What is the macaws movement?

Answer 1

Let me say, first of all, that your girl is behaving perfectly normally. My B&G lunged at me when I first got her too, and she wasn't bluffing either. The bluffing came a little later, to test me. And, then, that diminished too, although, she'll still do it when she's feeling spunky, LOL. But it's not much fun to test me anymore, since I seldom flinch.

Here are some common macaw body movements for beginners:

1) Fully raised head feathers and pinned eyes.

This is a warning to back off! Especially if it is accompanied by an open beak. Do not approach a macaw showing these signs, or the bird will likely lunge.

2) Moving the head from side to side (the "Stevie Wonder" move).

Macaws do use this move when they're dancing, but when they're stressed they'll also do it as a displacement behavior, to minimize stress. Mine did this a lot when I first got her, because she was very upset.

3) Lunging and bluff lunging.

Macaws will lunge at people when they're in strange surroundings, usually out of stress or fear. This varies from the signature B&G "gotcha" bluff, which is done to make a newbie jump () to the real deal, the forceful lunge with the beak hitting the cage bars--a bird doing this under heavy stress, likely afraid, and should be allowed to calm down.

5) Bobbing the head up and down. This bird likes you. But you should still be cautious. Some macaws head bob to relieve stress. If the bird is stressed, her behavior is less predictable.

Watch what the bird does as you approach; a calm bird will have smooth head feathers (unless he's very excited to see you, and then they may partly ruffle--this looks different from the aggressive full raising of the head feathers, though, and you'll need experience with your bird to know the difference. You are not likely to see this body language for a while).

Watch the eyes. They can tell you a lot. You can usually note the signs of nervousness or contentment in a macaw's eyes, but it takes practice. A beginner should just be aware of the size of the pupil. If it looks small (pinned), approach with caution.

The only other tips I can offer you are these: 1) Macaws respond well to calm confidence. Be very low key, very calm, but confident. No flinching.

2) And, talk to your macaw in a soothing tone. They will understand varying degrees of what you say, depending on their experience in the past, but the soothing tones of your voice will help. And it will familiarize her with your voice. She needs to build a stable routine, and so saying the same thing when you see her every time will help. I think I said, "Hello beautiful" or something like that.

Hope this helps.