A Bird's Got To Do What A Bird's Got To Do

Matilda has lots of freedom at her home. When she stays here, she spends most of the daylight hours in the huge Exotic Enclosure. She has this marvelous 4'x6'x6' cage to explore, but what does she do? She goes to ground and focuses on a corner to attempt to dig to China. Nesting?Frustration? Trying to escape? Perhaps... It must be a very strong instinct to dig out a place to call her own. (Actually, Matilda is a male, but that doesn't seem to make a difference in this characteristic.) When I handfed baby greys, they too went wild digging in the shavings in the corner of their baby bin. If they were in a hollowed out tree cavity like in the wild, they would be expanding their nest space as they grew larger. They would also be creating more "shavings" to cover any messy poops on the floor of their abode. Instincts are a strong force with our parrots. It is interesting to watch their behaviors and then analyze why they occur.