Biting, hissing, lunging, and excessive screaming are all signs to watch out for. Fear – While not all birds are outwardly friendly, if your bird suddenly becomes timid and avoids being handled, this could be a sign that your feathered friend is stressed.
An angry bird may stretch up tall or crouch into an attack position, or it may sharply flick its tail or spread its wings to make itself appear larger and more threatening. Sound: Many birds have alarm calls and other sounds such as bill clacks or hisses that can indicate agitation and anger.
Ignore Bad Behavior: The most important thing to do if your bird is screaming, biting, or otherwise acting out is to remain calm. If you get frazzled, or yell, your bird will actually love the attention, and try to continue his behavior. Instead, you should try to ignore a misbehaving bird completely.
Never Yell at Your Bird!
Bear in mind that under no circumstances (and as mentioned above) should you yell at your bird as this can prove very counterproductive. Some birds might desire you to yell back at them as they simply adore drama and expression of raw emotion, and the yelling itself becomes a prize!
Most birds will exhibit aggressive behavior when they feel threatened. Birds that are guarding a nest are more likely to respond aggressively towards an encroaching person or animal.
Why Are Pet Birds Aggressive? The most common causes of aggression in birds are fear or previous traumatic experiences. These can lead to handling problems, bites, and attacks when birds are interacting with their owners and others.
It could be due to fear or aggression, or it could be territorial behavior. It's important to understand your bird's body language and behavior to identify the root cause of the lunging. If the bird is afraid, it's important to slowly and patiently build trust through positive reinforcement training.
Stress Lines/Bars – A physical indicator that your bird us stressed is the visible appearance of stress lines or “stress bars” on their feathers. Stress lines are small lines that run down the shafts of the feathers. Look at the bird's feathers for an indication if they suffering stress lines.
Generally speaking, birds hate strong smells, shiny objects, and predators, both birds of prey or larger animals or humans within their vicinity.
3. Chiding. A hiss-like or “tsssk” sound, chiding is a raspy, abrupt noise. This signals anger, stress, or frustration, and could be used to warn off another bird in the cage.
If the bird develops a pattern of behavior that is nonsensical, incessant, or habitual, such as pacing, head bobbing, rocking, swinging the head or body, or spinning, it should be examined by a veterinarian. Causes could range from disease to boredom.
The bird must be trained to know that he is not the dominant member of the family flock, and all family members must establish dominance over the bird. The easiest way to do this is to control the bird's movement. When you are removing him from his perch or cage, give the 'up' command.
The best thing you can do if your bird bites is to gently put the bird down—just like giving a time-out to a child having a tantrum—and walk away. Try not to acknowledge the behavior.
This can be a rapid, tap, tap, tap or a hard thump. Don't worry, your bird's beak can take the beating. This is typically attributed to courtship behavior. Your bird might be showing off to another bird, to a favorite toy/object, or to you.
Parrots are very sensitive to our emotions, sometimes better than we are. Our birds are keen observers of our facial expressions, body language, tone and even energy levels and therefore we have to be cognizant of how our emotions can impact our birds.
A bird may bite out of fear, excitement, true aggression, or displaced aggression, and there are warning signs that every bird owner should be aware of. Beware of a bird flashing his eyes and contracting the pupils quickly, as he is likely overexcited and about to bite!
Positive reinforcement is the best way to discipline a bird and you can do it by rewarding your bird's positive actions with his favorite snack or treats. You may also shower him with praise and attention when he's behaving well so he'll realize how he should act.
This is called exploratory biting. Birds tend to explore with their beaks, and this includes your fingers or other body parts. Your fingers are very new and interesting to birds, so they are often eager to inspect them. Young birds usually outgrow this behavior as they mature.