# Do only male cockatiels hold their wings out and hop around when they sing?



## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Some females can sing from what I've seen but I've never seen any of them hold out their wings a little bit and hop around while they sing like males do. Have any of you ever seen a female do that?


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

What you're describing with the wings being held out from their body is called 'heart wings'. If you look from the back while they're doing it, you'll see their wings resemble the shape of a heart hence why it's called heart wings. 

But no, I have never seen a female Cockatiel do this.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Yeah that's what I meant but I dunno how many people on here really know what "heart wings" are so I just say that they have their wings out lol.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Lol, I'd say not many, but a fair few would know. (the new people would probably be a bit confused!)

I do say the same thing when explaining male behaviors such as the heart wings, I just say "the males hold their wings out from their body and it resembles a heart" - keeping it simple is the best thing, otherwise people tend to think 'what on earth do you mean'.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Yeah 

Well the reason I'm asking this is because the cockatiel I've been confused with what sex he is does this when he whistles. I dunno if he's just imitating my other cockatiel, (who I know is a male), though.


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

I take it from reading previous threads you are talking about the Tiel with the female tail feathers coming through, lol you must be so confused with the singing and heart wings, but moulting in a female looking feather? 

What sex were you hoping for? And what did the breeder say he/she was?

Despite the feather, going on behaviour it sounds like a Male

Jenny


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would say if a female holds her wings out they are over heated and need to cool down. Male tiels will hold their wings out when over heated but also when they are showing off


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## dimplez (Oct 21, 2009)

I have no idea what gender Dimplez is. He does hold out his wings, flapping around yelling for attention but he just never sings


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Jenny10 said:


> I take it from reading previous threads you are talking about the Tiel with the female tail feathers coming through, lol you must be so confused with the singing and heart wings, but moulting in a female looking feather?
> 
> What sex were you hoping for? And what did the breeder say he/she was?


Yes I'm talking about the same tiel 

Yeah it's really weird. I'm very sure he's been molting because he's been covered in pin feathers the past month or so and is still getting brand new tail feathers. And there are 2 more female looking feathers that he has now, along with one more that's still growing in. So he'll have a total of 4 of those feathers 

The breeder tells me he's a male because his father was a whiteface pearl pied, and the mother was just an albino. And therefore all the chicks in the clutch that had pearls too would all be female, and the ones that didn't would be male. 

I'm hoping he's a male because that's what I originally bought him for was because he was a male. If he does turn out to be female I won't love him any less and I will definitely keep him. But it's just I don't wanna have to deal with them possibly mating when he gets older lol.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

xxxSpikexxx said:


> I would say if a female holds her wings out they are over heated and need to cool down. Male tiels will hold their wings out when over heated but also when they are showing off


Well it's cold weather up here right now so they're not getting over heated 

They both only do it when they sing lol. So they're showing off I'm sure.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

dimplez said:


> I have no idea what gender Dimplez is. He does hold out his wings, flapping around yelling for attention but he just never sings


Maybe you never taught him to sing?


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi, I would have to say that it sounds more like it’s a male to me, if you go on behaviour and what the breeder said, and it sounds like the breeder knows the parents line then it is male, I remember back to the picture you posted and I would say your bird didn’t have any pearls, and although I am new here, I have been reading loads of information about Tiels even breeding, and because mine is pearl on the breeding genes too, and I did read that for a male bird to be pearl it must get a gene from both parents and if your breeder said there was one pearl and lutino (that’s assuming he knew the lutino’s background and it wasn’t carrying a pearl gene) then yours has to be a male.

As for the tail feather’s I know I am new, but not convinced that the tail feather is really barred from the picture you posted, could just be pied patterning, sorry if there is no such thing on the tail feather’s, like I said I am new, lol:blush: but I am only going on images I have looked at on a standard greys barring, I did also read that in different mutation’s that the barring can be difficult to see so if you hold the tail feathers up in bright light you should be able to see the bars more clearly.

Some things you could try, although I think it sounds like a male:tiel3:.

Jenny


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Jenny10 said:


> As for the tail feather’s I know I am new, but not convinced that the tail feather is really barred from the picture you posted, could just be pied patterning, sorry if there is no such thing on the tail feather’s, like I said I am new, lol:blush: but I am only going on images I have looked at on a standard greys barring, I did also read that in different mutation’s that the barring can be difficult to see so if you hold the tail feathers up in bright light you should be able to see the bars more clearly.


Yeah I was thinking the same thing myself actually. The colors on his tail feathers don't seem to resemble the female markings I've seen enough. But I could be wrong so that's why I'm asking you guys.

But when I think "baring" I think this (right cockatiel):










And then here's an updated picture of my cockatiel:










Doesn't really match does it?


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## Jenny10 (Feb 27, 2010)

No it doesn't.

I am sure someone more experienced will give you an answer.

Jenny


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## LuvMyTiels (Dec 31, 2009)

I've never heard of a female singing while making heart wings. My guess is that you have a male. My eyesight is bad so I can't tell for sure but I'm not seeing any distinct barring on the underside of the tail feathers.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

LuvMyTiels: Me either. I'm starting to think he is indeed a male now.

What everyone has said to me makes sense. Especially about the affections between him and the other one. It makes sense because he's the youngest out of both of them and 2 other birds he used to be with before I bought him. And when he was seperated from everyone he probably got really attached to the one that's still with him. The guy I bought them from said he's never seen them show affections before but they used to fight all the time. Maybe the big change has made them close. They still fight a lot but then I'll see them preen each other too so it's weird.

Yeah I think he's a male.


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

If the mother was a whiteface lutino (ie albino) she'd have been pretty much pure white. She could easily have had pearls and the breeder not realised it, which would give you a male pearl. =)


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Mythara said:


> If the mother was a whiteface lutino (ie albino) she'd have been pretty much pure white. She could easily have had pearls and the breeder not realised it, which would give you a male pearl. =)


Ummmm I thought it was the other way around??? Lol. You were the one that actually explained it to me in another post and made me understand how the pearl gene works xD


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## Mythara (Apr 9, 2009)

Luti-Kriss said:


> Ummmm I thought it was the other way around??? Lol. You were the one that actually explained it to me in another post and made me understand how the pearl gene works xD


You already said the male carried the pearl gene. If only the male carries it, you can only get female pearl chicks.

In this case, the female could have been a pearl, but you couldn't see it, just because of the colour of her feathers. Pearl feathers have light scalloping within dark feathers - yellow for greys and white for whitefaces.

The whiteface gene removes all yellow pigment from a 'tiels feathers. The lutino removes all the grey pigment. Therefore, a lutino whiteface is an all white 'tiel. If you had a lutino whiteface pearl, the pearled feathers are essentially white on white, so you can't physically see the pearls. The same happens to a lutino whiteface pied - there's no way to see if they are actually pearl (or pied) or not, without knowing the genetics of the father.

So what I'm saying is, the parents could have been a whiteface pearl pied male and a whiteface lutino pearl female - which would give both male and female pearl chicks. Rather than being a whiteface pearl pied male and a whiteface lutino female which would have only given female pearl chicks.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Well she's bred that bird more than once she says. She says she has a feeling the albino mother has pied in her because pied always shows up when she breeds her but not pearl. So the pearl is all from the father. She says the father is a whiteface pearl pied. And in that, the females would all turn out to be pearl.


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## clawnz (May 28, 2009)

Sorry a bit late, but here is the best I have of Henry showing heart wings.


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

clawnz said:


> Sorry a bit late, but here is the best I have of Henry showing heart wings.


Okay? Lol.


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## NietosBirdsNest (Mar 16, 2010)

Almost all females are not real vocal, they call to there mate but really don't whistle. If the bird answers you with a nice whistle it more then likly a male. Plus, the opening of the wings like that where it looks like a heart is a mating dance. This is how the males catch the eye of a hen, so he sounds like a male to me.
A overheated birds just holds his wings out away from the body a little and breaths heavier. You can tell the difference


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## Luti-Kriss (Dec 23, 2009)

Yeah I know the differences. 

I decided it's a guy... Cuz actually ever since I made this post for some reason he's been whistling all day. A lot more than my other one, and has actually learned a new whistle. So yeh. Guess I have two males^^


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