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Question:

October 22, 2018

Linnies


We have a linnie and a budgie in a very large cage. When i approach the cage the linnie comes to me. If i put my hand up near him he tries to bite,same if i put my face close to the cage. He will pull on my hair and peck at my scalp. I don’t know if he is being aggressive or showing some affection. He will also fly to me ,land on my head or shoulder . He will then bite my earlobe. What is he doing?


Answer:

Hi Kim,

Lineolated Parakeets can be great pets and are similar in personality as parakeets. Of course they do come from different continents and live in very different environments. Your budgie is a grass parakeet and the Linnies are forest birds, preferring high trees and only spending rare moments on the ground.

What you are describing is probably just cage aggression. I always say that even the most tame parrot is very likely to bite if you stick your fingers through the bars of the cage.  When you put your face nearby, and he picks at your hair, this is more like a grooming behavior. As far as biting at your ear while on your shoulder, this again is a common parrot behavior and one reason I’m not a big fan of birds on shoulders. They are more likely to bite at your ear or accidentally injure your eye. And when a bird can fly at will, they will be a bit less tame than a clipped bird because they can easily fly away.

I’m not suggesting clipping the wings, especially if he has a large cage he flies in. Just be careful with him around your face. And even though your parakeets are not the same species, they may have some sort of bond and this can cause confusion when you handle one of them.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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