Bird behaviour. Most birds are preyed on by other animals and hence have extremely well developed prey animal behaviours and instincts.

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1 Bird behaviour Most birds are preyed on by other animals and hence have extremely well developed prey animal behaviours and instincts. Typical prey animal behaviours mean: they tend to be extremely alert and active very quick to respond to stimuli by flying or running away. They tend to run first and find out later why they are running they are distrustful of anything that acts or looks like a predator they will panic when caught and restrained and will flap, scratch, scream, bite and/or kick in a desperate attempt to escape they will stay as well-looking for as long as possible to deter a predator from picking on them. Many birds are flock animals as there is safety in numbers and more eyes to spot danger as you can see in this photo of a flock of galahs. They need to find somewhere safe to roost as they are more vulnerable when sleeping. Predatory animals tend to prey on animals that show signs of weakness, as these animals will be easier to catch and less likely to put up a fight that could hurt the predator. Because of this, any animal that is prey to others will try to hide signs of weakness or injury and try to maintain a normal outward appearance for as long as possible. Birds are masters of this game 1

2 of subterfuge and will put every last ounce of their energy into it. This is called the preservation reflex. Behaviour of birds As an animal carer, you need to know what is normal for birds and also for that species of bird. This is important when it comes to handling and restraint and for knowing if it is behaving normally. For example, an ostrich that tries to fly up into a tree to perch on a branch has got to be behaving abnormally. Only an owner can really know if their pet bird is behaving abnormally. Some domestic birds can develop some weird behaviours that are normal for that individual. This is especially true for some of the Psittacines who can develop into real characters! Normal behaviour of birds can be grouped for: birds prey animal, alert, active, responsive, fly species of bird a parrot versus a finch versus an owl individual birds Mrs Smith s parrot Freddy. A few tips on normal behaviours to watch for in birds include: A bird should be active during its normal waking period. They should have an alert, upright posture with a well balanced head position. The eyes should be bright and open wide and the bird should be responsive to outside stimuli noise and activity. A healthy bird will stand up off its perch rather than sit on it when awake. They should be able to walk or hop, with no signs of lameness or stiffness. They should eat and drink. Healthy birds spend a lot of time preening their feathers and many will dust or water bathe if given the facilities to do so. Improving your observations of birds It is tricky to know what normal behaviour is and there is no easy answer except for observation observation observation! Some hints for how to improve your bird behaviour observations include: 2

3 watch birds everywhere you go buy a pair of binoculars, so you can watch them in the wild and from far enough away so your presence does not interfere with their normal behaviour visit friends with aviaries and watch their birds ask questions read books watch documentaries The secret life of birds with David Attenborough is a great series! Signs of ill birds By the time most bird owners see signs of illness in their birds, they have probably been sick for a period of time and have now run out of all their energy reserves. A noticeably sick bird is therefore very sick and needs to be handled with extreme care. When sick birds are brought into a veterinary clinic, the vet will try to glean as much information as possible about the bird before it is handled in any way, as the stress of handling may be enough to push the bird over the edge. This is especially true if it is a wild bird and unused to handling and human contact. It takes a very observant bird owner and carer to notice illness in birds before they reach this critical stage. This photo of a Rosella show the typical look of a sick bird. Birds that look depressed and unresponsive and/or fall asleep when it should be awake are most likely to be ill. They may also be sitting on the floor of 3

4 the cage rather than their perch. Their appearance will be different feathers fluffed up. Other signs of birds that are ill include: talking or singing less, or not at all weight loss change in feed and/or water consumption change in droppings amount, consistency, colour etc eyes closed, swollen or blinking tail bobbing prolonged moulting lameness exudate around eyes/nares dirty vent regurgitation/vomiting bird vomit ends up on top of their head as they tend to flick as they vomit; food that is regurgitated is unchanged and will look like it did when it went in respiratory sounds wheezing, gurgling, snuffling, sneezing, cough, respiratory click mouth breathing pale mucous membranes swellings under skin, around joints, around the eye. 4

5 Which signs do you think an owner would notice and which signs could you see at a distance, ie without having to capture and touch the bird? I think you will agree that you could see the majority of these signs without having to touch the bird for example, the above photo of very abnormal posture for a rosella. Most are things an observant owner could tell you, or you would see over a few hours just by observing the bird from a distance. Bird health scale Below is a table that relates the observable behaviour to the severity of the bird s condition. It allows bird carers to quickly assess how sick a bird actually is and suggests some immediate treatment options. A health and immediate treatment scale based on bird behaviour that is easy for owners and carers to understand, covers the following: it is assessed on a scale of 0-5 based on the bird s demeanour, posture, response to stimuli and level of activity ie observable behaviour! any bird presenting from 0-3 should be immediately hospitalised for emergency treatment. Health treatment scale for bird behaviour 5

6 Scale Behavioural sign Immediate treatment Prognosis 0 moribund, lying on its side 1 sits on bottom of cage; standing but no response to stimuli 2 sits on bottom of cage; moves away and rouses for up to 30 seconds 3 climbs and perches but has the classic sick bird look; will rouse for 2-5 minutes 4 active bird that moves away but has a recent history of signs of illness and may still be showing signs (eg caked vent, feather loss, thin etc.) 5 active bird with no evidence of illness immediately after minutes, inject with cortisone and give fluids by injection immediately whilst doing so, check body weight quickly cortisone injection after 10 minutes give fluids either orally or by injection immediately collect body weight data give oral fluids and cortisone injection weigh give oral fluids, cortisone injection, quick examination this bird maybe treated as an outpatient or hospitalised, depending on treatment plan may need to keep in to collect samples this bird can be treated as an outpatient, unless it needs to have samples collected for testing eg blood, feathers etc Extremely poor Will probably die when handled Very poor Will usually die within hours of admission Poor Average to good Average to good Good 6