over me and will not let my husband near me, but I actually have never had him sexed so I don't know for sure whether he's male or female.
Any advice with any of these behaviors would be great - I hate to think that he's trying to communicate things to me and I'm not understanding!

 

[Phlox]

It sort of sounds like he's...well, to be delicate...mating with you.

That's what the rubbing is about. The rest is 'almost regurgitation' feeding you and other bird love making.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Protective behaviour isn't restricted to males, my female Avery is ridiculously protective over me despite us both being female. She gets upset when my boyfriend goes in for a kiss

It definitely sounds like mating behaviour to me. How old is your conure? He may have hit sexual maturity and is now trying to mate with you, or at least pleasure himself with you. When he does that, I recommend removing him and letting him cool down and doing your best to prevent the behaviour. Sometimes it is impossible, though, especially considering that conures can mate year round if they so wished.

 

[conuremommy]

Oh no :11: I was hoping that wouldn't be the case, although now you've said it, it makes perfect sense and when I try to move him off me he gets very nippy and even more aggressive with my husband.
I have no idea how old he is because I rescued him - the family that I got him from told one person that he was "a few years old", but stuck a note on his cage saying that he was "around two years old". All I'm sure of is that he is fully grown.
Thank you so much for your help!