Hello, I am new here and signed up to try resolve this issue and learn avian behavior. For some background info I own a Kakariki called Rico that is around 2 years old now. I am not sure if it's a male or female yet, but the beak is pink so I assume female. Rico free flies around my room for around half of the day as I don't consider my cage to be big enough for constant comfortable flight however it does have plenty of toys and food. I make sure to give her plenty of attention and she has even learnt to say 'Rico' and 'cookie'. Ever since I brought her/him home I have noticed strange behavior around mirrors. I knew that a mirror in a cage is a bad thing as I had done research before and knew that it is not a good thing for most single birds. Rico spent a lot of time looking at his reflection on the TV when it is off, same with my monitor when I covered the TV up and then onto picture frames and eventually just her shadow. When everything is covered up she tries to escape to another room where there is a mirror. Ever since this started she bites, has random outbursts of aggression where she attacks me and tries to bite, bites my finger when I hold it out for perching, etc. I don't know if this important but she has always been protective of her cage. This strange behavior started around a month after I brought Rico home, up until then we were bonding quick and already on the first week Rico trusted ate from my hand and later stepped onto my finger. Obviously the right thing would be to get a second bird but I don't have the space and I am afraid that they would not get along. There is not many articles about Kakarikis on the internet and I have read most decent ones and none of them said anything about needing multiple birds. When I go see family back in my home country (3 hour flight) she stays with a person that has 2 budgies and they are free flight in the living room all day until its time to sleep. I am certain my bird is happy there as she gets plenty of fruit and veg and free flight all day (like a 5 star hotel for birds ) . She coexists with the budgies but doesn't really bond with them and still sits at the mirror. I am really desperate to find help as I don't know if it's too late for her to stop being so obsessed. Today was the peak of this behavior as she hasn't bathed in 5 days and prefers the reflection. I hope that someone can help me reverse this or at least find a way for me to keep her away from mirrors as I really don't know what to do and am extremely worried.
Thank you
I have attached a photo of Rico
Thank you
I have attached a photo of Rico
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