Caught on camera....

[Kiwibird]

Much like other beasts of legend, the elusive "love monster" Kiwi was finally caught on camera. Naturally, it is poor quality cell phone images (I'm not "selfie" master here), but you can just make out the adorable beastie preening the back of my head in a most delicate and adorable fashion! I just love it when he does this, but I never seem to be able to get proof (he does not preen my husbands head, just mine lol). Finally, I have proof!:

(My glasses aren't as disproportionately big as they look BTW, it was hard to get these pics and at a funny angle)

 

[LeaKP]

Aw! So sweet!

 

[RavensGryf]

Very cute . The sweet and tender side of Kiwi... It doesn't look like he realized you were taking pics. If he did, he'd probably have done more of a tough guy pose , so I'm glad you caught him unknowingly! Lol. I love how you can see the 2 beautiful shades of yellow that Kiwi's subspecies has!

 

[Kiwibird]

He can be a real sweetheart. I've always said there was a nice boy buried deep down inside, and the longer we have him, the more nice Kiwi comes out to say hello (or preen my head)

 

[4dugnlee]

Aww...how cute (and sweet)!

 

[Dopey]

That is so sweet.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Awwww, how sweet of him! Glad you got proof!

 

[Snabb133]

Aww how cute! He does exactly what kiki does to me every now and then, and I know how it feels.

 

[Terry57]

Awww, how sweet! Kiwi cannot deny it now, you have evidence

 

[Kiwibird]

Awww, how sweet! Kiwi cannot deny it now, you have evidence

Yup. His " Imma big bad bird" act only goes so far these days:54: We're starting to document the fact he is indeed a sweet, soft hearted little guy, much to his tough guy dismay

 

[mh434]

Sammy (in my avatar) preens my hair every day. He also preens my eyebrows and, on occasion, my eyelashes. This usually happens after I've been working on the pinfeathers at the back of his neck, breaking up the longest, hardest sheaths. BTW, he LOVES it when I "backcomb" his head, throat, and cheek feathers. He practically purrs.

He only attempts these activities when he's feeling very calm, safe, and secure (I wouldn't let him if he wasn't!), and he's incredibly gentle - when he's near my eyes, he's as gentle as a whisper.

In my experience, trust (in animals) is a two-way street. If you demonstrate that you trust them, they will trust you. Their trust must be earned (after all, their very lives hand in the balance!), and never, ever abused. It's hard to regain if they believe you've betrayed them.

 

[Kiwibird]

Sammy (in my avatar) preens my hair every day. He also preens my eyebrows and, on occasion, my eyelashes. This usually happens after I've been working on the pinfeathers at the back of his neck, breaking up the longest, hardest sheaths. BTW, he LOVES it when I "backcomb" his head, throat, and cheek feathers. He practically purrs.

He only attempts these activities when he's feeling very calm, safe, and secure (I wouldn't let him if he wasn't!), and he's incredibly gentle - when he's near my eyes, he's as gentle as a whisper.

In my experience, trust (in animals) is a two-way street. If you demonstrate that you trust them, they will trust you. Their trust must be earned (after all, their very lives hand in the balance!), and never, ever abused. It's hard to regain if they believe you've betrayed them.

Awww, what a sweetie Sammy must be. Kiwi does not like to be petted on at all. If I want to be mean, he tolerates me patting him, but he clearly doesn't enjoy it, so I don't force it on him He gives lots of birdie kisses to anyone fearless enough to put their face near him, and has recently began to allow me to kiss his head and back, which is positive progress For whatever bird reason he has, the back of the couch is one of his favorite hangout spots. That's where he likes to preen my head and preen my hubbies hands It's kind of funny because he will not preen my fingers and will not preen my husband hair, so he's particular about who he preens where (hubby is the preferred human). I think he's saying thanks for letting him hang out with us when he does it I can only hope as time goes on he eventually caves and lets us pet him!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Zilla also loves to preen my eyebrows and eyelashes! She is very gentle and it tickles, but I do my best to stay still and let her do it at least once a day.

She loves loves loves it when I backbrush her neck feathers! and has just started letting me pet her cheek feathers, and she kind of melts into my neck when I do it.

I can kiss her pretty much everywhere. No touching her belly, tail, and feet. She doesn't allow touching of any kind on those areas at all. When I try she growls at me and runs away!

 

[henpecked]

Oh my, you might be moving from the nonfavorite person status , into the "favorite" person category. Lucky you, congrats. Life is good when your in the "click".

 

[Abigal7]

You certainty caught him in the act.

 

[Kiwibird]

Oh my, you might be moving from the nonfavorite person status , into the "favorite" person category. Lucky you, congrats. Life is good when your in the "click".

We have now officially had Kiwi longer than any of his prior homes. I think he is finally realizing he's here to stay and has been opening up. He is also getting more friendly with me Maybe he'll even bend his head down one of these days for a voluntary petting