Sitting On Your Head

[Navre]

I had always heard that you should not lat a parrot sit on your head. I suppose it has something to do with dominance.

My bird and I both seem most content when she is on my head. She tends to let me work on the computer or let me read the newspaper when she is on my head. Were she on my shoulder, she would be constantly trying to bite everything. She preens my hair, and is just generally content. I don't think there is any domination going on. If I stand up, she will move to my shoulder. If i put my hand up on my head to take her down, she steps up. I can also just grab her when she is on my head. She lays contently on her back, in my hand, after I grab her. There do not seem to be any problems caused by her sitting on my head.

I must note that she is a tiny GCC, only 67 grams.

[liz]

Instinct tells them the higher they are the safer they are. I don't believe it is dominance. I believe you will get poop in your hair.

[Navre]

She never poops in my hair. She has furniture to ruin!

[shiraartain]

Liz, I believe the pooping depends on the bird. Fajr will typically wait until he's off my head to poop, unless one of three things happens:
1) I did something to fall out of his favor
2) Something scared him
3) He's about to fly to someone he likes more than me- sometimes he'll projectile poop at these times but usually it lands on me :')

[Wolf]

Parrots do not live in a dominance based hierarchy in the wild and unless it is taught to them from an early age it would be a totally alien concept to a parrot.

[Pajarita]

I doubt you can actually teach them dominance... what they can learn is that biting is necessary to get their point across and do it all the time but I doubt they regard it as 'dominance', I think it's more like a survival type of thing...

[shiraartain]

I don't think it's dominance either. Agree that it's more of a safety thing, Clover and Lemon will fly up to a higher perch if they're startled while on the floor or anything moves.

[liz]

My poop in the hair comment was just a joke. Mine don't do it and Myrtle does not poop while flying either.

[Wolf]

Kookooloo will simply not poop on me for any reason, so I have to remember to move her off of me to a place that she feels is safe to do it every now and then. Kiki on the other hand, just doesn't care and poops any place that she happens to be. I must give her credit where it is due, however, she does try to hang her butt out and away from me but if she is on my head it is just not much help.

[liz]

Wild baby birds back up until their butts are on the edge or hanging over the edge of the nest. The poops are encapsulated and the parents just pick them up and throw them out.