I can't believe it's not a 'tiel!

[Katie H]

Hi all,

I've had my cockatiel for about a year now, she's a fantastic bird. For tiel owners that have had other birds, what species have you found to be similar to them temperament and behavior wise?

Pet tax of my little tyrant attached:

 

[scrape]

Hm. I am trying to think of some birds from the local rescue that have a tiel personality. Most tiels are really chill, like pionus. Like to sit and preen, look out the window. We have a scaly-head pionus right now who is flighty, but it makes her happy to sit up high and preen. Skittish, but social to people they know and like. The scaly pionus I have met are like that, and green-cheeks too. But they can be more playful than tiels. My tiel was grumpy like some quakers can be grumpy. I call it an old-man personality lol. It is hard to compare different species.

 

[Katie H]

Hm. I am trying to think of some birds from the local rescue that have a tiel personality. Most tiels are really chill, like pionus. Like to sit and preen, look out the window. We have a scaly-head pionus right now who is flighty, but it makes her happy to sit up high and preen. Skittish, but social to people they know and like. The scaly pionus I have met are like that, and green-cheeks too. But they can be more playful than tiels. My tiel was grumpy like some quakers can be grumpy. I call it an old-man personality lol. It is hard to compare different species.

Cool thanks! Yeah mine is fairly playful which I like, but not too insane. I think my favorite bonus with them is that they're not too piercing or obnoxious sounding. Makes life easier for everyone else in the house

 

[FeatheredM]

My tiel is not calm, he is super mischievous! Besides being skittish he kind of acts like a conure =curious and wanting to get into everything!

 

[scrape]

Cool thanks! Yeah mine is fairly playful which I like, but not too insane. I think my favorite bonus with them is that they're not too piercing or obnoxious sounding. Makes life easier for everyone else in the house

My tiel had a very obnoxious noise. He never made the cute little "squeak"/"chirp" most cockatiels make. He was never playful, he was very calm and kept to himself. Foraging was really his favorite toy. He could be a bit demanding, he would fly to my lap and bother me to scratch his head. And sometimes bite me if I did it wrong.

 

[CeciliaZ]

I think you have a beautiful boy tiel!

 

[outmaww]

My tiel is still a baby, so we'll have to see if she eventually grows into her cockatiel-ness, but she reminds me a lot of a conure (like @FeatheredM said, I realized as I finish writing this post). Very high-energy, constant need for attention, very playful, but destructive. It surprises me when I read things like "Oh, 'tiels are so sweet and loving and cuddly!" while my baby tries to rip up the couch literally a few inches away from me lol.

I find conures are fairly similar in size to a cockatiel as well, and from what I've seen of my tiel, a green-cheek is probably just as loud as my girl. Conures are also well-known for loving to cuddle, which I find is also common in cockatiels. Though mine is high-energy, she still loves a good scritch.

 

[Katie H]

I think you have a beautiful boy tiel!

Yes! They went through their last moult recently and with the behavior I'm pretty sure Cinnamon is actually a boy. But we've all gotten used to saying good girl, which (s)he responds to
Convinced she was a girl for months (got in April last year, and still had a grey face in December and so we had all gotten used to it

 

[Katie H]

My tiel had a very obnoxious noise. He never made the cute little "squeak"/"chirp" most cockatiels make. He was never playful, he was very calm and kept to himself. Foraging was really his favorite toy. He could be a bit demanding, he would fly to my lap and bother me to scratch his head. And sometimes bite me if I did it wrong.

Ah yes, the classic "give me scritches, but NOT LIKE THAT!!"

 

[Codyyjohns]

Pionus seem to have similar temperaments, especially white caps and maxies