Peaches, a lovebird, has never really allowed me to socialize her.  She's
about 1-1/2 years old now; she was about 8 or 9 weeks old when I got her.
Having had parakeets almost continually since 1966 I know you have to spend
a lot of time with a new bird to get them to socialize with their human to
the point where they'll sit on your shoulder, etc.  I tried, but immediately
after I got her a lot of people quit at work and I found myself working
12-16 hour days and being on call as well.  It is my own fault for being so
tired I couldn't spend a couple of hours a day (after work) with her, so
please don't chastise me for that.

However, she's a very happy bird with lots of toys.  She chirps a lot and we
"talk" to each other.  Recently I've noticed a behavior which is undeniably
cute.  When I'm talking to her, she cocks her head, turns her head back like
she is going to start preening her back feathers, then comes over to the
bars of her cage.  She reaches up and plucks at the bars, looks at my head
and waits for me to lean my forehead against the cage.  Then she starts
gently tugging on my bangs and making a sort of chortling soft chirping
sound.  She doesn't pull my hair, she just seems to want to "comb" it.

I have tried further to get her to come out and play with me but she's
having none of that.  She seems content to command me to let her preen my
bangs for a minute and then goes back to ringing her bells or tugging on
wooden beads (or eating!)

Jill




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