There are a few places you should avoid on your bird where they won't want to be touched. Many owners will caution you against petting your bird's wings and tail since you don't want to encourage mating hormones in your animal. There can be exceptions to this but start with the head, neck, and feet.
Try to avoid touching your parrot on the back, wings or tail.
Petting down the back or under the wings can lead to a sexually frustrated bird, or a bird who perceives you as a mate rather than a companion. A mated bonded bird can be hostile to others in your home, becoming jealous or possessive of you.
A favorite spot for touch enjoyed by most cockatoos can be under the crest, right on top of the head, where species such as umbrella and Moluccan cockatoos have a bald spot. For other species of parrot, I've found that their forehead or top of their head is a favorite spot.
Even if a bird's sexual organs aren't located in the areas of their back and beneath their wings, most birds still prefer being pet on the head and neck. Start petting your bird gently at their beak so they can get to know you and start trusting you.
Where should you not pet cockatiels? Cockatiels should not be petted on their head or faces and should never be forcibly handled. Cockatiels do not like movement from above, so it is best to put them on the neck, wings, and back. Petting a cockatiel's head can make it feel threatened and cause it to bite out of fear.
Many birds love to be petted. After all, who doesn't love great foreplay? When you stroke your pet bird's chest, back, under its wings, and it's vent area, it's a huge turn-on. Your bird will crave these full body massages and even beg you for them.
Teaching them a 'step up' command, where they perch on your finger or wrist to be lifted out, is a great way to keep you both safe and injury free. If you do need to get your bird and they don't know 'step up', don't grab them by the legs, wings or tail. These extremities are delicate and easily damaged.
Absolutely. A lot of birds use it the way we use our hands, so it's very sensitive to touch. My cockatiel is quite fond of having his beak rubbed.
You Don't Like Mess
Parrots are messy. They chew up their food and throw half of it on the cage bottom. Much of it inevitably ends up getting stuck on perches or on the floor around the cage. Some birds dunk their food in the water cup before eating it, making the wasted food even messier.
It may take a long time for him to trust hands, and possibly he will never trust hands. Some birds seem to be naturally hand shy as part of their individual personality. Each bird is different and some are more outgoing and love being handled while others are content just having people around for company.
Pet birds make great companions. They are full of personality and offer loyal friendship if raised and cared for properly. Some birds are easy to connect with right off the bat, while others may take some time to warm up. You have a new pet bird and you want to form a bond with this new animal.
Sign of Happiness. When parrots are happy and content, they will typically puff their feathers up and close their eyes. Much like a cat's purr when happy, parrot's puff up. You may see them doing this in anticipation of being petted, or they may also do it when you're about to give them a treat.
They will cuddle you, will come closer to you. The behaviour of closeness display that the bird has faith in you. Sometimes birds shake their tails to show their feeling of love to humans. They also sleep on you or on your arm, which means that they love you and have huge trust in you.
Do you love your bird? That's good but you shouldn't get carried away with your affection. For instance, kissing your bird is not healthy and one reason for this is the disease Psittacosis. Psittacosis is a zoonosis, a disease which can be spread from animals (birds in this case) to humans.
Being punished
It's very simple: you can't punish a cockatiel for bad behavior, whether it's biting, screaming or anything else you may not appreciate. Yelling, prodding, shaking the cage, slapping, taking away food and similar actions simply do not work. The reason is that parrots don't understand punishment.
The most important thing when working with a bird is to never grab the bird from behind. Cockatiels are prey animals and this is how a predator would catch him. Unless he is running away from you in a panic, then it is OK to gently press against his front to encourage him to step up.