# Another Cockatiel question... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960 "2011-01-17T17:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/1 "2011-01-17T17:11:08Z")
…since the first one has moved off the page. My tiel usually perches like [this,](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/annewaldron/Screenshot2011-01-17at120421PM.png) with his lateral retrices fanned out. I’m used to seeing tiels with their tails all pointy and tidy. Might there be a particular reason that he does this, behaviorally or something? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/2 "2011-01-17T17:17:02Z")
Maybe he’s looking for a mate or its a display of dominance. Do you have a cat? ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/3 "2011-01-17T17:41:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Maybe he’s looking for a mate or its a display of dominance. Do you have a cat? No cats. I have a dog that he does not give a hoot about (literally). But he LOVES me. I think he believes I am his (and, well, I am!). So maybe he’s flirting? ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/4 "2011-01-18T00:33:23Z")
It looks like flirting. Make sure he is not pumping his tail ( labored breathing). If he suddenly hangs sideways or upside down and displays his wings like a fan dancer, it’s flirting. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/5 "2011-01-18T01:38:21Z")
> [@conurepete](#): > > It looks like flirting. Make sure he is not pumping his tail ( labored breathing). If he suddenly hangs sideways or upside down and displays his wings like a fan dancer, it’s flirting. No tail pumping. I get the fan dancer every morning when I give him fresh seed. I get kissy noises and repetitive calls with his head bowed when I pick him up. He also does this thing when he’s feeling frisky where he broadens his shoulders (creating “air” under his folded wings), pauses for a few beats, and then takes a huge hop forward with an ear-splitting “PEEP” and his tail feathers spread. Totally looks like a flirtatious display, although he is always hopping away from me when he does this. He wants me with him constantly and will protest LOUDLY when I’m out of his line of sight. I let him nibble on things I’m holding between my lips, so I’m sure that to him we’re married. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/6 "2011-01-18T02:08:00Z")
Yep, he loves you. He will never, ever, willingly leave you alone from now on. You are warned. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/7 "2011-01-19T03:42:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > He will never, ever, willingly leave you alone from now on. Of this I am regularly made aware! I love the little guy, though- he gets lots of attention from me- my best little friend! ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/8 "2011-01-19T06:11:10Z")
He’s really handsome 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/9 "2011-01-19T10:38:22Z")
What a lovely bird! My father raised albino 'teils. When I first read, even the preview of the OP, my initial thought was “He’s flirting”. Other answers seem to back this up. I don’t keep birds, but I’d imagine your bird behaving this way with you isn’t much different than my kitty getting in my lap and ‘kneading’ me, which in effect is telling me that he loves me and thinks of me as his. (Which I am! 🙂 ) Amusing, unrelated cockateil story: my father, at one point, was down to one bird, a female. She was beautiful. One night, I went out to dinner with my parents. When we got back to the house, the bird was on the railing of the front porch! :eek: My father turned to my mother and said “Dee, did you leave her cage open?” Mom said “No, it must have been you; there must be a hole in the roof or something”. Dad says “I didn’t leave the cage open, I know”. Well, he scoops up the bird, we get into the house, and there’s his bird, in the cage! The bird on the front porch railing, on closer inspection, was a _male_ albino cockateil! We watched the paper for notices that someone was missing a bird (hey, those guys aren’t cheap!), but never found anything. So then, once again, my Dad had a mated pair. They made friends (and babies) quickly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/10 "2011-01-19T13:11:26Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Amusing, unrelated cockateil story: my father, at one point, was down to one bird, a female. She was beautiful. One night, I went out to dinner with my parents. When we got back to the house, the bird was on the railing of the front porch! :eek: My father turned to my mother and said “Dee, did you leave her cage open?” Mom said “No, it must have been you; there must be a hole in the roof or something”. Dad says “I didn’t leave the cage open, I know”. Well, he scoops up the bird, we get into the house, and there’s his bird, in the cage! The bird on the front porch railing, on closer inspection, was a _male_ albino cockateil! We watched the paper for notices that someone was missing a bird (hey, those guys aren’t cheap!), but never found anything. So then, once again, my Dad had a mated pair. They made friends (and babies) quickly. 🙂 My new favorite bird story of all time- super-squee! ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/11 "2011-01-19T13:28:30Z")
As I look the photo again, you can see his crest is up in a “check ME out” way, and he has his sideburns all fluffed forward. My parrots only do the sideburns when they are happy and relaxed. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/12 "2011-01-19T15:44:09Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > The bird on the front porch railing, on closer inspection, was a _male_ albino cockateil! We watched the paper for notices that someone was missing a bird (hey, those guys aren’t cheap!), but never found anything. So then, once again, my Dad had a mated pair. They made friends (and babies) quickly. 🙂 I’m guessing you probably mean [lutino](http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=lutino+cockatiel&aq=0&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=fd0f73886609171d) cockatiels. It’s estimated that a substantial portion of the cockatiels kept in the US were found in the wild (I’ve seen numbers thrown around, but they must be WAGs). 'Tiels are wanderers in their native habitat but not migratory; they don’t seem to have a good sense of direction, and they easily get lost. Coupled with the fact that they’re strong fliers and lightweight, they get far from home quickly. Since the hand-raised ones are people-friendly, they often go right up to strangers and get taken in. That’s how we got _our_ first 'tiel. > [@conurepete](#): > > As I look the photo again, you can see his crest is up in a “check ME out” way, and he has his sideburns all fluffed forward. My parrots only do the sideburns when they are happy and relaxed. We’ve been calling those “cheek fans.” I associate them with two emotional states – either contentment or asking for attention/petting. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/13 "2011-01-19T19:26:36Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I’m guessing you probably mean [lutino](http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=lutino+cockatiel&aq=0&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=fd0f73886609171d) cockatiels. > > It’s estimated that a substantial portion of the cockatiels kept in the US were found in the wild (I’ve seen numbers thrown around, but they must be WAGs). 'Tiels are wanderers in their native habitat but not migratory; they don’t seem to have a good sense of direction, and they easily get lost. Coupled with the fact that they’re strong fliers and lightweight, they get far from home quickly. Since the hand-raised ones are people-friendly, they often go right up to strangers and get taken in. That’s how we got _our_ first 'tiel. Yeah, I guess you’re right, though all my father’s cockatiel books called them ‘albino’; of course, that was more than 20 years ago, so. . . That’s interesting about the birds being found in the wild. I just wonder what the odds are of a ‘stray’, escape, or wild _male_ Lutino ending up at the home of a female Lutino. It seems like there _must_ have been some way he knew there was a potential mate inside the house. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/14 "2011-01-19T19:36:21Z")
Enjoying reading this thread. I don’t have a cockatiel, but some good friends of mine have a sweet one. Darwin i’s a definite senior citizen – 26 years old, but still pretty spry. He broke his wing in a fall six or seven years ago, but it healed well. He can’t fly anymore, due to that, but he walks and rappels his way around just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/15 "2011-01-19T19:48:32Z")
Fanned tail feathers can also be a sign that the bird is ticked off about something and trying to look intimidating. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/16 "2011-01-19T20:38:32Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > …Darwin i’s a definite senior citizen – 26 years old… TWENTY SIX??? Holy crap- I thought 'tiels lived to be 10 or 12…! > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Fanned tail feathers can also be a sign that the bird is ticked off about something and trying to look intimidating. Well I would characterize Cricket in that photo as being ticked off that he’s not on my shoulder! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/17 "2011-01-19T23:44:10Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Fanned tail feathers can also be a sign that the bird is ticked off about something and trying to look intimidating. Yeah, but when mine do that they also spread their wings up and a little out, to look as big as possible. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/18 "2011-01-20T00:19:38Z")
> [@conurepete](#): > > As I look the photo again, you can see his crest is up in a “check ME out” way, and he has his sideburns all fluffed forward. My parrots only do the sideburns when they are happy and relaxed. Huh, my Jardine’s does his “muttonchop” action when he’s getting ready to kick someone’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/19 "2011-01-20T04:39:08Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > TWENTY SIX??? Holy crap- I thought 'tiels lived to be 10 or 12…! Yeah, he’s far surpassed the typical cockatiel life expectancy. I have no idea what the oldest recorded lifespan of a cockatiel is, though a quick Google search indicates that there have been ones who have lived into their 30s (possibly even into their 40s). ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960/20 "2011-01-20T06:16:19Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > TWENTY SIX??? Holy crap- I thought 'tiels lived to be 10 or 12…! > > Well I would characterize Cricket in that photo as being ticked off that he’s not on my shoulder! I had a cockatiel named Bobby who lived to be 23. He was a hoot… he would whistle Dueling Banjos with me (I had to lead off) and called the dog. He also did a convincing dog bark when he saw the mailman coming. He once got my dad in trouble… Dad was working on the front doorsquatted down with the door open. The kitchen windows were also open. Two teenage girls were walking down the street, and Bobby cut loose with a well-timed wolf whistle. The girls glared at my red faced father and one of them yelled PERVERT! 😛 God I miss that bird. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-cockatiel-question/567960.md?page=2)