Scratching him potentially provides a similar stimulus and results in behaviour that essentially communicates receptivity to the physical interaction and a cue for it to continue. This sort of behaviour can be commonly observed in juvenile Galahs soliciting attention from parents, but wing pumping is also retained into adulthood as a behavioural response during mutual feeding between mature, bonded Galahs. Observation 3: 'Pumping wings' when being scratched It's also worth noting that much 'normal' behaviour can become exaggerated, repetitive and potentially lead to stereotypical categorisation when we keep Cockatoos in unnatural environments. Once again - I'm inclined to consider behaviour such as this as a redirection of natural behaviours in an unnatural environment. Is it possible that the behaviour of your male Galah can be explained as 'nesting' behaviour? It's certainly plausible, but to make a definite call I'd really need to observe the behaviour first hand in the context of the environment he is in to understand your specific situation better. This can perhaps lead to us observing behaviour in male Galahs that we might normally consider representative of 'female' behaviour. Male Galahs are highly active in the preparation and performance of nest maintenance, defence of the nesting site, display of ownership and even incubation of the eggs. One thought I have though is based on actually having spent the past few weeks observing my own Galah pair go through some fascinating stages in the preparation of their nest. This is another behaviour that might have a number of possible antecedents and plausible functions. Observation 2: 'Hunkering down' in the corner of the cage Could the action of draping the hanging toys over the back be providing a substitute for the lack of allopreening and close physical contact your Galah would otherwise direct towards and receive from a compatible partner? It's possible - but there may be other explanations so keep observing and keep critically thinking. Physical interactions, close spatial orientation and even 'play' between wild Galahs suggest that when we observe Galahs performing behaviours such as draping a hanging toy over their back in a captive environment, we may be seeing the Galah seeking to engage with objects in its environment that serve as a replacement stimulus in the absence of natural stimuli. My thought is to consider the lack of conspecific or compatible partner interaction and how the physical interactions with the hanging toys perform a functional substitute for tactile stimulation. One consistent link that I have noted in my experience is that species we observe doing this are most often those that naturally engage in physical pair bonding through tactile interaction. This behaviour is not exclusive to Galahs in pet or aviary environments and similar behavioural interactions in captive enclosures with enrichment objects might be observed with a range of parrot species. The functional reason for this behaviour is open to hypothesis, and there are potentially a number of reasonable suggestions that could be made to explain it. Observation 1: Draping hanging toys over his back This is certainly an amazing and challenging Cockatoo to share your life with! Here are a few thoughts of mine that you might hopefully find useful in understanding the behaviours of interest in your Galah… Your observations provide the platform for me to share a few insights into Galah behaviour from my own experiences. As a fellow keeper and keen observer of Galahs, I share your intrigue into the behaviours you have described. Hi Barry, Great question! I really appreciate the observational anecdotes, as they help to form a visual picture of what you are experiencing.
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