I recently acquired a Moluccan cockatoo named Frankie.  I am a new bird owner, but long-time bird lover - have wanted one since I was a little girl.  Frankie is, well, scary, because I don't understand his body language.  I have found several good articles on the Internet regarding their behavior.  But he does a few things that no one touches on - I hope you can help.  When he's out, he hangs on the side of his cage and "dances" side to side.  He shivers when you are talking to him, and the third thing he does is raise his crest, spread and flap his wings, and prance around.  I have let him ride on my shoulder, because he doesn't seem aggressive, but sometimes he does this "dance" and it scares me to death, so I end up putting him back on top of his cage.  I want desperately to develop a best-friend relationship with this wonderful creature so I don't become one of the cockatoo statistics.  Please help! (P.S. Will they bite, just because?)

-- Sassie

YIKES! It’s always a little frightening to me to see the words "new bird owner" combined with "cockatoo," let alone a Moluccan! As I'm sure you've heard, many people bring home these beautiful animals because they hear all the stories about how cuddly cockatoos are and how affectionate they can be. What you rarely hear up front are the negatives. Cockatoos can become very demanding very quickly, and they are notorious screamers, biters, pluckers, and even flesh mutilators that chew holes in their own bodies. Hand-raised birds can rarely even be used as breeders; somewhere along the line they forget how to be a bird and the males end up killing their mates.

This column addressed some aspects of Moluccan body language last year, but you have described others we have not talked about. You say your bird doesn't seem aggressive, and you don't mention biting, so I am inclined to think he's just having a bit of fun. It's almost as if these birds are built to show off. He’s looking for a way to get attention and I'd also be willing to bet that you react pretty dramatically when he behaves like this. We frequently encourage these things simply by becoming excited right along with our birds. Remember, you get what you reinforce, especially with a cockatoo.

When he is sitting nice and quiet, that’s the time to cuddle and scratch his head. When he’s dancing and being wild, ignore him for a while. Eventually, he should calm down a bit (he will never stop completely - he's a bird after all!) and you will have built up enough trust during the quiet times so that when he does get wound up, it won’t scare you as much.

Lastly, birds never bite "just because," and you can quote me on that one. There is always a reason and the problem is that most of the time we ignore the warnings. Always watch your bird's behavior - if he seems grumpy or tired, leave him alone. (I know I'm more likely to bite someone when I’m sleepy!) Most importantly, enjoy your bird, and continue to educate yourself. If you take proper care of your Moluccan, you can have a wonderful companion for life.

ParrotChronicles.com

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