I'm wondering if any of the members have noticed the following:
My husband reared an English Sparrow almost from a day or two of being hatched. The bird was found in an apparently abandoned nest in a dryer vent when the vent was cleaned, and it was brought to me because it was known that I had some experience rescuing and rearing baby birds. There was a deformity to one of its feet, and it had a sibling that didn't survive.
My husband had seen me rear a rescued baby, and he wanted to rear a bird of his own; so this was his first. It has lived almost nine years now (I think that in the wild, 2 years is the average) and my husband is the only person who can handle this bird.
My husband has noticed that the bird really "freaks out" if he happens to go into the bird room wearing a red shirt. Something about red agitates this bird. Has anyone else noticed this?
I thought of it tonight, because I came home and rushed to see if Willie Pigeon would eat from my hand for the second day - without realizing that I was wearing red. It didn't seem to bother Willie at all, and he gobbled up the safflower. (Our Budgie, Blue Bird, got really agitated; but he lives in a state of perpetual agitation anyway
But I have noticed that all of my birds look at me very strangely if I change my hairstyle. I have long hair that I wear down, and I only stick it up in a bun when I'm going to take a shower or wash my face. If I happen to go to my birds with my hair up, they look at me as if they don't know me.
I know that birds perceive their world largely visually - most have little sense of smell. So it makes sense that a change in their caretaker's appearance might get their attention. But, in your experience, are they averse to certain colors?
[by the way, I've read that pigeons actually have a better sense of smell than many birds; is this true?]
Thanks very much,
Aggie
My husband reared an English Sparrow almost from a day or two of being hatched. The bird was found in an apparently abandoned nest in a dryer vent when the vent was cleaned, and it was brought to me because it was known that I had some experience rescuing and rearing baby birds. There was a deformity to one of its feet, and it had a sibling that didn't survive.
My husband had seen me rear a rescued baby, and he wanted to rear a bird of his own; so this was his first. It has lived almost nine years now (I think that in the wild, 2 years is the average) and my husband is the only person who can handle this bird.
My husband has noticed that the bird really "freaks out" if he happens to go into the bird room wearing a red shirt. Something about red agitates this bird. Has anyone else noticed this?
I thought of it tonight, because I came home and rushed to see if Willie Pigeon would eat from my hand for the second day - without realizing that I was wearing red. It didn't seem to bother Willie at all, and he gobbled up the safflower. (Our Budgie, Blue Bird, got really agitated; but he lives in a state of perpetual agitation anyway
But I have noticed that all of my birds look at me very strangely if I change my hairstyle. I have long hair that I wear down, and I only stick it up in a bun when I'm going to take a shower or wash my face. If I happen to go to my birds with my hair up, they look at me as if they don't know me.
I know that birds perceive their world largely visually - most have little sense of smell. So it makes sense that a change in their caretaker's appearance might get their attention. But, in your experience, are they averse to certain colors?
[by the way, I've read that pigeons actually have a better sense of smell than many birds; is this true?]
Thanks very much,
Aggie