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He's in full 'wanting to mate' mode. One of my greys does this every single time I either talk or hold him. I usually have to redirect him until he cools off

Alfie does similar when he's feeling particularly hormonal. He went through a stage last year where whenever I walked into the room he would start making similar noises, wings would be drooped and if I stood near his cage for long enough he would regurgitate food for me. So I'm guessing it's a hormonal/mating type of behavour? I'm no expert but if he started drooping his wings and making the noises I would back off from his cage (or wherever he was located) and give him some time and space to calm down. I also had to be careful what toys I gave him - anything small enough to be mistaken for an egg would set him off and he would get over excited and try and guard it/sit on it. Those kinds of foot toys were removed to discourage the behaviours.

Hiya, over the past few days my CAG has started demonstrating this behavior. This is not my video, but it shows exactly what I mean! Droopy wings, breathy noises. If I go to him he just wants to nibble on my fingers (not usual for him). What is this behavior?

The info the members have given you is correct. DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO ENCOURAGE THIS BEHAVIOR AS THIS CAN FRUSTRAT THEM. do not pet them on certain parts of the body . when they do this just walk away as you have become the chosen one. Come back when they stop.

Thank you for responding! Some of the comments on the video also suggested it was hormonal, but I just didn't want to take the word of random YouTube comments, haha. I will continue to give him space when this happens. It's the first time I think I've seen it, and he's about 15 now, so it was a bit alarming.

Alfie turned 17 years old today! I bought him some of his favourite treats, which turned up yesterday. And as everyone likes photos- here are some from the last week or so.

Hi all, I've noticed that Alfie has developed some pinkness on his skin above his eyes. It seems to be on both sides but one side looks slightly worse than than the other. The eyes themselves are bright and there is no discharge or anything abnormal. He's eating, drinking, flying, playing, making noises and acting normally. No change in poops either. The only change recently is that I bought an avian UVB lamp a few weeks back and he has that on for 8 hours every day above his cage. I put it at the right height according to the instructions and its directly above his perch. Do you think this could be the cause? I've seen smaller patches of pink on his skin before where he's managed to ding himself in the face with a toy but this has lasted a few days now and doesn't seem to be letting up. Do you think I should be worried? I've attached a photo but not sure how well you can see it. It's above and slightly to the right of his eye.

Happy hatchday Alfie! Looks almost like Huey in that aviary pic!

I believe the behavior is similar in both genders, and that's certainly what it appears to be.

Will do! One follow-up question, is this any indication of whether he's actually male or female? Or is the behavior the same in both? We never got a DNA test.

Its a zoo med avian sun lamp. https://www.northernparrots.com/mobile/avian-sun-uv-floor-lamp-kit-prod828030/?refSrc=828011&nosto=mobile-productpage-nosto-1&sessionid=undefined I followed the instructions and it says to keep it higher for the first two weeks to allow the bulb to burn in. I have left it higher than it said and haven't moved it down yet. It has been there over a month . It is on for 8 hours a day split into two four hour chunks as it was recommended to give him a break from it during the day. So its on for 4 hours, off for two, on for four. He also went outside in the aviary at the weekend, but only on one day and for half a day. He has a cover over the aviary that partially blocks some of the sun so he doesn't roast out there. He was under that all day so wasn't sat in full sun. I might leave the lamp off for a day or two and see if it starts to heal. I'm a bit worried I've done some damage. 😔

Is the UV light a reptile light? I know those can cause 'sun' burns. I'd check and ensure it's the proper bulb before using again since that seems to be the cause.