Birds, like humans, enjoy playing with toys! While wild birds primarily play with natural items they find in their environment, pet birds often play with commercial bird toys that owners provide for enrichment. Playing is important for birds, as it helps stave off boredom and promotes both mental and physical exercise. The types of toys birds play with depends on factors like the bird’s size, personality, natural behavior, and habitat. Read on to learn about some of the most common toys pet birds and wild birds like to play with!
What Kinds of Toys Do Pet Birds Like?
Pet birds are often given specially designed commercial bird toys to play with by their owners. These come in a huge variety of types, shapes, sizes, and colors. Some characteristics and benefits of different pet bird toy types include:
Shredding/Foraging Toys
Birds have a natural desire to pick, shred, and forage. Shredding and foraging toys satisfy these needs by allowing birds to rip or manipulate materials like:
- Paper, cardboard, newspaper
- Rope, sisal, cotton
- Wood blocks
- Treated tree branches
They encourage natural shredding behaviors and satisfy chewing urges.
Noisemaking Toys
Birds are very tactile animals that explore the world with their beaks. Noisemaking toys like:
- Bells
- Chains
- Rings
Allow birds to create sound while playing, stimulating their senses.
Foraging Toys
Foraging toys hide treats and food inside holes, tubes, or puzzles. Birds have to work to extract the food, promoting mental stimulation and physical activity. Some examples are:
- Puzzle boxes
- Treat balls
- Hide-and-seek tubes
Foot Toys
Toys that require grasping and manipulation with birds’ feet provide physical and mental stimulation. Some foot toys include:
- Ladders
- Swings
- Rings
Mirror Toys
Birds are naturally social and intelligent. Mirror toys let birds interact with their reflection, which they often perceive as another bird. This can promote exercise, cognitive development, and alleviate loneliness.
Factors That Influence Pet Bird Toy Preferences
While all pet birds need toys for enrichment, different types of birds tend to prefer different toy characteristics based on factors like:
Size of the Bird
Small birds like parakeets and cockatiels cannot manipulate or interact with toys made for larger birds. Larger birds like macaws and cockatoos would be bored by toys with components too small or fragile for their powerful beaks. Bird toy sizes must suit the physical capabilities of the specific species.
Personality Traits
Just like people, each bird has unique individual preferences and quirks! Some may love foot toys, while others prefer making noise or puzzles. Trying out different types of toys allows owners to determine what their bird enjoys.
Chewing and Beak Strength
Hard-biting species that chew frequently and vigorously, like cockatoos, should be provided with very sturdy toys and materials. Less destructive birds can safely be given more delicate natural materials like willow branches.
Natural Behavior
Different birds have specialized beaks, feet, and behaviors in the wild. For example, parrots use their beaks as a “third foot” for climbing. Providing climbing-oriented toys with gripping surfaces suits their natural behavior.
Living Environment
What types of toys are safe or suitable differs based on the bird’s habitat. Birds in outdoor aviaries benefit from durable hanging or climbing toys and fresh branches. Birds caged indoors need smaller, contained toys made of bird-safe materials.
Popular Commercial Bird Toy Materials
Pet bird toys are made from a wide array of materials, both natural and synthetic. Some of the most common and bird-safe options include:
Material | Characteristics |
---|---|
Wood |
|
Rope |
|
Palm Leaf |
|
Pinecones |
|
Paper |
|
Plastic |
|
Stainless Steel |
|
Toys to Avoid for Pet Birds
While there are many great bird toy options, some materials can be hazardous and should be avoided. Do not select toys containing:
- Lead, zinc, or toxic metals
- PVC plastic
- Brittle materials that can shatter
- Latex
- Fabric strings or fibers that can cause impaction if ingested
- Anything small enough to become a choking hazard
When in doubt if a toy is safe, consult an avian veterinarian before providing it. Supervise birds with new toys until you are sure they will not eat the components.
What Types of Toys Do Wild Birds Play With?
In nature, wild birds interact with their surroundings in diverse ways that promote natural behaviors, including play. Some things wild birds play with include:
Sticks and Twigs
Many birds play with small sticks and twigs they find. Some activities include:
- Carrying sticks while flying
- Gripping sticks with feet and maneuvering them
- Prying bark off sticks
- Drumming on hollow sticks to make noise
This allows manipulating, exploratory behavior and sensory enrichment.
Pinecones
Birds pry apart pinecones looking for insects or seeds inside. This mimics natural foraging behavior.
Leaves
Leaf play includes:
- Shredding leaves
- Tossing leaves in the air
- Surfing and sliding down leafy branches
Dirt and Water
Many birds bathe in water and flick, kick, or scatter dirt and leaves. This keeps feathers healthy and lets them interact with nature.
Nests and Dens
Young wild birds play with their nests and parents by peeking out, hopping on edges, and flapping wings while still too young to fly. Baby birds also play-fight with siblings.
Reflections
Birds often playfully attack or display before their reflections seen on surfaces like water or windows. They may perceive reflections as “other birds”.
Why Do Birds Play?
Play is critical to birds’ mental and physical health. Some key benefits wild and pet birds receive from play include:
Physical Exercise
Play encourages activity and exercises muscles. This promotes cardiovascular fitness and general health.
Coordination Practice
Play, especially in baby birds, helps develop balance and coordination needed for skills like flying.
Brain Stimulation
Novel experiences and challenges during play stimulates cognition. This staves off boredom and “uses their brain”.
Stress Relief
Having fun playing reduces anxiety, relieves boredom, and satisfies natural urges in a safe way. This maintains good mental health.
Social Interaction
Social birds often play together, strengthening social bonds. Solo play with mirrors or toys alleviates loneliness.
Learning Opportunities
Play lets birds safely explore their physical capabilities and surroundings. This expands understanding of the world.
Natural Instincts
Play allows performing natural, instinctive behaviors like foraging, chewing, and manipulating objects. Satisfying these needs is self-rewarding.
Conclusion
Play is a natural, essential behavior for pet and wild birds alike. Birds play to exercise their bodies, engage their minds, reduce stress, socialize, learn about their environment, and satisfy instinctive needs. Different types of birds enjoy playing with different toys based on their size, personality, natural behaviors, and habitat. Pet birds tend to play with commercial toys as well as natural and household items. Wild birds opt for sticks, pinecones, leaves, nests, water, and other objects found in nature. Providing your pet bird with an array of destructible, interactive toys caters to their individual preferences and promotes good health and happiness!