My cockatiel is in the mood

Question
Hi there,

I have a male yellow cockatiel with orange cheeks, one gray tail feather and white and gray wings. He's about 12 years old or older and he's humping his perch every 5-10 minutes. He holds onto his bell, looks in the mirror and then goes to town. When he's done he comes out of his cage and starts a little chirping/talking routine. The sound appears to come from his bottom or lower torso. Anyway, my mom wants to take the mirror out, but I'm afraid he'll get depressed. I figure he'll get this out of his system eventually. Is he doing any harm to himself? should I remove the mirror? He goes all day. I'm afraid he's going to get splinters!

Thanks,

Dianne

Answer
Dianne,

If you want the behavior to either stop or at least lessen, you need to remove the mirror.  He is bonded to it, as if it were another cockatiel, and although the behavior isn't harmful to him, I'm sure it would be much more pleasant to have your cockatiel (who is a Pied, by the way) back to his old self.

Good luck!

Cindy