Is my eclectus parrot displaying courtship behaviour?

Question

Today my nearly 2 year old male eclectus has been acting a bit strangly. While on my lap he's been doing little hops, banging his beak gently on the table, sort of jerky dance movements and then bobbing his head up and down to regurgitate.

Is this a strange courtship dance or is he playing?

Answer 1

It could be either thing.  But reguritation should not be encouraged.  When he does this tell him no, and put him in his cage for about 10 minutes. Please read my profile.

Answer 2

He LOVES you and this is a courtship dance.  Soon he will regurgitate for you.  Lucky you!

Answer 3

Yes it sounds like puberty but to place him in his cage for 10 mins at any time he displays his hormonal behaviour or regurgitates should never even be considered! Like all parrots, ekkies cannot help their hormones & do not understand discipline for displaying affection or being hormonal.

It should all be discouraged as much as possible. Simply turning your back on him, walking away & not associating with him when he does this will be enough for him to stop. You can also distract him with a favourite toy. Ekkie owners are extremely lucky when it comes to ekkie hormones, 99% of the time it's short & sweet, no or very little aggression, but only as long as it's discouraged.

Ekkies also generally do not start to become aggressive towards others if they bond to one person. There is always an exception to the rule though.

The link below covers a little about hormones & aggression in ekkies

Answer 4

Ahhh, puberty..... yep, he loves you! But this should not be encouraged. :(

As soon as a parrot thinks you are it's mate, be will become aggressive towards others, and possibly, even you! Before this goes any farther you should work with him on training. Teach him to wave, flip over, and create a teacher/parent relationship with him. It will be much more healthy than a love scene, I assure you. I had the same problem with my two-year-old macaw, and after teaching her some tricks, we are now closer than ever, and there is no regurgitation! lol

Good luck!

Answer 5

Awwwwwwwww, sounds like typical mating behavior to me. My male Amazon did the same thing, God rest his beautiful soul.