Parrots are beautiful birds with very distinct colors. You may have
seen one in the wild or even own one as a pet. However, we wanted to
give you some important facts about their behaviour that makes them
different from your average companion animal.
Here are a few of our favorites about them:
1. Parrots prefer to have their head feathers stroked towards their beak
While
your dog or cat may appreciate being stroked from head to tail, this is
often merely tolerated or it can be sexually stimulating to companion
Parrots.
I prefer to see a Parrot who fluffs his head feathers up
in a big ball in anticipation of a few head scratches. Touching on the
head is definitely a great way to foster your relationship. They will
like it!
Look at your bird's body language to guide you as to whether your Parrot is just taking it or can't get enough.
2. Puking on us is how Parrots show love
Isn't that a funny one? Yes, it is true, this is not a joke!
Parrots
may try to dribble this usually smelly gooey mush into your hand if you
make it available. This courtship behaviour is also one that caregivers
will want to avoid reinforcing. The beak will be brought to the chest
and the head will arc in a repetitive motion as food is brought back up
into the mouth. A Parrot who has decided you are its chosen mate will
express its love by regurgitating for you. Weird isn't it?
3. Not all Parrots can fly well, not because they have colorful feathers
In
some places it is common to clip the flight feathers on Parrots right
about the time the bird would first attempt flight. If this happens (or
you keep them on a cage that is too small to allow flight) during that
time in development when flight should be happening, it can lead to a
loss in flight for the rest of that bird's life. Teach them to fly.
There
are also Parrots that find it naturally hard to fly due to their heavy
body such as Amazons, Macaws and African Grey Parrots. These typically
are the birds that were clipped during this critical stage of
development in which their genetics would have been urging their body to
attempt flight. Instead of flight, each launch off from the perch would
have been met with a crash landing.
Behaviours such as recall, station training and developing flight skills make living with flighted Parrots a pleasure
4. Parrots are super-duper visual
If
your dog is an expert sniffer and your cat hears the slightest rustle
of small insects, then your Parrot can see the tiniest speck of a spider
on the ceiling. This means he is also carefully watching you.
Especially if he is interested in your attention and companionship.
You should know common Parrot behaviour when petting them, because you can't just ignore their stare.
5. Parrot friendships can take time, but can be super rewarding
Most
of us are accustomed to being with dogs or cats and love to interact
with our furry friends. In general, most dog and cat friendships seem
easily earned compared to Parrots.
Many Parrot species are not as
social as we might think. In the wild they live with only one partner or
small family groups. Flocking may only happen under certain
circumstances such as foraging or roosting. Therefore automatically
accepting new individuals may not be the norm for those species.
Learning history also plays a role in how quickly a Parrot may be
inclined to respond to a new potential friend. That is where training
can help.
Even though your Parrot's behaviour may present
challenges that might be a bit different from your dog or cat, don't
give up! They are often eager students and ready to learn.
