We teach Parrots to use our language which they do with a wide variety of success.

African Greys followed by Amazons are the best at speaking. Amazons can sing whole arias from an opera to general amazement. Most species will learn a few words. How every species communicates is through body language, how they position their bodies and feathers and through their voices, chirping, singing, speech, purrs, or screeches, hisses and growls. Pretty easy to recognise an angry bird but what are the signs of a content, pleased or happy bird. The more time you spend relating to your bird and her reactions the fuller and deeper your relationship can become. I assume if the question of the parrot liking a person is being asked , then your experience us comparatively recent.

Let’s start with indoor birds

The parrots in my conservatory which doubles as an indoor birdroom are all well socialised and friendly. A snapshot a few years back when I had around 15 birds indoors and also out in an aviary.

Going into the bird room first thing in the morning, the birds make eye contact, lean forward and come closer. The two Greys often put their head on one side. Something I have noticed that wild birds in the garden do also, a gesture of interest from any bird. A signal is being given. ‘Hi, pleased to see you again.’ Speaking with body movement. A pleased parrot can add other movements like fluffing up the neck feathers and wagging her tail. My birds have never done this, but I have been told of parrots that purr. And of course, if the parrot flies straight to your arm without you having called that is a sure sign of affection.

Contradictory Behaviours

Some pet parrots’ behaviours are contradictory; sometimes they are positive but other times negative. Familiarity and observation will clarify for you which is which. Take eye pinning. The pupil goes from round to a slit. Eye pinning is something we cannot do - contract our pupils to a narrow slit. It is a sign of excitement. You need caution. Excitement can lead to playful interaction or aggression, ending in a fly off or a bite.

Talking parrots pin their eyes. Not all pinning is a sign of talking. Some parrots may pin their pupils at the sight of a treat or a new toy. Others won’t. That for me is one of the fascinations of our avian companions. Their moods and their behaviours vary. Both with each species and within each individual. The more you interact and understand what they are trying to convey to you, the richer will become your relationship.

How does your parrot move

Signals from body posture exhibit plenty of uniformity, but you’ll will find differences between species and smaller differences between individual members of one group. ‘Each parrot is a study of one.’ This comment from Dr Susan Friedman, an expert in parrot behaviour, can’t be challenged. Although every species has some innate responses, individual birds may respond quite differently to their fellow flock members. Watch the feathers carefully. Hekd loosly ina giid sign if relaxation. My Greys Artha and Casper both bred and initially trained by Barrett Watson and Tim Davies., in extensive aviaries which were shared with an internationally celebrated horse establishment. Both Greys had been socialised to harness wearing harness, household noises, meeting strange people. Should not their temperaments appear broadly similar? It has not been so. Casper never developed Artha’s friendliness to strangers. He was also scared of horses. Casper would growl hiss and attempt to fly away when confronted by a horse. Whereas Artha would happily wearing a harness, come for rides with me sitting on the pommel of the saddle. When they began to speak in English, the differences were greater. Artha picked up, imitated several hundred words and used at least 30% correctly. She’d never say good evening in the morning. Casper learned bird songs from a BBC disc and animal noises; he would growl or meow, bark or neigh when asked but never spoke English. No one has ever solved the question of why they stopped speaking and singing 17 years ago. The nearest explanation came from an American bird person who said, they didn’t need to speak for attention as they got it all the time from you, They had each other to talk to in parrot speak so no longer needed English as they have each other and are not caged for most if their time. This makes sense to me. Parrots vocalise a lot but how many of us understand what they are saying or can reply in their language. I ever expected the macaws to speak English and they didn’t apart from Mina one Military saying ‘Harrow’ frequently which I assume meant hello.

Watch how the parrot holds the body feathers. Are they held loosely? That’s a sign ofo that, you know they’re content. Perdy my LSC would often fluff up her cheek feathers over her beak, almost hiding it. I knew she was in a good mood. Your companions nay gnash their beak alongside a perch or a wooden surface. They are simply trimming their beak. Again something you won’t see if a bird is anxious.

Preening

In the wild, parrots only preen when no predators are in the vicinity. In our homes, they’ll only preen when they know everyone in sight. You can see some species that have a preen gland just above the tail, rubbing their beak against the gland to release preen oil to rub into their feathers.

Friendship and mating behaviour

If you have several parrots and they enjoy time out of cages together, a pair of friends will preen one another. The parrot who is a sole bird on a household doesn’t have that pleasure. But will still appreciate you preening the neck feathers and separating feather stuck together with your nails. A friendly parrot may well solicit this attention by sitting on your lap or shoulders, head bobbing to encourage you. Head bobbing is a sign if baby behaviour that can continue into adulthood,In a flock of several birds, a parrot may choose another bird to be best mate. A sole parrot may choose someone in a household. Mating behaviour also included quivering. If you can avoid your companion choosing you as mate that makes for an easier situation. Never stroke an adult bird all over its body, stick to the head and neck feathers. I assume that you know that over petting a sole bird can lead to unwanted behaviour. You should never stroke a bird anywhere but around the head and neck regions. Full body strokes are a signal for mating. If a parrot becomes too bonded to a human, such a bird may attack perceived rivals or scream and bite.

My two Greys, Artha and Casper are friends but not a mated pair. Both will preen my eyelashes but not one another’s. If your parrot gently chews at your face, your hair it is sign he truly likes you. Benni my macaw was once gently on my shoulder pecking at my eyebrows. Not until I went to the bathroom, I saw he’d removed half an eyebrow; I hadn’t felt a thing.

Wild behaviours that still exist

Apart from budgerigars and cockatiels, birds in our homes are possibly only one or two generations from their wild ancestors. Yet we expect them to adapt to our environment. And often they do. They are social and vocal, and curiosity is part of their inborn make up. So the more you can provide these conditions the easier it is for your bird to be fond of you. I met Maria’s pineapple conure recently. As we came into the sitting room and opened his cage, he jumped out a did victory dance for us bopping along the French dresser.

Learning feather behaviour

My Greys show excitement in various ways. Wings stretching out in greeting, feathers fluffing up. Tail wagging, head bobs. Feathers fluffed up in anticipation of a treat or a snuggle. How to describe the exact difference between feathers fluffed up in with pleasure and feathers fluffed up in aggressive mode or feathers fluffed when the bird is unwell. Whenever I’ve been away for a day, Artha greets me with her feathers fluffed up. Perdy the Lesser Sulphur Crested raises her crest. Bobo the umbrella raises her crest and dances.

Mina, my military macaw, (Ara militaris) blushes whenever anything pleases. amuses or frightens her. That’s a species trait. Other macaws do blush but less so. Blushing need ot lead to aggressive behaviour if the parrot feels secure in your company. Benni, my Blue and Yellow macaw’s (Ara arucana) first blush was at ten weeks old during his first vet visit. He was nervous. Now he blushes slightly – usually for pleasure when he sees a favoured person.