shy rosella

Question
I picked up a 5 month old male pale-headed rosella from a breeder about a month ago.  He was hand-reared originally, but did not get individual attention after and so was completely hand-shy when I acquired him.  We have made decent progress so far-- he is perfectly willing to sit on my should and chew at my hair, will cautiously accept treats from my hand, and will even perch on my hands if I slowly corrale him with my other hand in that direction.  But whenever given the option to avoid hands he will.  He is interested in me and likes being on my shoulder but is still freaked out every time I move unless it is in extreme slow motion.  In the past couple of weeks, he has realized his ability to fly even though his wings are clipped.  This means he will sometimes take flight when he is really not equipped to make it to where he wants to... and his landings are often not very clean.  Should I have his wings clipped further even though they were just clipped?  I can't get him to accept touch from my hands except for on his beak and belly (for Ups).  If I attempt to touch his back or the top of his head he will take off even if there is no obvious landing nearby.  Is there anyway to get him to sit still long enough for him to have to accept a touch?  If I have his wings clipped further will he learn not to make stupid brave flying attempts? I thought he should have learned by now that flying=bad but he still will choose flying into a table over scratched on the head.  

Answer
It is important to remember that rosellas are NOT cuddly birds, and that you may never be able to scratch his head, especially if he was not handled and socialized well after he finished hand-feeding. Rosellas are not birds that are as outgoing and playful as many other parrots (like conures, amazons, etc.) So part of the behavior you are seeing is likely to be a combination of the lack of early socialization, his insecurity in his new home, and the natural behavior of rosellas as pets.

I would stop trying to pet him (since this is a big trust issue, and he is obviously so scared by it that he is trying to fly away, even if there is no where to land). Try focusing on his step-up command, hand-feeding him treats, and building his trust in you. Here are some articles that should help you further with this:

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww5eii.htm

http://www.quakerparrots.com/qtips/winning_trust_of_abused_bird.htm (this article is based on winning the trust of abused rescued birds- but the information applies to all birds who show fear responses like your Rosella is).

http://www.quakerville.com/qic/bonding.asp

As for the flying- I wouldn't recommend to trim his wings more (since this would cause him to crash even harder if he jumps). If anything, I wouldn't give him a less drastic wing trim next time.

I hope this helps.

-Maggie