# Mating call?



## PickleBird (Dec 10, 2008)

Ok well my antisocial child "Vincent" who we now think is female started chirping and whistling up a melodious storm yesterday. It was so nice to see that she seemed happy as she is always so nervous.

Was this a mating call? It sounded like a whistling conversation..or song? almost like chatter...


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Was she sticking her tail up in the air aswell like this http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=zpfQN89B9Oc ? That is what a female does when she wants to mate. How old is Vincent?


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## kimmikefids (Aug 2, 2008)

hmm chirping and whistling sounds more male than female


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

Do you have a picture ? Some mutations you can look at and know right off the bat if its male or female - IF its at least 6 months old (some do mature earlier though) 

and I agree with Kim 

here is one of my young males Chirping and whislting his little heart out (i thought he too was a female until the day i took this video)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7133401962906806638&hl=en


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

That conversational chirping always turns out to be boys at my house.


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## PickleBird (Dec 10, 2008)

*mating call?*

Vince is an 8 or 9 month old grey. with 2 yellow feathers.


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

at 8 - 9 months old if it was going to be a boy it should of had its yellow head by now 

or at least i would think so


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## bigmikey36 (Aug 5, 2008)

not necessarily, the yellow feathers make it pied so the grey could be anywhere, skittles face has a ton of grey on it but i know he's a boy because of the parents and his bourke call
Mikey


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

bigmikey36 said:


> not necessarily, the yellow feathers make it pied so the grey could be anywhere, skittles face has a ton of grey on it but i know he's a boy because of the parents and his bourke call
> Mikey



the picture posted in the attachment is of a Normal grey , Not a pied, Normal grey males have yellow heads


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## bigmikey36 (Aug 5, 2008)

ummm yeah...unless they have yellow FEATHERS which makes the bird a PIED therefore it is likely a male because of the singing and calling. I keep hearing all these people talking about females that sing but nobody ever proves it. SO the 2 yellow feathers make the bird a pied. We cover the pied thing over and over again but some people still refuse to listen. The bird is a male pied....light pied but still pied. Skittles is definately male and his face is more grey now by a lot then when i got him 2 weeks ago
Mikey


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> at 8 - 9 months old if it was going to be a boy it should of had its yellow head by now


Not necessarily, some males are late bloomers. Squeebis is 10 months old, not pied, and DNA'd male, but his face is still more gray than yellow and his rump is more striped than plain. He hasn't had a major molt yet and that's the reason. His hormones are going strong though, he sings and dances and wants to bang his sister.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Maybe we should clarify. I keep hearing "a mature male will have a yellow head" Well more accurately they get a yellow face often referred to as a mask. But she described this bird as having two yellow feathers which would make the bird pied. That could disrupt normal patterns. However if she meant the 2 yellow feathers on the tail that the female usually has it could just be a gray female. Really not enough information to go on and you can't really tell from the picture.


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## PickleBird (Dec 10, 2008)

*now I'm confused*

Ok, Vincent, my grey is all grey with whote patches on his wings and 2 yellow and black feathers shoot out his back end. His face is grey with a light yellow cast around his eyes and beak and he has faded orange cheeks.

My what i think is a cinnamon pied pearl, "Theo" is more yellow overall with grey/brown and whote spots and bright orange cheeks.

Here are some other pics. I think we may need a dna test to determine.

click on the thumbnails to enlarge.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

No you don't need a DNA test. What you've described is a normal gray hen. http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=7227 this link will show you a mature hens coloring.


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## PickleBird (Dec 10, 2008)

*hmmm....*

well looking at these pics I would say he/she looks more like the top two.
those are male right? these are still babies...not mature.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Immature birds all look like females. The one on the top picture is an immature male. The bird in flight is a mature female and the one in the middle is a mature female. Until young birds reach between 6 and 9 months (some start changing a little sooner) they will all have the same feathering as a mature hen. It was my understanding that your bird was between 8 and 9 months old. So judging by the pictures you posted you definitely have a girl. Look at the two bottom pictures on the link I put in my previous post. That is what a male would look like.


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