Flying at me while stepping up

[Estee]

Hi all,

Tutti has started flying from my finger while doing "step up," landing on my chest, grabbing my shirt, and climbing to my shoulder (where he's sitting right now.) This has happened several times already-- he's climbing from finger to finger and suddenly takes off and lands on me.

Also, I really love it when he sits on my hand. But as soon as he's on my hand he starts off, very determined, for my shoulder.

Can he be taught to step up without flying and also to stay still on me or am I fair game for free climbing?

Sorry if this has been addressed before-- I did a search and read a lot of (interesting) posts but couldn't find this topic addressed anywhere.

PS his wings are clipped, oc. He takes a flying leap.

[linda040899]

Sounds like pretty normal behavior to me! Lovebirds are very active and equally as curious. Not only that, they are always looking for the highest, safest perch. Shoulders are favorite places, as there's hair to explore, shiny jewelry, shirt collars, pockets..... Well, you get the idea. It's also considered a dominant position, as you don't have a good view of what they are doing and it's harder to catch them when they have the ability to move just far enough behind your neck where it's hard to reach.

Will a lovebird sit quietly for a period of time? If they are in rest mode, which only happens after a lot of activity!!!

[Estee]

OK, thanks!

As I said on another post, all this is really helpful because I'm finding things a bit confusing-- lovebirds seem so similar to human children in some ways (for example the best response to biting; enjoying the fun as a parent but also being clear about dominance when necessary)... at the same time, certain things are counterintuitive for me (back stroking is sexually stimulating but the chest is not-- huh? very different.)

Thanks! In time I hope all this will seem obvious to me!