conure language

[tiny_teesha]

i just got a conure and lost somewhat on how to translate his body language and squaks....
I have a GCC and i wanna know what certain things he does means....

At night when he is trying to sleep if u approach his cage he lifts his head up in a swooping motion, like a u shaped movement sort of- when i thoguht he was greeting me so i went to see if he wants to come out but then he lashed out at me- he didnt hurt, but i think this is more of a warning! his head feathers were all puffy....and his neck feathers......what have u found this means?

He constantly makes this cute quiet, quick, croaking noise.....it's like a deep chirp. I think he randomly makes the sound- not too sure what this means.

When he sings i notice he whas different sounds....i am yet to distinguish them because in a 24hr period he only sings for less than 5 minutes!

The other normal bird behaviours i can translate, but these few have puzzled me. What else have you fellow conure owners noticed that is specific to conures?????
Just curious :>

[Monica]

If his head is puffed up as well as around the neck, and his eyes dilating, that can either mean he's excited or he doesn't want to be bothered... I've noticed that most birds don't like being handled at night time when it's dark..

The other ones I can't really tell you!

[tiny_teesha]

i can't tell if they are dilated coz his iris is dark brown! i hate that! i can always tell with my galah- but not this one!
also when we interrupt him in his sleep he starts to make a ruckus squaking about....as u do when u are disturbed in the middle of a blissful slumber!
i still don't know wat the chirp means....but he can click....like make a consistant click click click sound....like i do it all the time- i dunno if he is already mimiccing or what....is he?

[milihandra]

Buddy, my Nanday makes a click click sound, it's adorable
I found he does it when he's happy
He makes a cute growling noise when he's sleepy and doesn't want to be desturbed, and if we persist, he goes into squaking mode

[Vincent_The_Bird]

Mine does that bity thing sometimes, mostly his objection to being handled Ive found. He also does that low chirp Im not sure what that means either but it is equated with happieness and definitly some curiousity to my guess because make when my bf leaves the room followed by one of his "little" screams (well compared to the Jendaya sp? conure that screached so loud at the petstore he hid behind my head!). It might just be an "all is well in birdland" chirp : )

There is one more thing he/she does that baffles me a little too, sometimes when hes sitting on someones shoulder and a hand he can't identify as the owners, hell get defensive about.

Other than that most of the body language from mine has been fairly baby like, loves kisses though i discourage it my bf loves it. They really enjoy their human "security blankets" : )

[kateBird]

hi,

i own two gccs and they make a whole bunch of different chirps to tell their slave...um OWNERS what they want.

the make kissing sounds to say "i want to cuddle and get kisses", they make another chirp to say "i want a bath!" and they make smacking noises to say "im hungry! how about a snack?!".

i dont know about the U-shaped motion of your bird, but once trying to sleep, a gcc doesnt like to be disturbed. i usually cover up my birds at night so they get their darkness and peace.

i think i know the deep chirp you are talking about - with my gcc, its means something like "i dont really like what you just did". we usually play a game in the morning where i would sit across the room from my gccs while brushing my teeth, and they are leaning over in my direction to tell me they want to be picked up and be with me. then, as i am done brushing teeth, i stand up and have to pass by their cage to get to the bathroom sink, so i slowly approach their cage as if to go to pick them up and i zoom quickly around their cage and into the bathroom. this is when they make a low-trill like sound. (which i think is what you are talking about?). its SO funny to me. its like "hey, stop teasing!". i then go back and pick them up when my mouth is not full of toothpaste foam.

oh, another low trill he does sounds more like a purr - its when i am cuddling him and i start making a low rumble in my throat, and he does it back - something like in agreement or something.

i dont know about the click, click sound - could be my gcc's smacking sound.

hope that helps.

kateBird

[tiny_teesha]

ahh thanx u guys! answered alot of my queeriies of his noises! I think the deep chirp is a "im stimulated" sort of chirp. He seems do to it when hes looking at something , or had a scratch, or just popped on ur shoulder, or sees someone hw likes. When he eats something he does it to....i suppose its a possitive thing then yeh? not an "im stimulated".....hmm...
oh wellz, he's cute n e hooz!

[tiny_teesha]

oh my bird does this cute game. He'll make a long deep chirp and flap his wings. And he like eggs you on to squash him (lightly.) so if he's on my shoulder i'll tilt my head to the side to squash him, adn he flapps and deeply chirps adn then stops. So i lift my head up and do it again, it goes for like 5 minutes. He loves it. Also he will grab my finger adn with his beak pretend to attack it adn fluff up adn then he will roll on his side/back and play wrestle with my finger, ages of fun!
I found he does a purr, i call it one, when you give him the first treat, or a special treat. Its a deep short chirp. it sounds different ot the im excited chirp. He does randomly make a deep short chirp for no reason, just coz he feels like it. When we disturb him at night he just sings back in annoyance. He doesnt dot he u shaped thing, he only did that when he slept on the floor, which he now sleeps in a nice warm fuzzy hut!.
Yeh, he's amazing :> i luv him! i can understand him now, at first i only knew cockatiel behaviour so i was like "WHAT NO CREST?!?! what the hell ami supposed to do?!" lol. I get him now though!

[rochelle]

Hi All...
After many yrs of wanting a bird that I could interact with on a more "intimate" level, I finally bought myself a GCC about two weeks ago! I'm soooo excited about having Otis but because I know so little about these birds, Otis and I are having to learn things the hard way. Although things are improving between Otis and I, I've taken MANY, MANY painful bites and am just now starting to understand the little guy. The reason I'm posting today is because...just this evening when I was interacting with Otis, he kept walking up my shirt to my collar bone, where I'd cup my hand (kind of like a tunnel) so as, not to allow him access to my shoulder. (I've learned that sitting on shoulders shouldnt be allowed until your bird stops biting *dominance thing*) Anyway...this is what Otis did when I had my hand in that tunnel shape. He burried his head in my hand....like he was enjoying being cuddled! So I started lightly petting him with my other hand, telling him he was a "handsome boy" and instead of biting me, he was ever-so-slightly "nipping at my finger. But then....HE BEGAN MAKING THIS MOST ADORABLE "crackling-cooing" (almost like a light beak grinding) SOUND (and then he fell asleep, cupped under my hand!!!! Of course I was confused as to what this sound meant but.....after finding this site and reading the posts...I think this almost "purr-like" grinding is a sound of contentment (???) Later on when I put him in his cage for the night, he clung to the side of his cage....looking very sleepy....and he was doing the "coo-ing" again. Its odd that he was clinging to the side of his cage to sleep though because he usually sleeps on his back, on top his hammock! Truthfully....I think Otis didnt want to be separated from me (?!) Am I thinking too much in HUMAN EMOTIONS????

[hollyhawkz]

Congratulations on your new babe. It sounds like bonding is taking place, a wonderful thing to experience. This is a great web page to learn all kinds of things... nad yes that noise is the sound of contentment. Good for you!
All the best Holly and Wawa.