Gus-Gus

Sometimes I feel like I'm not making much progress with Gus. He's been eating out of my hand for several months, and I was pretty sure things were at a stand-still, and I wasn't too sure how to proceed. Then, I got him to stand on my finger by bribing him with food!

 First just one foot, and after a couple of days, both feet. Needless to say, I was pretty excited about it! I think this step made my hand something to be less afraid of, and he's now willing to come close enough to touch it-usually with his beak.

It's kind of like his beak and my finger are cuddling-he is a love bird, after all. But occasionally, he does this:

Usually not hard enough to hurt. He seems to be interested in the fact that my nails are at the end of my fingers. I love having a pet to interact with-much more fun than fish.

Sorry if the chirping is really shrill. This is our normal, nightly interaction. It makes me wonder about normal love bird behavior, and if any of it means anything. I think he might be trying to groom me, which I figure is a good sign. Eventually I hope he'll stand on my finger, then sit on my shoulder, but for now, I'm happy with a little bit of progress and bites that don't draw blood.