If you own a pet bird you’ve probably seen it express bizarre behaviours, these can include beaking you, screaming when you leave the room, nibbling on you and even licking you. Generally, we expect animals like dogs and cats to lick us. When dogs lick us, their bodies release pleasure hormones that make them happy, cats lick us to become more connected to us as caretakers. So why do birds lick us you might ask, this article explores the question of ‘why is my bird licking me’

Bird generally lick you when grooming you, this grooming is called preening. Preening is how birds groom their nestlings, their owners, their fellow flock mates and themselves. Preening is a sign that the bird feels safe around you and feels affectionate towards you.

Why is my bird licking me?

Licking is mostly done by parrots, but other birds lick too. Licking, or preening, more specifically, is how bird’s groom themselves.

Birds are quite clean animals and thus have a great need to keep the oil in their feathers balanced by preening, the bird may try to do the same for your skin.

Preening requires the bird to be relaxed and let its guard down, if the bird does this, the bird trust you

Birds also lick to explore what you are. A birds tongue is used to explore as it does not have hands. Birds use their tongue as a second set of eyes to figure out the world around them.

If a bird licks you, and you don’t react negatively, the bird will conclude that you aren’t a threat  

How can I show affection to my bird?

You can show affection to your bird by rubbing its neck in a similar way that you would rub a cat’s neck.

Use a cloth dipped in warm water and rub the bird once a week. Use slow, soft motions to ensure that the bird enjoys it. Be sure to use a damp cloth and not a wet one as too much water may make the bird uncomfortable. 

How do you know if your bird likes you?

One way that birds show their affection towards you is by cuddling up to you.

A bird cuddles by rubbing its head on your hand and other body parts. The bird will climb onto you to find a good cuddling spot, likely on your shoulder or on top of your head.

Why is my bird so clingy?

A bird can become clingy when it is not given enough attention.

If you spend long hours away from the bird, or if it spends a lot of time in its cage without being attended to, it may become clingy. It may also become clingy to avoid being put back in its cage.

To rectify this, give your bird more attention, especially when feeding the bird. Instead of letting it feed directly from its bowl, take some nuggets of food and hand-feed it. Then, rub its head and feathers to show affection to it. 

Why does my bird scream when I leave the room?

A bird will scream when you leave the room in fear of being left alone.

Birds can easily become stressed when trying to adjust to life with humans, you can make things worse by not attending to the bird and not spending time with it. If this is the case, the bird will resort to screaming as a demand for attention. 

However, if you give the bird adequate attention and the screaming continues, the bird may be ill.

The screaming may be the bird’s way of communicating that it is in pain or feels some sort of discomfort. Pay a visit to the bird vet for diagnosis and treatment of the condition. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, birds will lick you as a way to preen you or to explore you.

If you want to show affection towards a bird do this by gently rubbing its neck as you would rub a cats neck. If a bird likes you it will cuddle up to you and rub on you.

If the bird isn’t given enough attention it can become clingy and want to be with you at all times, it may even scream when you leave the room out of fear of being alone 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: How long does it take for a bird stuck in a chimney to die?, How do birds eat without teeth?, How do birds whistle?, How do birds open sunflower seeds?