Why do birds fly away

[Janfromboone]

Someone just brought up the subject of Tui who flew away and was never found. I can almost imagine what Tui though when he was caught by the wind gust and blown away from the building. Looking back it couldn't have looked like anything familiar to him. I've often wondered why our birds that escape, as intelligent and bonded to us as they are, don't return. I can understand their initial fear and confusion at finding themselves outside. Some of them though had been outside with their owners before and surly remember going back in through the door or sitting on the porch in their aviator harnesses. Tobie for instance has lived his whole two years here and in the summer we go outside where he has sat in saplings and played and foraged on the ground while I worked in the flowers. We walk around the house and approach the house from all sides and come in and out of all doors. Wouldn't he after a few minutes of calming down just come home.

[Luvparrots]

I don't fool myself for a second that my Ana Grey wouldn't fly off outside the first chance she got. I watch her watching the patio door and tipping her head to see around the drape as to how my dog has managed to go outside. She taps the glass on the window as she sits and watches the outside world from her window perch. She tried every day to fly and now that she can she turns and moves and hovers. How can a being who can fly and soar in the sky not want to be free? Does she know she won't have food provided to her everyday, No. Because all her life food has always been there from the day she was hatched til now. How would she know that if she flew off it wouldn't just appear like now. And because she has never seem my house from the sky how would she be able to recognize it when she is afraid and hunger? Unless she recognized me sitting on the lawn crying every day and night until she returned. That would be my only hope. Don't make me cry just thinking about my worst fear for my sweet Ana Grey.

[Janfromboone]

Sorry - It's my worst fear as well. Guess I was just hoping they could figure it all out and come home.

[particle77]

Yeah, not only does your house look different from up above, but most of our parrots probably haven't been challenged to learn how to make a long trip from point A to point B without our guidance. Even now, I can take a trip with someone and have no idea how I got there if I don't pay attention, and that's a learned skill that we all build up over time. I'm sure its much the same with birds, and why pet birds that love there owners often don't find there way back.

 

I'm not sure how often places like sea world that have trained free flighted parrots loose them, but I suspect they go through rigorous training, that forces them to exercise that part of there brain.

[jessdecutie18]

I expect that after they get spooked or caught up or whatever, they are taken out of their comfort area, and the area they know. They are then in unknown territory and without guidance from us they are lost. For those with clipped birds (like me for now unfortunately) even if they see you they may not know how to get back to you. They are scared and lost... I expect it's like if I got lost in a big scary maze without any of the comforts I know... I'd just freeze up and not know where to go...

[jessdecutie18]

Good question BTW...

[ecodweeb]

i suppose if mine kept their feathers (well, one can) I would be more worried. Phoenix has had the opportunity to fly away, and I think being from an abusive home in the past he knows how good things are and won't change them.

 

Grass is always greener?

[Janfromboone]

I don't really think Tobie would just come up to the door and knock to be let in, but he has seen the roof of our house. I took him to the top of the hill just above our house where you do look down on it (the roof) from about 400' away. I also took him through the woods where all you could see was a bit of the house between the trees and walked to the house. I've tried to let him see the house from all angles - just in case it might help. He still can't fly because of the damage he's done to one wing, but this is how horrible my fear of loosing him is.

[jessdecutie18]

There is no hurt in trying to show Tobie It just shows that you love your baby and want her to know 'home'... but hopefully she will never get loose Jan!

[Debandbella]

When my friends parrot got scared and flew out of the door he was gone for 2 days. We finally found him up a high tree quarter of a mile away, he was desperate to get back to his mum but couldnt suss how to land on her from such a distance so just flew round her a few times way above her head before landing back on the branches. He was very confused and disorientated when she finally got him.

[Janfromboone]

I hope he never gets away, and I'll do everything I can think of to prevent it. A neighbor who also owns an african grey told me the story of his escape out the door and he spent one night in the woods in a tall tree. This bird was skilled at flight and completely distressed but unable to fly down to his owner like debandebella said in her example. I think they used a ladder. I saw the door the bird flew from - right beside the cage going out on a porch. They said he learned his lesson and they feel sure that the bird would never go out the door again. "He hated being out there".