Parrot behaviors


parrot behaviors

How to understand the character of parrots? Parrot behaviors: It should be known that parrots have great ease of adaptation, however, it is up to you to educate and solicit it. The behavior of your parrot will depend on yours largely towards it. Like all birds, you’re going to have to take care of them, spend time with your parrot, and learn how to deal with the different problems you’ll likely face over time.

Speech imitation and screaming

The little parrots (Senegal Parrot, Conure, Cockatiel, Quaker, Lovebird, Budgies ) are far from being good talkers, the majority will say a few words or a few short sentences but it will stop there. On the other hand, they are masters in the art of imitating the sounds that surround them. This ranges from the simple ringing of the phone or microwave oven to the screams of other animals to the squeak of a door that opens or closes. They will skillfully reproduce a whistled tune that you have taught them. Red-fronted parrot is a little more talented but it remains far behind its cousin, the African Grey Parrot. The Parrot is not a noisy bird. In nature, it is only heard when traveling, therefore, in flight. This is also the case in captivity. Parrots, especially the little ones, will express themselves with brief high-pitched cries during their flight which will be accompanied by many acrobatics.

The character of Parrot

Although small, the parrot is a parrot that has a lot of character and knows what it wants. If you don’t take care of him while he’s trying to get your attention, he’ll get noticed in some way. Most often by literally making the pitre in his cage and there, everything is good (go around the perch, hang from the roof, pedal with a paw, make the dead, motionless on the back in the bottom of his cage – guaranteed effect!). If it is outside, it will know which object to attack to make you move or will fly in a shave under your nose. Conversely, when he wants to be left alone, once again he will know how to make himself understood, by inflating his feathers, emitting a small sound resembling a rumble, and opening a threatening beak if you insist.
 The Parrot reacts this way just before a nap, for example. These parrots are very curious, touch everything but no great destroyers, explorers worthy of the name who will not hesitate to visit every corner of your house. It will be difficult for you to do something with a parrot around because its favorite place will be on your shoulder, as a good observer or better, on your hands so that you can touch each object you handle. There will always come a time when you will have to put your companion back in place because he dwells too much on an object that is forbidden to him.

Parrot behavior

Parrot behavior 
You can scream and scold him as much as you want, it will be useless, in the worst case, he will kindly stretch out his head to you to have a hug (do not let you coax). The Parrot is not a resentful parrot but it is stubborn and somewhat manipulative. This feather ball is not stingy with tenderness, on the contrary, he likes to be scratched and caressed on the head, on the neck, and at the level of the throat, in turn, he will give these hugs by gently scratching your hand, neck or arm. Very expressive, he will make you understand his contentment with small sounds and you will be able to notice his pupils contracting with pleasure. The contact with the lips is something exciting for him, he will gladly taste it with his tongue. Teaching a parrot to fly outside: Although crazy about flying, this parrot will perfectly enjoy a small room where he can exercise his acrobatic skills, looping, dives, and U-turns in mid-flight are on the program.
 
Flying several meters in a straight line, at the same altitude is not interesting for him. A small parrot hand-fed by a man sometimes tends to play terrors with other animals in the house. From the largest dog to the most cat hunter, no animal will scare him, not even a very large parrot. It is not uncommon to see this little ball of feather doing rodeo on the back of a dog, for example.
Cohabitation with other birds, especially if they too are pets, is delicate, sometimes difficult.
The little parrot also likes to test humans by being threatening, it is a game for him, ignore his behavior and you will become very good friends. In conclusion, the Parrot is a bird happy to live and that shows, it testifies to a great joy of living permanently. They are simple parrots that can play for hours. They love human company and follow their favorite human everywhere, limiting the pot of glue. However, they have a strong personality and although not resentful, they can be difficult, at times, like any parrot. Many people compare the Red-fronted parrot to the Amazon parrot because family life suits it very well.

Bites and pinching

The beak is a very important anatomical part of the parrot, apart from the fact that it allows it to feed, it is also thanks to it that the parrot tastes and touches in the same way that we use our hands. It also plays an important role within the group because it complements the language and it is also with the beak that the marks of tenderness and the games between the different members of a group are made. The reasons that push a parrot to bite are as follows:

Fear

Your way of dressing can scare off the parrot that does not recognize you, change and reassure it, and only take and touch it when it is calmed down. An unknown noise or object can also scare him. If it’s on or near you, it could pinch you. In nature, it is this behavior that the parrot has with his companion, he pinches him to make him move to a safer place.

Learning

A young parrot will first pinch you to discover your finger, hand, ears, etc.; in the same way, he tastes everything that passes under his beak. Then, it will squeeze harder and harder to know how far it can go and with what force you need to pinch yourself to make you react.
Below, I offer you methods of education for your parrot.

The game

This is a normal behavior in parrots and natural. Parrots are gregarious birds and sometimes fight their partners by play. When the parrot does not have a winged companion, it is to his toys that he turns, as if he were facing a rival.
It is better to avoid going near your parrot in these moments because he may take it as an invitation and will think that you want to play with him.
Parrots love to use toys like chewing sticks for entertainment.

Attract attention

Your parrot wants you to be interested in him, want a hug or play with him if, after a few attempts, screams, and the like, you do not take care of him, he may pinch you.

A bad past

Parrots are very intelligent beings with an excellent memory. If they have been abused, abandoned, or imported, their only reflex will be aggressiveness and therefore, bite. It will take a lot of gentleness and patience for your parrot to trust the man again.

Disturbance

Never disturb a parrot that eats, prepares to sleep, or sleeps. Cohabitation between Parrot and Dog: We give this same instruction to dogs, the reactions are identical.

Worse, Parrot predators: if you suddenly wake up a sleeping parrot, it is directly in attack condition against a predator.

Excitement

You play with your parrot and it is very angry, a beak can be given, unintentionally. Stop the game, and wait for your parrot to calm down before returning to see it.

Jealousy and possessiveness

Parrots Get Jealous: These are valid for both a living being and an object.
Your friend comes to kiss you while you have your parrot on your shoulder, the parrot is jealous, and does not appreciate this mark of tenderness, he pinches you or your friend. Be careful if your parrot has this tendency to jealousy.
If you have several parrots, each will have their favorite toys and will not like another to touch them.

Pain

Like any living animal, a parrot will bite if it is injured or sick, this behavior is instinctive.

This list is not exhaustive, we must not forget that parrots have, like humans, moods and emotions. Sometimes there is no explanation to justify pinching but bites for no reason are exceedingly rare.

At first, avoid that your parrot lands on your shoulder because you no longer have control, you can not anticipate its reactions since it is no longer in your field of vision.
Favor the arm or the head until you know your parrot well and you have complete confidence in him.

Observe your parrot, and learn to recognize the signs, behavior, and pace it has before taking action, this will allow you to avoid being pinched. The most common signs before an attack are erect feathers, fan-tail, absent gaze, contracted pupils, head back and of course, an open, threatening beak. Finally, know that a parrot is not a toy, it also has the right not to want to do what you would like it to do and will make you understand it, pinching you if you insist too much.

Education and learning

The most important thing to remember in the education of a parrot is that the worst punishment for him is ignorance. Know that if you go near your parrot to scold it or worse, to cover it, when it screams, you only reinforce this behavior because it has aroused your interest and has achieved its purpose: to make you come to him. The best, when he screams is to ignore him and as soon as the silence returns, go near him, talk to him, give him a treat (good for him such as a piece of fruit, a sunflower seed if it is not part of his usual diet or peanut if he only shells them), take him out or play with him. Similarly, when your parrot pinches too hard, you may scream, this reaction will amuse him, again, strengthen your behavior. There is even a good chance that the parrot will reproduce your cry before one of its next attacks. Many people claim that a parrot is able to understand the meaning of the word “No!”, free you to say it or not. Taking his beak between your fingers and shaking it will have no reprimand effect because the parrot’s beak is an erogenous zone, he will not understand your gesture that will be pleasant to him while he has made a mistake.
 The best solution is to say nothing (or use a firm “No!” and get out of the parrot’s beak and go to another room, for a moment. Calls should follow your disappearance and the parrot will quickly make the relationship: I pinch, she leaves. Indeed, you are someone important to your parrot, by depriving him of your presence, you punish him. To get out of the beak of your parrot, if it is outside its cage, placed on your hand, a sudden movement downwards will serve to destabilize it, if it is still on you, put it in or on its cage (open) or on its perch and leave… If he pinches you in his cage, direct your finger towards the commissure of the beak (a bit like for a puppy), he will be forced to let go, then leave. When your parrot is interested, chews, or destroys an object that he is not allowed to touch, present him with one of his own toys to divert his attention.
If that’s not enough, take it (if you can) and put it in or on its (open) cage or on its perch, again, you can say “No!” Conversely when your parrot has a behavior that you like and wants it to reproduce, congratulate it warmly, you can also give it a treat if you have it on hand.
Do not hesitate to do a lot of circuses, to exclaim and why not, applaud.
The parrot will appreciate it a lot. This reaction is valid both to reward him for having obeyed the reminder but also following a pirouette performed (and they will be numerous with the Parrots).

Ethology = ethos = behavior or mores

Science concerns the study of animal behavior in relation to its environment.

Ethology is to describe and try to understand the parrot behaviors that characterize a species.

The objective of ethology and ethogram

The objective is to list the parrot behavior that each species possesses.

The term ethogram designates a complete inventory of the parakeet behaviors of a species.

However, the word ethogram can be used to denote the detailed description of a category of behavior ( for example, we can speak of the social ethogram of an animal when describing all aspects of the social behavior of that animal ).

Whether it is to obtain their food, reproduce, take shelter, or escape predators, animals must organize their activities, and use strategies that meet their needs.

These acts, these ways of acting, can therefore be considered as units of action responding to a need.

We could use action units to classify their functions and parakeet behaviors.

Behavior inventory table

Individual behaviors Social behavior
Ingestion / Elimination
Exploration
Locomotion
Grooming (solitary)
Thermoregulation
Rest
Protection (shelter, defense)
Playful game (solitary)
Reproduction ( sexual and parental )
Social organization Social
hierarchy
Territoriality
Grooming ( mutual )
Aggression ( agonistic and affiliation parrot behaviors )
Playful ( group ) play

The behavior inventory table gives an example of the classification of the various categories of behavior that can be found in a species.

However, we must consider as individual behavior any activity which sustains the individual himself. It is sometimes difficult to make a clear distinction.

 


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Amanda