Avian Behavior and How It Relates to Problem Behaviors

Since the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, all birds sold into the pet market are now domestically bred and raised. As a result, the past decade has brought about an entire population of birds that have been never been exposed to their wild flock counterparts. Chicks may be pulled from the nest box from day 1 and hand-reared by humans or may be parent-reared for various lengths of time with many chicks pulled and sold as pets at the time of weaning. These young birds are expected to learn social interactive skills from the human “flock” they have joined. The types of physical contact and interactions that occur during this socialization period are many times based on our companionship and interaction classically associated with man’s best friend, the dog. Often referred to as “bonding” by pet bird owners and avian veterinarians, young pet birds are frequently cuddled and petted, often for hours at a time and at the exclusion of other types of interactions that ultimately may be essential for balanced social development. As a result young birds are taught only one form of social interactive skill, as opposed to the typical array of social skills that would have been taught by parents of their wild counterparts.

There are two general categories of avian behaviors: self maintenance behaviors and social behaviors. Self maintenance behaviors are aimed at accomplishing a task that maintains the physical condition of the bird such as; food gathering, feather care, flight, nest building and territorial protection. Most parrot species are highly social and communicate information through complex signals that have evolved to alter the behavior of the receiver in a way that benefits the sender (social behavior). Examples include; crest raising and pupil dilation to communicate “this is my space- get out of here”, and mating dances to display sexual receptiveness. In the typical cage-bird setting we suppress self-maintenance behaviors by providing birds with adequate food, shelter and a safe environment free of predators. At the same time we promote affection (bonding) through regular and repeated cuddling and petting behaviors. As a result a reproductive pair-bond forms where the bird’s owner becomes the bird’s significant other or mate. Although an abnormal pair-bond relationship can be seen with many species of companion birds, it is most commonly encountered with Cockatoos, Amazons and Macaws.

So how does all this relate to problem behaviors? Many avian “problem behaviors” including; chronic egg laying, territoriality and aggression (attempting to drive off or bite other human members of the household or aggressively defending real or perceived nest sites), and displacement behaviors such as screaming when separated from the human mate and feather damaging behaviors (picking) have all been associated with normal reproductive triggering cues and activity. There are both environmental and pair-bond enhancing behavioral cues that can stimulate reproductive activity. Environmental cues include; photoperiod (amount of light and dark time a bird receives), adequate food supply, the presence of nesting material and the presence of a mate– real or imagined. Avian pair-bond enhancing behaviors include regurgitation, nest site inspection, feeding and mutual preening.

So what can we do as parrot owners to discourage this behavior problem prone bond? First of all remove any environmental triggers to reproductive behavior such as nest boxes, nesting materials such as shredded newspaper or shavings and exposure to long periods of artificial light way into the night (12-14 hours of darkness is preferred for healthy birds). Next discourage all regurgitation and masturbatory behavior. And finally, change bird interaction time from intense petting and cuddling to game playing and training sessions which can be fun and entertaining for both bird and owner alike.

Acknowledgement: The author would like to thank Dr Brian Speer, The Medical Center for Birds, Oakley, CA for providing information that served as a framework for this handout.