Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel Screaming

I have had my male cockatiel for a few years now and recently we moved into a neighborhood with a lot of wild birds in the area. Every time he hears a bird he screams continuously and i can’t get him to stop unless i cover his cage. This is very difficult because i don’t want him to be covered all day long but he screams if i don’t. You can hear birds outside from everywhere in the house so i can’t relocate his cage. I was considering giving him to an aviary because i go off for college soon but now i’m worried about how he’ll do around other birds.

Hi Emily,

Birds vocalize for a reason. What seems like nuisance screaming to you, is just him trying to communicate with other birds. It’s perfectly natural for him to want to respond when he hears bird calls. He is probably contact calling, and this would be because he is very lonely. Do you handle him at all? Covering him is not the solution. Birds do not learn from punishment. He only gets quiet because it gets dark. Covering him a lot can affect his physical and mental health. He won’t eat when he is covered and he will end up sleeping too much. While you do not want to reward his loud vocalizing, it is a natural behavior so you need to wait until he is quiet, and then go to him and give him a treat and some attention. He craves any kind of attention, so when you go to him to cover the cage, you are rewarding him because he gets to see you. If your plan is to give him away anyway, it would be best to do this sooner or later so he can be with other birds, or be placed with a family that will handle him, if he enjoys being handled. If you are going to keep him, please read our information on behavior and training so you can better understand him and know how to work with him.

Pet Bird and Parrot Behavior

Teaching Your Bird

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda