[vdelafuente]

Hi All - My first post here. I have a regular pied cockatiel, a little over a year old, that was feather sexed as a female. Her name is Paquita. From the very beginning since I brought her home at 2 months old, she was very talkative. Now she talks, sings, and even knows the tune for Another One Bites the Dust. LOL Here is the thing, she has all the physical traits of a female, markings under her tail, light orange spot on face, light spots under her wings, etc. However, her behavior is ALL male. She is incredibly talkative, taps her beak, puts her body into the typical male heart shaped stance, etc. Hasn't laid any eggs, but neither has my pale faced lutino, whom I know is definitely female. I am thoroughly confused! Has anyone encountered this before? Should her name be Paco instead of Paquita??

 

[tielfan]

Pied cockatiels can't be visually sexed because the pied mutation breaks all the normal rules. Pied males can keep their baby markings for years, and the brightness of the orange spot isn't a guaranteed indicator of sex for any cockatiel. It sounds like "she" is a boy, but you if you want more reliable confirmation you should get a DNA test.

 

[Newfie_In_TX]

Its possible she is actually a he but it could also be personality also. It is rare but it can happen. Its a total sign of affection for you even if she is a he. Sounds like you have one very happy talented tiel and are doing an amazing job and loved for it!

Personality can make a female do things that males usually do sometimes. We have had two parakeets for a few months that both have been sexed, and with our female she begun to sing these beautiful little songs totally out singing our male. I always assumed it was the male doing it because I always thought only males sang. Our cockatiel doesnt make much sounds yet but weve only had him a week now but I am hoping he can sing "Another one bites the dust" once he does Lol.

Like what was mentioned before DNA may be the only way to know for sure if you have a boy or a girl. Unless one day you find an egg in cage.