Is San Ramon parakeet seeking a divorce from her 7-year partner?

DEAR JOAN: I have two parakeets, one male and one female, who have lived together in the same large cage for approximately 7 years. They were a gift from my children.

They had been getting along with each other very well until this past year, when I started to notice the female becoming a bully. She began to peck at the male in what seemed to be an aggressive manner. It was always short-lived, and he seemed to withstand her aggression, but he would back away from her.

Lately, however, she has increased her attacks and his little face has looked bruised, brown and injured. So, I made the decision to house them in separate cages, since I doubted she would return to being civil with him, and I felt badly that he was being battered. They remain in the same room together, and can see and hear each other every day.

So far, they seem to be doing OK living in their own cages; they’re eating, drinking and chirping, but I’m sure the first few days they felt confused, wondering, relieved (him), and mad (her).

Is it best to keep them separated indefinitely, or is it possible, or even wise, for them to be reunited in the same cage?

BJ, San Ramon

DEAR BJ: You made the right choice in putting them in separate cages. Parakeets are social birds, meaning they enjoy the interaction with other parakeets and their humans as well, but living in the same cage might not be possible.

You should move the cages close together so they have a safe intimacy.

Why the female has become aggressive toward the male has many possibilities. Female parakeets are by far the more aggressive of the two, and after being confined in the same cage for seven years, having to share food, toys and space, your girl might have just gotten sick of the boy. Territorial disputes are the most common reason for discord.

The male might also be interested in mating, and has been pestering the female, who just isn’t in the mood. Although the attacks appear unprovoked, she might be fending off his unwanted advances.

The birds appear happy with their new living arrangements, and that’s the most important thing. If you want to try reuniting them, get a much larger cage so they will have their space, and be sure to provide multiple feeding and play areas to avoid territorial disagreements.

DEAR JOAN: All of the birds I know drink by taking a beakful and tipping their heads back to pour it down, except the mourning dove that sucks it up like a horse. Are there others that drink this  way?

Last night a band-tailed pigeon landed on my bird bath and I thought I would see how it drank. Before it ever had a chance to drink there were about  23 others in and around the bird bath. There were at least that many more on the deck or fluttering around looking for a place to land.  Quite a sight!

Dick McCall, Woodside

DEAR DICK: Very few birds have what is called a piston tongue, which allows the bird to suction up water into their mouths. All pigeons, including the band-tailed, along with doves and flamingos, have piston tongues.

Almost all other birds use the scoop and tilt method, scooping water into their mouths and tilting their heads back to allow gravity to do the rest.

Another exception is the hummingbird. Researchers only recently discovered that the sides of its tongue unfurl when first dipped into nectar, then quickly curl back up to create two tubes that trap the fluid inside. Researchers are still working on how the birds then swallow the nectar.

The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at [email protected].