Suddenly getting frightened by ?????

[JamesC]

About a month or so ago Sidney suddenly started taking fright of something and I cannot figure out what he is afraid of. He will be playing on me and he will either freeze for a moment then suddenly fly towards the open end of the room calling out an alarm call. Other times it is straight to the wing with no warning. His sudden burst and call has put my blue crowns into the air more than a few times. He takes fright 3-5 times a night.

Nothing has changed in the room around his cage and my couch since I got some new furniture almost a year ago. I've taken him around the room on my finger seeing if he will get scared of anything but he calmly rides along. Sometimes he will try to chew on something he has never been near before if I bring him close. I thought for a while that he was seeing something outside so I closed the blinds and he still does it.

I would not mind so much except he flies out of my sight even though he is clipped. And usually when he comes to rest he drops a poop on the carpet. When I come to pick him up he gives me that rising chirp and looks up at me with wide eyes and tiny pupils. Steps right up and usually goes back to the couch like nothing happened. Wish I could figure out the little nut's head on this. It was slightly amusing at first. But now it is getting old.

 

[MonicaMc]

Could it be something outside the windows? Or something on TV?

 

[legal_eagle]

You might have a mouse in your house ... seriously. (Speaking from personal experience.)

 

[thekarens]

Short story...our Maltese kept sticking her nose under our oven. I assumed one of her toys had rolled under there. Anyway, I pulled out the drawer and discovered a possum behind the drawer. We live in an urban subdivision. We have a dog door so it could have gotten in that way, but I have no idea how it got behind the stove.

 

[JamesC]

I'm not so sure that it is a mouse though I'm keeping my eye out for one or the signs that one is in my place. I'm really paranoid about mice because in the apartment I lived in when I was in New Jersey had a mouse and that was one bold little critter. During the night it would climb up and squeeze through the bars into Tootsie's cage and eat out of her food bowl which is just a couple of inches away from the perch she preferred to sleep on. When I realized I had a mouse doing that I went nuts trying to eradicate it and protect her cage from entry. I actually caught the thing in her cage and grabbed it with a leather glove. I don't like killing things but that didn't stop me from giving it my best fastball pitch from my 2nd floor balcony. Out onto a grass field where it hit the ground running.

Whatever is frightening Sid is in the corner of the room near the window. He always flies the same direction to get away from it. The only things over there are a floor lamp and a speaker. I've held him up to the lamp and the speaker and the only thing he did was try to chew on them.

The window and something outside would be the most likely suspect except he does it both day and night with the blinds open or closed. Unlikely it is the TV cause he flies towards it when he spooks. And he will do it when it is on or off.

It is really strange. In the year and a half since I adopted him he has never ever been frightened of anything. Certainly the boldest bird that I've ever known. Hoping that I can work him through this soon cause it is causing him to spend more time locked in his cage than I would like.

 

[thekarens]

I hope you get it figured out soon

 

[TessieB]

Is he afraid or is he inviting you to fly with him?

 

[JamesC]

It is an afraid of something reaction. He can be playing when he suddenly squeals an alarm call or two and is flying away as fast as his clipped wings can take him. He has scratched me a time or two in his haste to get away.

 

[JamesC]

I wonder if it is a sound that is setting him off. He was in my sweater tonight. Tucked under the neck and the only thing I could see of him was the shoulder of his wing. All calm and quiet when suddenly "SQUEEAL! SQUEEAL!" and he started flapping and scratching to get out and he went in a straight line right into the side of his cage. Fortunately I sit close to it so he was not able to get up any speed before contact.

He scratched me a good one across the throat as he struggled to get out. Enough to puff and bleed a little.

Now he is perched on my shoulder grinding his beak as contented as can be. Just can't figure it out.

 

[thekarens]

That is so odd. Do you have something like a grandfather's clock in the house? Something that makes regular noises? Or does a train go by at a certain time?

 

[JamesC]

No clock. And no train that he could easily hear since the closest tracks around almost 10 miles away. I can faintly hear the freight trains occasionally if the weather is right. Tonight he could have been set off because they are removing snow nearby. But unless I'm watching hockey or a movie my place is normally pretty quiet as long as the two Blue Crowns are not causing a ruckus.

Maybe it could be my neighbors. They have 3 kids and they can sometimes get screechy though I've heard them through the wall quite often for the past year and it never seemed to bother him. Perhaps one of the kids screams could be similar enough to the Senegal alarm call that he instinctively reacts to it. The direction he flies away from is away from the common wall. I've learned to tune them out but I will listen next time he panics to see if one of the kids is making a noise that might frighten him.