Single pair-bonded birds like Love Birds, Amazons and Cockatoos often have a problem with separation anxiety. In the wild, these birds spend their entire lives interacting with, and being dependent on the other bird in the pair. If you have both a male and female of one of these species of birds, you’d never have a problem with separation anxiety. The male and female would bond with each other and may exclude you.
Single, pair-bonded birds will tend to pick a person in the house to bond with and will suffer from separation anxiety when that person is away. Often the male birds will pick a female human and vice versa. When their “mate” is away, or is seen packing his or
her suitcase, this can make the bird extremely anxious. The bird may start plucking his feathers, tearing up his cage, tipping water and food dishes over, ripping up toys, or whittling down wooden perches to almost nothing in a matter of days.
To deal with separation anxiety you might consider getting another bird of a different species, and putting it in a nearby cage. The birds will definitely entertain each other and interact. If a companion bird is not an option, you can try making a recording of your normal conversations around the house
to play for your bird while you’re away. You can try giving him fun, familiar toys to
play with. You can also try putting your pet bird by the window where they can see other interesting birds and animals or you can keep another pet, like a small dog or even an aquarium nearby that would entertain the bird.
