# What does it mean when they sway?



## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

I noticed our Taco-belle sway side to side on a couple of occasions. Once while perked up tall and once low down like she's sitting on her butt when swaying? Does anyone know what it means? It was a really soft sway (if that makes sense).


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Parents sway (accompanied by lots of hissing) when they're on their eggs to ward off any potential predators. It's a signal to back away. What is going on around your 'tiel when she sways? Does she do it at a certain time of day? Could something/someone be scaring her?


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## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

She's only done it twice. The most recent was just today. She was perched on my daughters shoulder, all alert and skinny, staring at me and softy swaying ever so slightly side to side for only about 5-10 secs. I can't remember what was going on the first time, but I think she was just sitting on our ottoman and was hunched down wings up slightly and swayed a few times. No hissing involved. It actually looked really cute, like she was dancing.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Was her crest back flat against her head and was her mouth slightly open, as if she were ready to lunge? If so, then that's a defensive position, but I've only ever seen it done when my birds were on eggs and we looked into the nestbox. I'm not really sure if I've seen my tiels sway on any other occasion...


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## ~SarahJayne~ (Oct 14, 2012)

Yep, definitely defensive, cautious and wary. Our baby Waffle did this quite often in her first week with us, and still does when we put hands in her cage in the morning to change food and water. She leans back a bit so her head is tucked back into the rest of her body, and gently sways side to side. 

I'd say she's either still getting used to your daughter, or there was some sudden movement in the room that put her on the defensive.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

My guess is that the hunched down swaying and straight up skinny swaying may be different things... Georgia used to do the hunched down swaying a lot when she was still not OK with human hands in the cage. That's pretty standard, easily-readable tiel behavior and is often something that females do to protect eggs or a nest. Here's a video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKOWY1cZUUA

My guess is that when she was standing on the shoulder something startled her, possibly just being in a new spot in a new place in the house (was she?) and she was trying to get a bearing on her surroundings while exerting extreme caution. So it's an "on alert" pose as well but not necessarily a defensive one. Just my thought.


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## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

Fredandiris said:


> Was her crest back flat against her head and was her mouth slightly open, as if she were ready to lunge? If so, then that's a defensive position, but I've only ever seen it done when my birds were on eggs and we looked into the nestbox. I'm not really sure if I've seen my tiels sway on any other occasion...


No it wasn't flat and mouth wasn't open. In fact I had just finished noticing how her crest was straight up and how cute she looked, lol. It did not seem defensive at all because we just finished a cuddle session where she sat on my tummy/chest for 1/2 hour happily playing with the string on my hoodle. She then went on to sit on my daughter's shoulder and when I got up and looked at her in passing, I noticed how she was perked up and swaying ever so slightly. I thought it was my daughter swaying at first but she said she wasn't and that it was Taco. I do notice, however, that whenever she's on one of our shoulders, she 'usually' does not want to get off and will bite if we try to move her - so it may have been a "posessive" behavior she was using?? I don't know... funny girl


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## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

caterpillar said:


> My guess is that when she was standing on the shoulder something startled her, possibly just being in a new spot in a new place in the house (was she?) and she was trying to get a bearing on her surroundings while exerting extreme caution. So it's an "on alert" pose as well but not necessarily a defensive one. Just my thought.


That could be because she just went off me onto my daughter's shoulder and my daughter was sitting on the couch... (we had been avoiding the couch whenever she sat on us because we were afraid of her pooping on the couch so it was always on the floor or the stairway, and this was first time on the couch.


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