Lorikeet biting softly

[picasso]

Hi everybody,
My girlfriends Lorikeet is a happy bird that's been with her for abit over a month now, but she has a question that she wants answered about his behaviour.

He is biting her finger softly all the time while playing around, not hard or something that hurts, but softly like he's playing, but she is still courious if this is normal behaviour for a Lorikeet, or if he is getting agressive already?

Thanks in advance for your answer!

[janetafloat]

It sounds like the lori is engaging in normal playful parrot behaviour, my Sennie does the same. I don't encourage it though, and tuck my fingers into my palm or distract him when he's doing it because gentle nibbling can become too strong for comfort even when there's no aggressive intention.

[CSLFiero]

It's normal, for sure.. I don't know whether to suggest deterring it or not. They're able to distinguish play time nibbles from full blown biting, so I don't think it would ever escalate to a level they themselves couldn't tolerate in a romp. I personally love that about uncle's border collie as well as every puppy ever, I love getting physical and grabbing at their jaws and teeth and skin, pushing and pulling and having fun, even to the point of broken skin (those puppy teeth are needles!). For me, I'd welcome some pretty stiff nips if it meant I could get in on the fun.

Best advice I could give you is make sure what you want lines up with what you do. Don't want nipping? Don't get physical. If your bird knows you like to play, you might find him/her initiating play time with you in an abrupt bitey kind of way!

[pennyandrocky]

mya used to play with my fingers all the time but then she was over it. she would pick them up with her feet or beak and just study how the moved by bending backand forth then tap her beak on my knuckles to hear what it sounded like. sounds like normal curiosity to me but if she starts putting to much pressure i would stop it.

[Pricey_boy]

yep its normal they do that all the time when playing but be careful sometimes they will nip to hard but still thinking its playful

[GreenWing]

Yes this is "beaking" otherwise known as beak exploration, and is very normal learning behavior and often affectionate behavior.

Tiki often likes to lightly nibble on my fingers and fingernails; I think she does this out of affection. Sometimes, although not as much lately, she'll bust her mating dance moves after doing so.

If your bird bites too hard while beaking, calmly discourage it by not reacting or rewarding the behavior

[chewy_num]

Very normal and so cute!

Mine does the same, gets a little nippy sometimes when over excited

Since birds only have their beaks and claws they use all three of these 'hand' holds to grip onto objects/people/clothing.. etc So a soft bite is almost like grasping to hold onto you.

He might try to go for the webbing between fingers and thumb. Mine goes for the base of fingers and the webbing. Guess they like soft parts of the hands? Not sure but try to not to pull away.. It could hurt them.

have fun!