Interpreting Parrot Behavior

[Ashling]

When I find my lorikeet's little green butt in my face, I touch her tail and say "turn around" and she faces forward again :D

"isnt it hard not to clip with such small birds as lovies, Id be afraid to lose them in my house"
When you have little birds (clipped or not) they should be taught a contact call, so that whenever you need to find them, they'll answer you. This helps heaps, even just to check your bird's ok in another room. I lost sight of Ashling outside once, made the call, and she was in a bush 3 feet from me

[Lotis9]

Originally Posted by Pepper's Pa

I agree with the other posts that her flapping is for exercise and simply to have some fun.
The perching away from you may be for her security and safety. Being prey animals, our companion parrots are always aware of what is going on around them. If you are holding your perched Red-Bellied Parrot in front of you, your chest, torso and head may be blocking her view and blocking her escape route. By perching away from you she has both a view and an unobstructed escape path. When on your shoulder, it may be similar reasons. When Pepper is on my shoulder and I’m working on the computer or simply at my desk, he will often perch facing away from me. If I am sitting in a chair with a wall behind me, he will be facing forward. Though he does not follow this pattern 100% of the time, it is the majority of his pattern.
I hope this is of some help for answering your questions.

My CAG (Congo African Grey) and my U2 (Umbrella Cockatoo) frequently flap for exercise.

I agree with Pepper's Pa that the turning away is probably a security thing. While my U2 doesn't really ever do it, my CAG frequently perches facing backwards on my shoulder. Sometimes horses will rest their heads/necks on each other by interlocking necks if you will with one facing one way, the other the opposite. This is for security so that they can both relax and still be aware of their surroundings. So maybe birds do the same thing but why some do it and others don't, or they only do it sometimes, I don't know. Maybe it has everything to do with captivity...