Quivering Wings: Nervousness or Flight Prep?

[Puck]

So my sun conure, Bevo, is 8 months old and generally a bit of a coward. She loves new toys and perches and bird trees AFTER a testing period of a couple of days, lol. Recently, though, she has started quivering her wings. I know this can be a sign of fear, but I noticed that she only seems to do it when she is trying to figure out a way to get off a stand/tree/playground and over to me. Today she was sleeping on her bird tree in my bedroom, very content with one foot tucked up, but after I started moving around she began quivering her wings and following me with her eyes. She can't fly, but lately she has been trying, despite her wings being clipped, and she will fly to me very short distances when I call her from maybe a foot away (she was not fledged). I am trying to figure out if this wing quivering is her nervous that she's going to be left alone or a sign that she is considering flying to me. She is quite the odd bird--she refuses to take any treats, be they seeds or bird treats or nuts or veggies or ANYTHING--so her behavior confuses me a bit sometimes. What do you guys think?

 

[Terry57]

My Sun and my Jenday do that a lot when they are excited.

They both adore my husband, and they do it as soon as he comes in the room as they can't wait for their Daddy time

 

[MonicaMc]

I call it "begging" behavior... but really, it's just her way of saying "I want to go in 'this' direction".


More commonly seen in clipped birds than flighted, but flighted birds will do it, too. The reason it's more commonly seen in clipped birds than flighted is because flighted birds will just go in the direction they want, vs clipped birds know they can't fly, so they improvise by saying it with body language that they want to move.

 

[Flboy]

For my JoJo, the quivers are, I think I can, I think I can, I know I can! Then launch.

 

[Puck]

Thanks y'all! It definitely does seem like she is prepping for lift off or at least trying to show that she wants to move. I will keep observing her and see!

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

The pretty chicken does that often, usually when she's done on her playstand or wants off her cage. She will occasionally do it while I'm holding her if she has to go potty. Or, of course, if someone else has food "over there". My chicken is a piggy.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk