I have two cockatiels and perhaps simialr traits can be seen between them. especially in the mating season. Cockatiels tend to be one-person birds so they will bond quite strongly with one member of a household but can be quite aggressive to any other members of the same household. Although complete strangers are greeted with excitement and friendliness. The male cockatiel is classed as mine but the female is classed as my girlfriends and neither will go to the other member of the houshold. although the female is slightly friendlier towards me and will let me hold her unlike the male with my girlfriend who will only let her hold him if both birds are together. We keep the birds in seperate cages when out of the house or when sleeping for a couple of reasons. One is that they are half brother and sister and don't want them to breed. The other is that if they are kept together it has been known for cockatiels to become bonded quite closely together and lose the affection for their owner. Although the two birds are friendly to each other when out of the cages they are bonded more closely to myself and my girlfriend. perhaps seperating them into seperate cages may help unless they already are.

I had a male cockatiel and i had him for several years. a few years after we had him we found a female flying around are house and we were able to capture her. (she was some ones pet cuz they are not native to texas) we put them together and my male became very anti social. The guy were i got the male said if you put two toghether then they will become more interested in each other and for get about you.

Parakeets are community birds. If you put two birds together in the same cage they will be more interested in each other than you and are less likely to talk. This is also true with mirrors. If they were purchased together you might consider if they are males are coming into the reproduction age, they are reacting to each other not just you. The best way to get them friendly again is to separate them and start over with handling. Treats and trust are a must. Be patient.

I agree with onzanzabarsands. While birds are social creatures, they are going to socialize with one another before they socialize with you. While I don't like the idea of separating birds, that is often what it takes to get them to bond with you as a human. Spending a lot of time individually with each of them is also helpful...taking one at a time from the cage to a separate room, talking to it, playing with it and giving it treats. If you are looking to have a bird that talks, you need a male (ones with a very dark blue solid bluish cere or nostril area.) Initially, he needs to be kept separate from other birds where he cannot see them, and talked to in a repeated manner. Finger-train your bird by giving a treat every time he follows a command.