Meet Charley

Charley is the newest member of my household. She joins Celeste and a fish who remains nameless. A member of my local freecycle group posted a message stating they were giving away a cockatiel with cage. The owners were told she was a male when they got her a year ago. After she starting laying eggs, they realized HE was a SHE. Then the woman of the house became ‘with child’ and with six people in the apartment, they’ve had to downsize on their birds. Thus, Charley now has a new home.


Charley is a white-faced grey cockatiel, and a member of the parrot family. Cockatiels are closely related to the cockatoo. Average lifespan is 16-25 years. The previous owners thought she was about 2 years old. Cockatiels are extremely social birds and need human interaction. If they are the only bird, they will become attached to their owner.


A friend of mine had a male cockatiel for about 18 years. The stories I’ve heard have been very entertaining. I’ve never owned a bird before so this is new territory for me. I’ve been doing a lot of research, and trying to interact with Charley. I’ve read that females are more aggressive than males and have a tendency to bite – which I have found out, lol. I have also read that they are very smart birds and can be trained not to bite, to do tricks, etc.

The first evening at The Homestead was quite chaotic. Celeste wasn’t sure what to make of the new family member. She paced around the house alternating between whining and woofing. Charley was up in arms being in a new environment. Numerous times, she attempted to bite me. Eventually, she acted like she wanted to come close to me but then would back away. When I walked away from the cage, she’d squawk and again, this was an attempt to get my attention – which I read she should not get if I want to train her not to squawk. That night, all was quiet. Celeste went to sleep, Charley went to sleep, and I went to sleep.

The next day, Celeste was still prancing around the kitchen and woofing, lol. Charley was a little more social. She’d go to the side of the cage I was on and then back away. She even let me rub her head but then tried to bite me, lol.

Fast forward a week:
• Charley no longer tries to bite me.
• She has learned what "lovin" means: a nice rub behind the head and ears. All I have to do is say "lovin?" and she will bow her head to get a rub.
• I can stick my hand in the cage, which the previous owners said they couldn't do without her trying to bite.
• I'm also able to let Charley come out of her cage. If I am sitting next to her cage, she will walk out onto the door and bow her head to get "lovin". Then she'll climb to the top of the cage and walk around.
• If startled, she will try to fly, but she doesn't really know how. She ends up flying into walls and such, which then startles her even more.
• Celeste still tries to "woof" and charge the cage (like she does with birds outside, lol) but for the most part has gotten used to the new member of the household.

A bit of trivia: The Australian government instituted a strict ban on the export of these native birds in 1994, which means cockatiels in the U.S. are from captive bred stock.