Bobbing

[Cooper]

Hello all,

Cooper will sometimes bob up and down when I talk to him/her. This could be when we are face to face (Cooper on cage or playgym) or when I am a little ways away even. It's cute and we usually get him/her a little worked up by whistling and generally acting like crazy pet owners (Is Cooper a good bird?! Good Birdie Cooper! What a pretty bird!! etc...).

Other than being cute does anyone know what is behind this little dance?

[bellarains]

Hey Bronwyn,

Head bobbing is what it's called, and is what they do when they get excited. As Cooper matures this may very well be followed by "gacking", which means sharing his food with you. Yeah, I know it sounds gross, but it's actually a very high compliment from a bird, as they will only share their food with those they really love :)

[shylevon]

Head bobbing can also be an aid to a visual thing. Birds eyes see best out the side of their head, so to look straight at you they cannot see as perfectly. They bob their heads to get a better focus on their subject. You will see birds doing this to something when they are about to fly to it. It helps give them perspective on exactly how far away something is if they need to land on it. We do the same thing when looking at some optical illusions. A slightly different angle can help our brains process the information better.

Cooper was probably thinking of flying to you. They get excited and bob real fast sometimes. If he was leaning forward when bobbing, that is probably what he was doing. If he was standing tall and bobbing, he was doing more of a gack thing.

[Z28Taxman]

I call that "The Ditto Dance". He bobs his head and sways side to side, usually if I sing to him. Or if I ask him if he wants to do a Ditto-dance he just bops away. :cool:

[Janie]

My boy does most of his bobbing when he's inside his cage and wants out! :)

[Z28Taxman]

My boy does most of his bobbing when he's inside his cage and wants out! :)

Ditto jumps up and down on his boing and yells at me. Or he sways from side to side really fast and bounces all over the cage, ringing every bell and yelling at me (kinda like he's doing right now :whistle: ).

[LoveBird]

My room was always right next to my sister and she would blast her rock music and my Budgie, Brandy would bob up and down with the beat of the music.
Taylor :lol

[Z28Taxman]

My room was always right next to my sister and she would blast her rock music and my Budgie, Brandy would bob up and down with the beat of the music.
Taylor :lol

Ditto prefers country or classical music. He also likes bagpipes. :whistle:

[LoveBird]

Brandy also liked to whatch Scooby Doo and every time they would screem he would chirp. :rofl:

[Z28Taxman]

We'll not ask how you know this. :eek:

What? You don't like bagpipes?

[Z28Taxman]

They're OK, its just you don't come across them often here unless its someone who wears a kilt. :)

My legs are too white to wear a kilt. :rofl:

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Oooooh there's a visual. Pasty white legs and a kilt. :x

[Wheeliegirl]

Peachie does a whole body bobbing thing. When she does it, she usually clicks her beak. I think it's kind of an OCD thing....she does it all the time when we are together, over and over and over, kind of like she has her own rythym going. What is this behavior about?

I think it's her trying to appear "big" or "threatening" to me. She does a similar thing when I give her a time out on her perch (holding it up in the air and ignore her for a couple of minutes) when she's misbehaving, only then, she gets real close to my hand, and kind of "fakes" me out by lunging at me. I don't want to get bitten, so when she starts this, I usually give her a little earthquake. It is quite scarey, especially know that her bites ALWAYS draw blood.

[Leia1138]

Aww, what great stories! Sometimes when I sit next to my lovie's cage and she wants to come out she'll stick her beak between the bars of her cage and bob her head up and down sooo fast! It's really adorable, and it makes me laugh, especially when she sits on the floor of her cage and then just rolls over. That's a new one but she especially does the head bobbing when she wants to come out.

[gcabral79]

My baby bobs and tries to 'gack' only with my mother! i thought it was bad at first but I soon realized it is behavioral and she has chosen my mother as her favorite human....