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A budgie breeder since he was a kid, Don Burke shares a lifetime’s experience with his tips on how to handle and talk to pet birds.

Birds incessantly communicate. They talk to each other and to us. They can’t help themselves. Birds communicate with their voices (all birds have two voices, not one like us). And yes, they normally use both voices together. Most of their communicating is done with body language: posturing, dancing or making eye, beak or other movements. These are easy to learn as they are consistent among all members of a bird species and fairly consistent across all bird species.

Scared birds pull all of their feathers closer to their bodies, ready for rapid escape by flying. Angry or aggressive birds may erect a crest their head feathers, crouch low or open their beaks. Sexed-up birds will often fly to a perch, poke out their chest, erect themselves to their full tippy-toed height and maybe even jump up and down. Males in particular do this.

In contrast, human behaviour changes almost daily. This is very confusing and frightening for birds. Sometimes we amble slowly into an aviary gazing at one beaut- iful bird. Other times we race in with a seed bucket, staring at the seed dish since we are in a hurry. Often we spring out from behind a wall and scare the bejesus out of them. Crazy people these humans, their body language is all over the place.

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