Clicking sound

[sweet francis]

Does anybody know if the clickety click machine gun noise that some lovies make is gender specific? Django and Gordita seem to be the only 2 of my 4 that make this noise, and I know not to try and pick them up when they do it or I'll get nailed

I still haven't quite figured out what I have gender wise. Originally I thought that Django and Butters were male and Kate and Gordita were female, but lately I think they are all male except Gordita. Obviously, this would negate the noise being gender specific if it were true

 

[Shade]

I think I only ever heard that be done once before, and it was made by a crazy hen my mom is fostering.

 

[blackivory]

My current lovie clicks at me. Gender unknown. Though no aggression.

 

[mstomcat65]

i also have a lovebird that does the clicking . she also does a little dance with it. i was told by the breeder he thought she was female. she is a little nippy and bossy too

 

[Ankou]

Peanut has a natural click she makes when she's feeling... er, extremely horny. Does that count?
She doesn't use it aggressively though, but she may have when she was an adolescent and more confused. It's been too long though, I can't remember clearly.
(Peanut's gender was identified by her laying eggs, so no doubts there even without her sex-linked color mutation.)

Sometimes she'll mimic a learned clicking noise when she's overstimulated, but I don't think that counts since it's not natural.
She usually has a tiny growl noise or rapidly grinds her beak hard enough to make a noise on it's own as a threat/warning.

 

[sweet francis]

Thanks for the responses, everybody! Maybe Django is female after all. Who knows. He also does the growling noise too when he doesn't want you near the cage. They are such crazy, little nuts!

 

[bubblelady]

I call the male lovebird courting routine "The Itchy Clicky Dance" since they make that sound while rapidly scratching their heads, in between running around in little circles. It is also often accompanied by regurgitating. I always know what is going on when I hear it...just have to look to see who or what is the current object of Murphy's affections. My other male lovie did it, too. None of my hens did. Doesn't mean hens don't...just that my hens didn't.

 

[Lovebird Lady]

I call the male lovebird courting routine "The Itchy Clicky Dance" since they make that sound while rapidly scratching their heads, in between running around in little circles. It is also often accompanied by regurgitating. I always know what is going on when I hear it...just have to look to see who or what is the current object of Murphy's affections. My other male lovie did it, too. None of my hens did. Doesn't mean hens don't...just that my hens didn't.

Yes, that's exactly what my five year old male Lovie Coco does just before he tries to get fresh with my thumb Five years must be when Lovies are in their prime hormonally, because Poca who is now nine years has ceased to engage in this type of behavior. How old are your Lovies?

 

[bubblelady]

Murphy is just over 1...and he started doing it just about at 1 exactly. My other lovie boy was 4 when I got him. He was named Katie, by the way. I guess he never did this in his previous home. He started in about 2 months after I got him...and soon after changed his name. He "got fresh" with my big toe, daily he also got turned on whenever he saw a Melita Coffee Filter box...deep green and peach face lovebird red, he kept it up until I had to send him to the Rainbow Bridge at 8 years of age due to a severe and worsening seizure disorder.

 

[sweet francis]

Murphy is just over 1...and he started doing it just about at 1 exactly. My other lovie boy was 4 when I got him. He was named Katie, by the way. I guess he never did this in his previous home. He started in about 2 months after I got him...and soon after changed his name. He "got fresh" with my big toe, daily he also got turned on whenever he saw a Melita Coffee Filter box...deep green and peach face lovebird red, he kept it up until I had to send him to the Rainbow Bridge at 8 years of age due to a severe and worsening seizure disorder.

Thanks, Maureen! I really do think Django is a male. He is smaller and just, I don't know, seems like a boy to me! He is protective over the cage and sometimes the other lovies and this is when he exhibits the clicking sound. He also does it when he gets close to the bigger birds when I walk by them with him. It seems more like a defensive thing than a hormonal thing. Also, he's only about 8 months old and the other one who does it is about 5-6 months old.

 

[bubblelady]

My female Fischer's lovebird started getting hormonal at 8 months but that took the form of paper shredding and nipping, not clicking. As for hormonal male behavior, my male lovies were hormonal YEAR ROUND! No doubt in my mind why they are called LOVEbirds! And as for showing aggressive behavior around big birds...that can be a problem with these little guys. They WILL take on much larger birds and get themselves in trouble. They have no idea they are LITTLE!

 

[Lovebird Lady]

... my male lovies were hormonal YEAR ROUND! No doubt in my mind why they are called LOVEbirds! And as for showing aggressive behavior around big birds...that can be a problem with these little guys. They WILL take on much larger birds and get themselves in trouble. They have no idea they are LITTLE!

This is also true in our household, hormonal all year round and both our Lovies will challenge our Brown Heads any time of the day Such dare-devils with no concept of danger

 

[maddie]

my 3 year old male lovebird does the click-dance too. Often. He is on my shoulder a lot, dances round in circles, clicks rapidly and scratches his face and regurgitates and tries to feed whatever comes up into my ear. Yuck! ;-) He also likes to preen my eyelashes, but I can't stand it for long, even if he is ever so careful.

If he sits on my finger and I lift him up to kiss him on his chestfeathers, he will sometimes lean in and rest his forehead against my nose and just sit there for a minute or two, with halfclosed eyes. He is such a darling sweet-tempered little bird - and the bird-love of my life

 

[blackivory]

Well my clicking Lovebird is defiantly a male! Tries to make love to anything he can

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

I have a hen and cock, both dna sexed. They both do the clicking, but only the cock runs in circles and does the dance. Harley is big for a cock lovie and apparently Blu likes big bad boys!

 

[Peachy-Gizmo]

Gizmo is 11 months old, sex is unknown although the pet shop owner told us he was male after feeling his keel when we got him. He has recently started exhibiting strange behaviour, I don't know if this is any indication of gender but he will puff himself up and start to shake, making little squeaky chirping noises which change in pitch as he wobbles, sometimes on one leg; he also blows kisses but as this is a learned behaviour I know that doesn't mean anything. Just wondered if anybody else has a lovebird that does this and if so, what the gender is.

 

[Momo & Mido]

I know this is an old threat, but I have a question about this topic.
Momo does this to when she is on my boyfriends shoulders. What is the best thing to do when she does this? We don't want to frustrate her, so we (so to speak) send her away.
If anyone reads this, I'd like to know your ideas.

 

[nu2birds]

Both my boys are DNA tested and they BOTH click away off and on during the day.

 

[Momo & Mido]

Momo just did it on my shoulder. I can't help but find it cute

 

[Momo & Mido]

Momo just tried to feed me while doing 'the dance'... could this mean that she is a he?