What Can My Parrot's Wings And Legs Tell Me About Him?

Does your parrot exhibits unusual behavior with his wings?

Does your parrot exhibits wing drooping?

Does your parrot exhibits wing flapping?

Does your parrot have crouched legs?

Does your parrot exhibits dancing and jumping?

Does your parrot exhibit perching?

Does your parrot exhibits perching on one leg?

Does your parrot exhibits tapping?

Wing drooping can have multiple meanings depending upon the context. Young birds will droop their wings before learning how to tuck them in properly. A bird may droop its wing because it is tired or maybe even drying itself off because the wing is wet. Sometimes a wing drooping might indicate an injury and it even can be used as part of a mating display. Check what else is occurring whilst the wing drooping is happening to fully understand the bird.

Wing flapping is used whilst flying, but when birds are perched or on the ground then they may be flapping their wings to display aggression and show off their physical prowess. Alternatively, a quick wing flap can be used as a form of quick exercise, the same as stretching, or simply to help itself balance on the perch.

Just as a human will stretch out their arms when they are relaxed, a parrot will stretch out their wings to help extend their muscles. However, wing extending can be done by a parrot to increase its size and is a display of aggression.

When a parrot is crouched down on its perch and its wings are extended then watch out, it’s a sign they’re about to take off. However, if their head is stuck out low but they don’t look like they’re braced for flight then this may mean that they simply want some attention and petting.

Parrots are commonly found dancing to music. Research indicates that if music speeds up or slows down then the parrots will adjust their dance accordingly, showing that these birds know how to keep a beat. A natural sign of happiness and excitement.

This is the posture used by many species of bird when they are sleeping. One leg will hold a firm grip onto a perch whilst the other leg will be tucked into the body and the head will be tucked into their back feathers.

Perching on two legs is normal if the bird is awake and going about its day-to-day business. However, if a bird is sleeping whilst perched on two legs (and it normally does so with one leg) then this could potentially be a sign of illness or injury.

You might find your bird tapping its foot to signal its territory and dominance over an area. A Black Palm Cockatoo is more likely to tap its feet because this is how it drums wood to detect food in the wild. So in this case, the foot-tapping it does may not indicate territorial aggression as it would do in other species of bird.

Birds will typically scratch themselves with their feet or beaks during preening or when the parrot is relaxed and grooming itself. However, it could indicate a problem or irritation on part of the parrot’s body if it is occurring frequently in one location.