Unusual noises & behaviour from a Rainbow Lorikeet

by Matt
(Australia)

I have a young Rainbow Lorikeet who joined the household about a month ago.

Last week we noticed that she started behaving a little oddly when being taken out of her cage - she tries to curl up in a ball in the palm of your hand while rapidly vibrating her head into our fingers (almost Woody Woodpecker style) and occasionally spreading either one or both wings a little bit. She makes an unusual squawk with each breath (sort of like a seagull) but the squawks become less frequent after a while of gentle patting. If we put her on the ground, she races to curl into the nearest hand/foot/leg while squeaking. She is also squawking while eating wet food, but quiet when eating the dry.

She used to try to lick our fingers/hands through the cage, but now tries to vibrate her head/beak between the bars onto them instead. She is still making her normal vocalisations when she knows she's not going to be picked up and seems to be eating/drinking normally.

She had an avian vet check-up a couple of weeks ago (just after she arrived) who gave her a clean bill of health.

Should we be worried or is this sort of behaviour normal?