Pet bird keeps staring at the mirror?

Question

for some reason, my 2 year old male cockatiel keeps staring at the mirror. It looks at it and moves his had around. after a while, he may tap the mirror gently. It usually starts singing when staring at the mirror. should i tape up the mirror? should i get another cockatiel? my bird has a "friend" budgie. well... not really a friend. the budgie loves the cockatiel, but the cockatiel flies away from the budgie... should i get a female cockatiel or what

Answer 1

well i dont c whats wrong when a bird stares at a mirror....?

Answer 2

the bird in the mirror is your cockatiel's pal. birds will bond with a companion, and don't realize that the bird in the mirror is themselves! Don't cover the mirror or remove it, unless you add another cockatiel. The bird may seriously suffer from a broken heart at the loss of it's friend (i know it sounds silly but it's no joke!)

Do you have the budgie house with him? Not the best idea if so, species should be kept separate. If your cockatiel is really connected to the mirror-bird, it could actually be harmful for the budgie, b/c the cockatiel might start to think he's getting in the way of the relationship and attack the budgie. If you housed them separately, you're fine.

Birds usually do best in pairs, if you are willing to do so, I would have one habitat for a pair of tiels, and one for a pair of keets.  

Answer 3

Hehe that's cute. My budgie started doing this after her friend passed away recently :*( . It's just that your bird thinks theres another bird there. He's trying to kiss it lol. I think its adorable when they do this.

Guys out there who know all about birds please answer this:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Answer 4

Ozzy (my cockatiel) does that all the time! don't worry about it..he sees himself and thinks its another bird! He likes it, so leave him be! he'll be fine without a female, but if you want to get him a girlfriend then go for it! but if not then he'll be fine! Ozzy does it all the time and he is like 5 or 6 years old..yeah i know old bird..we got him a girlfriend and he didn't want anything to do with her..so they don't always have to have a girlfriend as long as they have their reflections they will be fine!

Answer 5

omg haha why was i not surprised when i saw this was about a cockatiel? ok, so ive had pet cockatiels for YEARS and i have two at the moment. it's nothing bad that it stares at the mirror. one of mine does that too and also starts dancing/singing (like, he runs all the way left, then right, then left and so on---its funny). i have a male and a female and they get along great together, so im sure he would love some company :)

Answer 6

birds may like mirrors, but it can get to a point where its dangerous. if the bird thinks of this other bird (reflection) as a mate, it can lead to various health issues. sometimes it causes them to be more aggressive and become more territorial of their cage. if this behavior persists or worsens, remove the mirror.

Answer 7

your birdie obviously sees the reflection and probably thinks its another bird. leave him be, its perfectly fine ;]

Answer 8

All birds like mirrors; they have no sense that the bird in the mirror is themselves. Your cockatiel thinks it is another bird, hence the singing and attention. There's nothing wrong with him paying attention to the mirror, in fact that's why people give their birds mirrors in the first place; covering it up would just be mean.

It also doesn't mean you need to get a female. In fact, if he's bonded to you, you risk losing that bond if you buy another bird and he bonds with it. There's nothing wrong with only having one cockatiel, as long as you give him enough attention; the mirror will just keep him company when you aren't around.

Answer 9

thats is so cute and there is nothing wrong mirrors are often play toys for birds