At four years old, Onni the male umbrella cockatoo is still considered a baby transitioning into one of the most difficult phases in his life: puberty.
Because of this, he can get moody and even aggressive at times. But that doesn’t mean he’s all gloom and doom because there are moments when he unexpectedly shows a high level of affection, especially for his human friend Erin.
Watch him get excited to see his friend, Erin!
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Video credit: Rumble
Whenever Erin drops by, Onni’s beautiful white plumage fluffs up and he starts running around while stomping his feet in some sort of “happy dance” for his beloved friend. One of his favorite games with Erin is peekaboo.
In the video, we can see Erin doing some peekaboo which Onni adorably reciprocates as he tries to hide behind a pillow on the couch and then popping his head back out again. In-between these games, he does his happy dance, letting Erin know just how happy he is that she’s there.
One thing about Erin that likely fascinates Onni is the fact that she has a lot of piercings on the mouth and tongue. So when she runs her tongue across her teeth it makes a tap-tapping sound that probably intrigues Onni. And funnily enough, he tries to imitate her as he can be seen waggling his tongue back and forth across his beak! Sometimes, he can even imitate the clicking noise that the piercings make on Enni’s teeth.
But it’s not all fun and games between Onni and Erin. As mentioned earlier, puberty makes him unpredictable and when he gets really excited, he ends up attacking Erin.
Fortunately for all, Erin is quite experienced with birds so she knows how to handle herself and keep both her and Onni safe even as she engages in play with him.
In Finnish, Onni means happiness and luck. And while this adorable bird may be going through a difficult phase in his life, it’s only temporary and the love and affection that’s being showered on him will surely be returned in full once his hormones stabilize.
But for now, one thing they can always expect from the bird is the tap-dancing happy dance that he’ll do as soon as Erin steps through the door!
Replaced!