weird green singing finch

[tom lambert]

Hello, I'm a newbie and I have a male Green Singer had has displayed some unusual behavior. When it first appeared I searched google and the various finch sites and saw quite a bit about twirling and stargazing. While what he does is similar to the twirling; he repeatedly will fly to this one particular spot on the end of a certain perch and always facing the same way, then will dip and turn his head three times. He then flies off only to repeat the ritual several times. He always approaches his "spot" from the same take-off point. Other than that he always appears to be his aggressive self. He is the alpha of the flight.
We have what we think to be a unique aviary. It is 4.5 ft. long,2.5 ft. deep, and 3.5 ft in height and is lighted by 5 40w florescent bulbs (various types including a black light)covered with an egg crate difuser. It is built into the living room wall with a glass front and 6 inches of wire cage along the top. Access is from the sides and rear in the home office area. The frame and base are wood. The sides are salvaged cage with doors. The back is pegboard that is hinged and opens completely for major cleaning and redecorating.
We house 2(now 4) green singers, 2 shaft-tails(at least one female), 2 Orange cheek wax-bills(sex unknown(they canoodle a lot)), and we are fostering a pair of star finches(on eggs(?)).
Wow, I went on there for a while. But I've never posted about our birds before and was/am concerned about our singer. Any thoughts?
Thank you, Tom Lambert

[kathmcm]

I have seen my male GS do some repetitive things like that in the evening when the room lights come and and his reflection appears in windowpane next to the flight. He'll fly back and forth from a perch to the cage bars near the windowpane, frequently bill-wiping and twisting his neck around as he does. It can go on for quite a while. The hen just sits there, acting bored.

Maybe your male is reacting to a phantom bird reflection in the glass doors of your aviary, like a good alpha male?

If you have a chance, would enjoy seeing a picture of the aviary you've got.

[PrettyBird]

I havent seen that. I know my male will raise his head up high as if hes looking and the ceiling, and stand up tall, move forward and back and sometimes turn on the perch...he does this as a mating ritual when just about to mount the female.

The only strange thing I see is mine fly to the side of the cage, sometimes hang upside down, and then flip their heads back, raise them and do it again.
They seem to do this when I go really close to the cage (feed and water)
I dont know if this is a fear thing or what.

When I move away from the cage, they fly to a perch and stop...

[finchmix22]

GS will sit on a perch and jump around like a back flip or continue to look backward at the ceiling. Usually this means they are in a new environment or too small of an area. Having 4 GS in one flight can be dangerous, as they can be very aggressive with their own kind. Watch them carefully.

[tom lambert]

Thank you all, The reflection theory seems to pan out. As I peer through a pegboard hole in the rear towards the glass, it is very difficult to see out into the room. The aviary is very bright compared to the living room. I'm just glad he isn't sick. Now I can watch and be amused.

The GS chicks are still being fed. That should end in another week or so and they will be off to their new world. I've made an aquaintence that retails in birds. I normally take birds to him. He handles mostly the larger exotics but has a few of the smaller types. I'm fostering his 2 star finches. I normally don't promote businesses but you should look at his web site. Google up "Sugarcreek Bird Farm".

I tried to attach a couple of pictures but was told that they were too large (1.5mb vs. 256kb allowed). If I can figure out how to shrink them I'll try again