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Understanding Parrot Instinct

25 16:35:47

Instincts are an inborn patterns of behaviour or responses to specific situations. Reflexes are part of instinct as well, when something flies at your face you will close your eyes. Parrots instincts will remain intact regardless of where they live.

Parrots are Prey

Parrots can nearly see 360 degrees around them and their hearing are excellent, this is all survival tools. Predators are fast and a parrot knows instinctively that it needs to be faster or die. Animals have a flight or fight instinct and when they are trapped in a cage or their wings are clipped then they have to defend themselves by fighting / biting.

It is very important to not move fast around your parrot, especially children. The fast movement triggers instinct and 10 to 1 you will get bitten.

Parrots prefer to be on the highest spot they can be, this is done instinctually to see predators better. You might see that your parrot will choose to sit on the highest spot in their cage or your home after a bath, they do this because they know they are vulnerable.

Flocks

Parrots travel in flocks that can range from a handful to hundreds of individuals. There is no flock leader but there are family groups of parents and siblings in the vicinity of other family groups. They help each other stay safe from predators by making an alarm call when something is detected. Large flocks also confuse predators and make it harder to catch. Parrots that roost in flocks are also safer from nocturnal predators because one bird can warn hundreds with a warning call. Because parrots are so dependent on other members of the flock for survival, they tend to languish in homes where they dont get enough attention. A lone parrot tends to be a lonely parrot unless its human guardians give it an extraordinary amount of hands on attention.

Most parrots are incredible tuned in to their flockmates and therefore they have the ability to "read" their keeper.

 

Vocalizing

'Flock Calls' are loud screeches that some types of parrots do instinctively when they are separated from their flock or mate. The scream is intended to carry long distances so that the birds can locate one another. My parrot always screams the moment that I am out of sight and she is left with somebody else, and she does not stop screaming until I am back. However when I leave and she is alone she only screams for a couple of seconds and then carry on playing etc.

Each species has its own "language" as does the same species of parrots living in different places. The language is passed from generation to generations. Parrots of the same species have the same basic vocalizations, but there are variations from area to area, kind of like a dialect.

Parrots mostly vocalize at dawn and dusk. Maybe to tell each other good morning and I am fine or tell each other I found a spot to sleep, we will never know. This is one area where my parrot is completely different (Indian Ringneck), she sings right through the day and not a single word in the morning or evening? :hud:

Camouflage

Most parrots are coloured so they blend in with their surroundings. Green parrots blend in with the canopy of the rainforest, brightly coloured parrots blends in with shadows of dense foliage and their nesting holes. Budgies often have stripes or blocky patterns to blend in with the grasslands. Big white cockatoos blend in together when they are in a flock and confuse a predator that needs to be able to distinguish one individual in order to pursue it.

Preening

Parrot also have love instincts. Parrots show affection to their friends and mates by grooming each others feathers. If a bird sees that his friend has some feathers that need to be de-sheathed, he has a strong instinct to lovingly chew on the feather sheathe until it is removed. In captivity, parrots will often chew off buttons or rip apart zippers on their masters cloths. If your bird does this to you it's not because he thinks it's a good joke, in the parrot's mind he's just showing you some love by 'fixing' your funny looking feathers.

I am sure there are lots more instincts, but I think the above affects us most or are wondered about the most. :lol: