Many people think that they will not be able to tell much about a bird’s emotions. They assume such contact would only be found with a pet dog or cat. However, this is far from the truth. Parrots have the ability to convey emotions in a number of ways. In fact, parrots have quite strong emotions, so when you are a parrot owner, you are very likely to see everything from excitement to happiness to anger to fear.

If you want to learn how to decipher your parrot’s emotions, there are ways you can do this. One of the best places to start is their eyes. Have you ever heard the phrase that the “eyes are the windows to the soul?” In humans, that may ring true. In parrots, the better phrase would be the eyes are the windows to the emotion.

Parrot Eyes:

Just how do parrots show their emotions through their eyes? All parrots have a habit that is usually referred to as eye pinning. It can also be called eye flashing. When your parrot is feeling a strong emotion, their pupils will dilate and contract in quick succession over and over again.

For the new parrot owner, this can seem a little frightening at first. They may assume that there is something physically wrong with their parrot. However, eye pinning is perfectly natural and perfectly normal. For you, the parrot owner, it is perfectly useful.

Just as all people are different, so too are all parrots. While eye pinning is a display of strong emotion, emotions can vary from one parrot to the next. Some parrots may display eye pinning when they see something that catches their interest. This could be the way they should their curiosity and excitement over something new. Other parrots may show eye pinning when they are angry or fearful. In order to determine how to decipher your bird’s own habits, consider all of the other actions it is showing at the same time that it is displaying eye pinning.

Other Displays of Parrot Emotions:

You will need to look for such other actions as feather fluffing, screaming, or biting if you think your parrot may be eye pinning out of fear or aggression. If you think your parrot is eye pinning out of curiosity or excitement, it may bob its head or chatter. It may even shift from one foot to the next in excitement. Be sure to consider all of its actions when you are trying to learn what its eye pinning means.

You will soon be able to associate this behavior to a certain emotion, and this will be a very good way for you to decipher your bird’s emotions.

Your parrot is perfectly capable of showing emotion. It will just show emotion in a different way than we humans may. All you need to do is learn how parrots show emotion and then use those displays to keep an idea of your parrot’s state of mind. You can learn a great deal about your bird by learning its emotions, and you can make sure your bird is happy and healthy through learning these emotions.