2009-02-21 • by Administrator

Cockatiel, being an elegantly painted and intelligent bird is one of the most treasured household pets that do well in most of the households. As they originally belong to the outback regions of Australia, their preferred habitats include bush lands and wetlands. They are generally small sized and belong to the Cacatuidae family. They come with a variety of colors, have an instinctive behavior and have the ability to speak words with a large vocabulary. In addition to this, they are extremely playful and sometimes very noisy.

Apart from these, there are loads of facts about these Cockatiel birds, which people are mostly unaware of. For instance:

Cockatiels are very sociable in nature and can get very depressed if left alone. Signs of this happening include banging their head around the cage, plucking feathers, refusal to eat food, etc. Hence, these birds are mostly kept as pets in groups or pairs.

Cockatiels, unlike other birds, do not fight over a single territory. So, in case two male birds are kept in the same cage, they would actually share the cage instead of fighting for it!

Keeping a hand over a Cockatiel's head or even a gesture similar to it can get it very furious and violent as it makes them think they are being attacked.

Some Cockatiels were hybridized with another bird called Galah. The hybrid was later unofficially named as “Galateils”.

Cockatiels have very protective fathers. They protect their family from other animals and dangers and also nurture and feed their young ones in case their mother is unable to do so.

Female Cockatiels are slow learners and do not have a reputation to speak. They have a very poor vocabulary when compared to their male counterparts. Male Cockatiels are known for their large vocabulary, but their voices are generally not clear. Female Cockatiels are also believed to be nosier than males.

Normally a Cockatiel needs at least 11-14 hours of sleep, lack of which would result in behavioral problems.

General life span of a Cockatiel is 15-20 years, though some species of Cockatiels lives as long as 30 years. They generally feed on grass, seeds, berries and leaves.

Cockatiels are the only member of the genus “nymphicus”. They were previously believed to be a crested parrot or a small cockatoo, which was disproved recently by advanced molecular studies.

Quality time should be spent with a Cockatiel bird. Otherwise, it might get violent and show various behavioral problems.

Color mutation is a natural phenomenon, which occurs among the Cockatiels, equally in the wild and in captivity. They can occur either individually or in a wide variety of combinations such as Albino, Opaline-Cinammon, etc. It is also very interesting to note that the males do not retain the pearled colorings and tend to lose it in their first molt. It is normally covered up by more grey pigment. Many mutations also retain the normal Cockatiel features such as black toenails, grey beak, black eyes, etc.