The Wonderful Creatures of Mudchute Farm: Cockatiels

Cockatiels are native to the open woodlands of Australia.Their favourite foods are acacia seeds, berries plants, fruits and grains and other bits and pieces that they pick up off the ground.Sometimes they sneeze out dust and stuff that they snuffled up into their beaks by accident.They are extremely intelligent and sociable creatures and have mates for life. They either stay with their mates or in larger flocks. In captivity they become very depressed if they have to live alone.They are a prey species and vulnerable to attack so they are light sleepers ready to wake up and fly off in an instant. Because of this they are swift and powerful flyers and they get bored if they are kept in cages and cannot ever fly. They sleep at night in trees with dense foliage, facing into the wind so that they can hear any noises from the distance which would alert them to danger.Because they don’t have to compete with all the noisy tropical birds in the rainforest, their voices are gentle and soft, only using a screeching sound if they are sounding an alarm because they are frightened or in danger. Mostly they make a lilting whistling sound and some humans who have them as pets have little noise conversations with them and say they enjoy being petted and fussed. They certainly recognise individual humans and their voices.The crest feathers on the top of their heads tells you a lot about their mood. If the feathers are standing bolt upright, then the bird is either startled or curious. If it is pressed down flat against its head, it is a sign that the bird is feeling defensive.When a cockatiel is relaxed and happy the crest will stand up slightly, sort of casually swept back from its forehead, its lovely red Pikachu cheek feathers will fluff up and it will make contented little beaky sounds.They are clever birds and like a lot of company and lots of things to mess about with and do.