beak butting

[Nevermore]

For Green-cheeked conures....is there a secret meaning behind the 'beak-butting' behaviour? I'm sitting here at my desk, and my boy is crouched on the desk beside me furiously beak-butting my keyboard (*tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!*). I don't think he is trying to copy my typing either. He will beak-butt my nose, beak-butt the bars of his cage.....its actually kind of cute.

He likes to beak-butt his food or waterbowl too. Then turn and stare at me when he wants a refill.

[captwest]

I think he's checking to see if your trainable. My wife's hen Yellow Nape does the same thing and she even counts, she'll tap 3 times and if you tap back 4 ,she'll get insistant on 3 taps,like your a dummy who can't be trained.With her it's just a game but with the Teils it seems to be a territory thing.

[kaylayuh]

It's better than prying the keys off the keyboard or chewing apart the mouse, which my little guy seems pretty intent on doing.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I think it is an expression of possessiveness. Our Cape is big on beak-banging -- with him it means "I want this/to be here don't you dare pick me up!" (But he will step up anyway if you insist). Scooter used to do it, particularly when on top of his playstand, but I can't remember seeing him do it in ages. It struck me as an "its mine" statement at the time.

[Nevermore]

Ah. I guess we know the pecking order of things then, eh? I belong to him : P

[CheekyandMalolo]

Ah. I guess we know the pecking order of things then, eh? I belong to him : P

Bluddy oath mate.

Can't say I've ever noticed any of our GCC's beak butting anything.
I do know that with Tiels it's a part of a mating dance.

[Vikki]

Sebastian, my Harlequin, does this, but the hysterical part is that when he bangs on something solid, like a wall, and it makes a loud rapping noise, he stops and says "Come in!!" LOL