Hawk-Headed Parrot Temperament

[Noahs_Birds]

G'day everyone

Due to their extremely limited availability in Australia (in fact there is no more than 20 left in Aus), among one of our breeders groups we were wondering what kind of temperament they have

Couple years back we saw one of the only breeders having success with them handrearing them, and I recall he said they were extremely aggressive at times. Is this so?

Not looking to buy any personally......even if they were available (which they aren't) !

Cheers
Noah Till

 

[LaManuka]

I think your "go to" people on this topic are probably Terry57 and bill_e. Here's a link to bill's thread about his beautiful girl Nike...

http://www.parrotforums.com/hawk-head-red-fans/76172-nike-picture-thread.html

From what I can gather Nike seems to be pretty well mannered, she certainly loves her dad!

 

[Noahs_Birds]

I think your "go to" people on this topic are probably Terry57 and bill_e. Here's a link to bill's thread about his beautiful girl Nike...

http://www.parrotforums.com/hawk-head-red-fans/76172-nike-picture-thread.html

From what I can gather Nike seems to be pretty well mannered, she certainly loves her dad!

I'll go check it out, Thankyou!

 

[LaManuka]

Certainly lots of pretty pictures on bill's thread too!

 

[SailBoat]

Warning, Hawk-Heads are captivating, true charmers if you will.

Be fully aware of them and not-unlike Amazons, they will let you know when you are pushing the edge. Fail their body-language warning and you will be reminded that they have a fully operational can-opener attached to their head and the ability to use it.

The story(s) of being "extremely aggressive at times" is likely due to Humans that have never taken the time to learn their Body Language and/or believe that the Parrots should fully obey the Human! Those who respect their Parrots limits and are an active part of their life rarely have such comments.

Remember that New World Parrots can have serious difficulties during hormonal season and when the rush occurs, they (the Parrot) has no control over it. Silly Humans that stick their fingers in the face of a raging Parrot, IMHO, deserve to be aggressed upon!

The World has far too few Hawk-Headed Parrots IMHO!!!

Any and all omissions and errors will be corrected by Bill and Nike!!!

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Warning, Hawk-Heads are captivating, true charmers if you will.

Be fully aware of them and not-unlike Amazons, they will let you know when you are pushing the edge. Fail their body-language warning and you will be reminded that they have a fully operational can-opener attached to their head and the ability to use it.

The story(s) of being "extremely aggressive at times" is likely due to Humans that have never taken the time to learn their Body Language and/or believe that the Parrots should fully obey the Human! Those who respect their Parrots limits and are an active part of their life rarely have such comments.

Remember that New World Parrots can have serious difficulties during hormonal season and when the rush occurs, they (the Parrot) has no control over it. Silly Humans that stick their fingers in the face of a raging Parrot, IMHO, deserve to be aggressed upon!

The World has far too few Hawk-Headed Parrots IMHO!!!

Any and all omissions and errors will be corrected by Bill and Nike!!!

Thanks very much mate!

Its hard to get access to info about these guys.........because of their extreme rarity in Australia an only very limited numbers are bred every couple of years!

 

[bill_e]

Hawkheads get a bad rap but most of it isn't true. They are territorial but other than that my experience is that they are a sweet, personality-rich parrot. After 5 years mine has a very strong bond with both my wife and I, a bond that was plenty strong within months of rehoming her.

I just watched a video on them recently but I cant find it at the moment and one myth they debunked was that hawkheads were hard to pair up and breed. Apparently some ignorant people tried it early on with no success but this guy claimed reality was quite different.

They are small, usually between 200-300 grams and at their loudest are significantly lower volume and not ear splitting than an Amazon. Nike can be calling right next to me and while loud it does not hurt the ears....at least not mine. My OWA was a different story.

As for aggression, I've only noticed defensive aggression. Nike doesn't come after you. and it's funny talking about aggression at all because she has not even been defensive in 4 years. Aside from the very visible body language which includes a menacing stance and characteristic raising of head feathers there is absolutely an audible warning in the form of a cross between loud huffing and hissing as well as growling. If one misses any of those hints then they should find a more suitable profession.

By the way Nike displays all that body language as play now and I love to perch her with her beak right my my face and I give a loud, open mouthed growl to which she mimics it exactly and raises her feathers in a menacing pose. I can get her to do that on que at any time....mimicking sounds real time is one of our favorite play activities.

I've never owned a caique but it is said that young hawkheads play with caiques in the wild and I've seen videos of young birds acting just like caiques.

My hawkhead rehome was and still is one of the best things I've done this decade and I would not trade her for anything.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Hawkheads get a bad rap but most of it isn't true. They are territorial but other than that my experience is that they are a sweet, personality-rich parrot. After 5 years mine has a very strong bond with both my wife and I, a bond that was plenty strong within months of rehoming her.

I just watched a video on them recently but I cant find it at the moment and one myth they debunked was that hawkheads were hard to pair up and breed. Apparently some ignorant people tried it early on with no success but this guy claimed reality was quite different.

They are small, usually between 200-300 grams and at their loudest are significantly lower volume and not ear splitting than an Amazon. Nike can be calling right next to me and while loud it does not hurt the ears....at least not mine. My OWA was a different story.

As for aggression, I've only noticed defensive aggression. Nike doesn't come after you. and it's funny talking about aggression at all because she has not even been defensive in 4 years. Aside from the very visible body language which includes a menacing stance and characteristic raising of head feathers there is absolutely an audible warning in the form of a cross between loud huffing and hissing as well as growling. If one misses any of those hints then they should find a more suitable profession.

By the way Nike displays all that body language as play now and I love to perch her with her beak right my my face and I give a loud, open mouthed growl to which she mimics it exactly and raises her feathers in a menacing pose. I can get her to do that on que at any time....mimicking sounds real time is one of our favorite play activities.

I've never owned a caique but it is said that young hawkheads play with caiques in the wild and I've seen videos of young birds acting just like caiques.

My hawkhead rehome was and still is one of the best things I've done this decade and I would not trade her for anything.

Thanks Bill for the info!

In regards to difficulty breeding, according to the few breeders here in Aus, Hawk heads will reluctantly go to nest if other pairs are in calling distance they say

 

[Cheifyboy]

G'day everyone

Due to their extremely limited availability in Australia (in fact there is no more than 20 left in Aus), among one of our breeders groups we were wondering what kind of temperament they have

Couple years back we saw one of the only breeders having success with them handrearing them, and I recall he said they were extremely aggressive at times. Is this so?

Not looking to buy any personally......even if they were available (which they aren't) !

Cheers
Noah Till

Hi i have a 5yr old hawk head male he has always been a pet he is very affectionate have never been bitten yet, he talks a little, they can be aggressive to other birds so when i have my boy out with my other birds i do this only while i am around. He had his own cage but comes out with the other birds with supervision. He loves head scratched, loves to lie on his back and get tummy tickles. I have heard they are hen killers and more if a handraised one goes into aviary for breeding with an aviary hen he can kill her. I think they are for an experienced bird owner but they do make a lovely pet. Anything else you would like to know please ask. Regards Gloria

 

[Gumi]

Figured I'd share my experience with my Hawkhead as I've had her a while. Not related to breeding, but it is about 9 years worth of owning a Hawkhead with another bird.

I have a 9 year old Hawkhead that I got at around 9 months old and an 11 year old Hahns Macaw that I got at 6 months old. Both birds are female.

For the first 4 years or so everything was fine and although she was skittish around my Hahns she would let my Hahns preen her. The moment my Hawkhead starting getting hormonal she became exceptionally territorial though. This is a DNA sexed female that has never shown interest in nesting but has pitbull levels of aggression and desire to kill my Hahns if my Hahns enters her percieved territory.

Her aggression is entirely based on the existence of my Hahns in her percieved territory and lasts all year around. I basically divide the living space up so they have different zones and ensure they stick to them. Fortunately for me my Hahns is more of a climber than a flyer whilst my Hawkhead likes being high up all the time.

Having said all that, If I had her as a solitary bird I doubt I would have ever seen aggression out of her at all. She's exceptionally cuddly and affectionate as an individual bird, but when you throw other birds into the mix its not the same story.

 

[Terry57]

Figured I'd share my experience with my Hawkhead as I've had her a while. Not related to breeding, but it is about 9 years worth of owning a Hawkhead with another bird.

I have a 9 year old Hawkhead that I got at around 9 months old and an 11 year old Hahns Macaw that I got at 6 months old. Both birds are female.

For the first 4 years or so everything was fine and although she was skittish around my Hahns she would let my Hahns preen her. The moment my Hawkhead starting getting hormonal she became exceptionally territorial though. This is a DNA sexed female that has never shown interest in nesting but has pitbull levels of aggression and desire to kill my Hahns if my Hahns enters her percieved territory.

Her aggression is entirely based on the existence of my Hahns in her percieved territory and lasts all year around. I basically divide the living space up so they have different zones and ensure they stick to them. Fortunately for me my Hahns is more of a climber than a flyer whilst my Hawkhead likes being high up all the time.

Having said all that, If I had her as a solitary bird I doubt I would have ever seen aggression out of her at all. She's exceptionally cuddly and affectionate as an individual bird, but when you throw other birds into the mix its not the same story.

Thank you for sharing your experience! I wonder if that aggression changes with age. My HH, Darwin, isn't aggressive at all with my other birds, but she was 23 when we got her around 9 years ago.
She also hasn't shown any hormonal behaviour since we've had her so perhaps there will come a day when your HH and Hahn's will get along again

 

[RingneckRave]

Due to their extremely limited availability in Australia (in fact there is no more than 20 left in Aus), among one of our breeders groups we were wondering what kind of temperament they have

This is random, very random, but I saw someone selling a taxidermy hawk head in Aus for 2k (iirc)