What’s he doing?

[Teza2plays]

I’ve had my parakeet for about two years now and found that he’s began to do this a few months ago. He’s been standing on a perch and tapping his beak on it. He sometimes acts like he has licked something and is tasting it. He has plenty of toys and enrichment to keep busy but he prefers to do this. What is he doing?

 

[zERo/]

Sounds like he's either wiping messy food off his beak or what I'd call budgie 'displaying' my female budgie Grim will tap her beak and lick perches too when she starts getting a little hormonal.
They also might pin their eyes while doing this.

 

[Shezbug]

Feaking?

Sounds like it to me. A video of the behaviour will get you definite answers on what your bird is doing but my guess from your description is that your bird is feaking.

 

[Teza2plays]

He can tap his beak on the perch for hours at a time so I’m pretty sure it not him cleaning it, but good idea.

 

[Shezbug]

Can you share a video? I am wondering if it is simply playing if he is not cleaning.
I can not really say without seeing it though.

My budgie likes to chat to everything by kinda gently bashing/tapping at it.

 

[Teza2plays]

How would I send a video? Not really used to these kinds of things.

 

[Shezbug]

How would I send a video? Not really used to these kinds of things.

Post a link for it from FB, Instagram, youtube etc.

 

[Teza2plays]

Tez Kial on Instagram There we go

 

[Shezbug]

He looks quite interested in what he is doing, how long does he do this for? Does he only do it to the dowel perches or toys and natural perches too?
I have only seen my boy do this maybe for four or so beak taps then he moves on to the next item.

@AussieBird have you seen your little ones do this?

 

[AussieBird]

I need to go and feed everyone now, I'll come back to this when I am done.

 

[AussieBird]

Feaking?

Sounds like it to me. A video of the behaviour will get you definite answers on what your bird is doing but my guess from your description is that your bird is feaking.

What is feaking? I never heard of this term.

I have not seen any of mine do this, but it does remind of something Obsidian does. Obsidian's is never really aimed at something, he just looks like he has got something sticky in his top beak and will repeatedly "lick" it.
Anyway I am not quite sure what your little one is doing. Does he make noise when he does it? Does he do it after eating/drinking or just randomly?
@Lori D Pert @Lady Jane ?

 

[Teza2plays]

He looks quite interested in what he is doing, how long does he do this for? Does he only do it to the dowel perches or toys and natural perches too?

He sits and does this for quite a while for maybe 5 minutes to over an hour. He also does this to any and every perch and sometimes the cage wire.

 

[Teza2plays]

Does he make noise when he does it? Does he do it after eating/drinking or just randomly?

He usually doesn’t make any noise and quietly does it. And it is usually at random.

 

[je0409]

My gcc does this, but it's usually just 5-10 taps on whatever surface she's closest to at the time (perch, cage wire, counter top, etc), and it's definitely different to when she's cleaning her beak. I've often thought she does it for attention or because it feels good on her beak every now and then. Have you tried taking him out of his cage or playing with him to see if it's for attention? I would say it's nothing to worry about, but an hour of doing anything feels obssessive. If it was my own, I'd probably take them to the vet just to rule out any neurological or beak issues.

 

[MnGuy]

My ringneck likes tapping his beak on my hand. I think tapping is pretty normal behavior. However, though I'm not an expert, I wouldn't think that tapping for an hour is normal.

Does he have a lot of other toys to keep his interest? Rotate them through the cage.

When does he tap? Does anything trigger it?

 

[Teza2plays]

Does he have a lot of other toys to keep his interest? Rotate them through the cage.

When does he tap? Does anything trigger it?

He does have plenty of toys that I move around often so he should be entertained. He is also out of the cage for at least an hour every day. He taps very randomly.

 

[Lady Jane]

Why Do Budgies Tap Their Beaks On Things? — Budgie Central

You may find your budgie tapping its beak on everything. Budgies especially like to tap their beaks on toys, cage bars, perches, and owners. A budgie will tap its beak […]

www.budgiecentral.com

 

[Lady Jane]

As the above article says there are a multitude of reasons for beak tapping. It is a matter of figuring out which reason fits your budgie. Could be he is just having budgie fun. I suggest you replace the dowel perches with natural wood perches.

 

[Lori D Pert]

Budgies are notorious for beak tapping. Sam loves tapping her bells. I used to think it was because she likes the sound but actually she is looking for engagement. It is a game now. She taps and looks over at me waiting for me to come over. Now there can be many other reasons (the action may be soothing to them) but I might try some new natural branches and some new toys and giving attention when this starts. Beyond this if your budgie does not seem stressed or sick in any way then it is likely harmless.