He lands on our head &shoulders, preens our facial hair & generally likes to sing back to us. He chatters and scolds us when he sees us outside thru a window.
He kind of digs us head bobbing and singing and whistling - what else would he llike **us **to do?
He’d probably really like it if you ate some seed and then regurgitated it for him.
If you’re not willing to do that then I’d stick with what you’re already doing. If he’ll let you you could try petting his head with your finger. If he likes it he’ll put his head down and ruffle his feathers so you can reach the good spots.
If you preen his/her head feathers that would be appreciated. Gently picking the material that encases the emerging feathers is one of the bonding behaviors birds perform.
In the summer you could try showers. Either in the actual shower, on your finger, but only in the spray - not under the water!!! - or, if he despises that, a spray bottle with a wide spray. Then get the blow dryer out, set it on its gentlest setting (use a diffuser if you have to) and blowdry him. My parrot used to LOVE being blow-dried - she’d stick her butt out and fan her feathers. And she told us VERY clearly when she was done showering with a couple loud squawks.
Actually regurgitating food is normally indicative of “special” affection. As in “I like you so much, I want you to be my mate” affection. So you do not want to show THAT kind of affection.
With parrots, pretty much “attention = affection”. So all the singing, talking to, and head bobbing is well received. Parrots are very social, so the interaction alone is what is important.
Head scratches (and preening) are also a good way to let your bird know you’re there for them.
With my bird, just being “with me” (even if it isn’t actually on me - just so he can see what I’m doing) is important.
Sharing food is a flock behavior, so doing likewise is also something your bird will appreciate. In fact eating in front of your bird (and not sharing) could even be thought of as “rude”.
Most definitely the head scratches. Many birds especially love having their jawline scratched.
I also share my food with my birds. Food that’s good for them, of course, and a little bit goes a long way.
Scout LOVES lettuce and millet. He doesn’t really like to be petted, though. He loves to:
Sit on heads and shoulders, peck at eyeglasses, eyebrows and lips, roll plastic eggs around, spin a bent metal tablespoon, throw said eggs and spoon off of the kitchen counter, perch atop his rubber duckies floating in his pool (glass pie pan filled with water, perch on my sock feet, alight on a glass mobile hanging in the window.
He loves to fly over to my shoulder or outstretched arms while I’m hula hooping.
He has many different whistles and can do an impression of the microwave beep.
Basically, he loves to be shown attention, whether we’re just talking to him or watching what he’s doing.