Parrot Biting: What To Do If Your Pet Bird Bites You

The difference between parrot beaking and biting is that beaking—as the name suggests—is how a bird tests out their environment—with their beak.

 “They may use their beak to feel a toy, feel your skin or hair or clothing, to balance themselves when stepping onto something, or to help them climb around from one place to another,” says Stephanie Lamb, DVM, DIP. ABVP (Avian Practice), owner of Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. “It’s just like a person using their hands.”

Young parrots and new birds tend to be especially “beaky.” They may use their beak to steady themselves when perched on a hand if still learning to perch properly, or they may explore the textures of your skin, fingers or clothing using their beak and tongue. 

A young parrot nibbling on or pinching your skin out of curiosity shouldn’t be mistaken as a sign of aggression.

Biting, on the other hand, is an aggressive bird behavior. Dr. Lamb describes bird biting as when a bird puts their beak on something and applies pressure to cause pain or damage.

“When biting happens toward a person, this can be a warning bite where the skin is not damaged, or it can be serious where the skin is broken and bleeding occurs,” Dr. Lamb says. “This is certainly not pleasant.”

In short, a bird is biting you to tell you something; it’s another form of communication. Your pet parrot may bite as a last resort because you didn’t notice what their body language was telling you, or you didn’t respect what their body language was telling you.

Reasons why your bird might bite:

• You Ignored Their Body Language: You didn't notice or respect their signals. Example: The bird dodges your hand because they don’t want to be picked up, but you persist anyway.
• Hormonal Behavior: They may be defending their territory. Example: They’re aggressive whenever they’re in their cage or surrounding area. They perceive someone in your household as a mate and they’re driving competition away. Example: They try to bite your spouse if they come near.
• Communication: Ask yourself the following questions and, if the answer is yes, then your bird is biting to communicate: 
• • Are they telling you to go away?
  • Are they showing fear?
  • Do they want something, like a snack or a different location?

“Once you analyze the details of the environment and behaviors right before the bite, write them down,” suggests Dr. Lamb. “Look for patterns. With time, you will be able to get some ideas of what is likely to make your pet bird bite you—what environment, situation, etc.”

• What happened right before the bite/what was the bird doing?
• What was the bird’s body language (feathers position, wing and tail position, crest position, eye appearance)?  
• Where were you?  
• What was going on?  
• What noises were happening? 
• What was in the visual field of the bird? 
• How were you looking at the bird, who else was around? 
• Was it really a bite and not beaking? (Beaking can hurt like a bite but without aggressive body language.) 

You want to become familiar with the signs they give that they’re going to bite.

“Recognize those situations and behaviors and do your best to respect them so that the bite doesn’t happen again,” says Dr. Lamb.

To prevent bird bites, become a student of your pet bird's body language so you can respond to any warning signals. If your bird shows signs of aggression, don't force interaction. Instead, step away.

“When you come back to your bird, come back with something for the bird to do that may take their mind in a different direction,” says Dr. Lamb. “Most birds like treats, and if you approach your bird later with a treat, show them the treat and only offer the treat when they are exhibiting behavior you like to see.”

The goal, she says, is to teach your bird that "good" behaviors result in rewards. “This is the basics of positive reinforcement,” she explains.

Follow these five steps to prevent bird biting.

1. Understand Bird Body Language 

The best way for a parrot pet parent to prevent bites is to know how to read a bird’s body language.

“If you know that your bird pins their eyes or flares their tail feathers right before a bite, then when these behaviors are displayed, don't try to get them to step up!” advises Dr. Lamb.

Also, keep the context in mind to determine if your bird is actually biting you, or if they’re beaking you.

Remember: Biting is the result of you not getting your bird’s message to leave them alone.

Beaking is the opposite; your bird is curious about you and wants to explore your skin, hair, nails, and/or something you’re wearing (watch your jewelry). If your bird obligingly steps up onto your hand, chances are, they want to be with you. If they’re dodging you like a boxer in the ring, you may get bit.

The severity of a bite and the warning signs (body language) can vary among parrot species. A good rule of thumb for bird parents is the bigger the beak, the bigger the bite. Here’s the list of warning signs from popular pet birds:

• A biting budgie (parakeet) usually gives a pinch or nip rather than a bite because they have smaller beaks. A budgie may tell you to back off with a flourish of noisy chatter and, if you fail to comply, prepare for a blur of feathers rushing at you to deliver a bite.  
• A cockatiel parrot may hiss, sway, and keep their crest feathers held tight against their head before biting. A cockatiel bite is also more of a pinch.  
• A lovebird is a small parrot, but their beaks pack a little more punch than other small birds. A lovebird getting ready to bite lunges at you with their beak open. They may even offer a pre-warning by clicking their upper and lower beak together or tapping their beak against something.   
• A conure parrot may eye pin or vocalize before resorting to a bite, and they’re capable of breaking the skin. 
• An Amazon parrot may puff out their feathers, flare out their tail feathers and eye pin before biting. They may also chase after you when on the ground. Their bite is very strong and can cause the skin to bleed.  
• An African grey parrot biting may shift their weight away from you and hold their feathers tight against their body. Their bite can break the skin.  
• A cockatoo parrot about to bite may raise their crest feathers, eye pin, and lunge before biting. Their strong beaks can cause deep wounds.  
• A macaw parrot biting, often preceded by eye pinning, raised head feathers and spread-out tail feathers as warnings, can break the skin and even break bones due to their extremely powerful beaks. 

2. Understand the Environment 

Not only should you read their body language, you need to also evaluate the environment they bite in and try to avoid those. “So, if you have found that your bird always bites when they’re in a particular room, on a certain perch, or when certain noises are present, avoid those situations,” says Dr. Lamb.  

3. Move Slowly 

Birds, including parrots, are prey animals in the wild and hard-wired to be on the lookout for potential threats. Quick movements can put them on high alert. 

In a home environment, they can’t fly off into the treetops when faced with a “fight-or-flight” response—fight may be their only option to a perceived threat. Slower movements put your pet parrot at ease.

4. Don’t Reach in Cage/Stay Out of Personal Space 

Parrots can be territorial and protective in and around their cage, especially during hormonal times of the year. Failure to heed their “Back off!” warning and reaching into their personal space could result in a bite.

5. Use a Perch Instead of Hand To Move Bird 

Get your bird accustomed to stepping onto a perch. This way, if you have to move your bird, you don’t have to worry about getting bitten.

For cage territorial birds, some avian behaviorists recommend having a perch bolted onto the inside of the cage door so that when the door is swung open, the bird is perched away from the inside of the cage.

Dr. Lamb points out that you can see an avian veterinarian at any point for biting, but the most important time will be if you’re noticing other problems in addition to the biting or other behavior problems.

• Is your bird not wanting to come out of the cage?  
• Are they sitting fluffed up in a corner and closing their eyes a lot?  
• Do they normally interact with you, and now they won’t?

A biting bird may not feel well. “This is definitely a time when taking them to the vet is necessary,” she says.

Even if you are not seeing those problems and you are concerned about the biting behavior, it never hurts to employ the assistance of another individual like a vet or avian behaviorist to have a separate set of eyes look at the situation.