💬 Behaviour and symptoms
Biting, screaming, plucking, regurgitating, egg laying — the patterns behind them, what helps, and the point where it stops being behaviour and becomes a vet visit.
Likely pattern · not a diagnosis
These are the outcomes the LunarKiri app reaches after four questions about what you are actually seeing. Read them straight through here, or answer the questions in the app and be taken to one.
Patterns, not a diagnosis. This guide recognizes patterns; it does not diagnose. A sudden behavior change can have a medical cause; when in doubt, contact an avian veterinarian. Why this matters more than it sounds.
Act now 2 outcomes
⚑ Possible avian emergency
These signs can progress quickly in a bird. Stop troubleshooting and do not wait to see if they pass.
What to do
- Call an avian veterinarian or a clinic that confirms it accepts birds now.
- Transport the bird in a small, warm, dark, quiet carrier and minimize handling.
- If it causes no delay, note the exposure/time and bring the toxin packaging.
What to avoid
- Do not force food, water, or medication.
- Do not delay care to search for an online diagnosis.
Sources used
🥚 Possible egg binding — emergency
Straining, abdominal swelling, weakness, or sitting on the cage floor can indicate a critical reproductive problem.
What to do
- Contact an avian veterinarian immediately.
- Keep the bird warm and quiet with minimal handling during transport.
What to avoid
- Do not press the abdomen or try to remove the egg.
- Do not give calcium or hormones without veterinary direction.
Sources used
Needs attention 8 outcomes
🩺 A change that needs medical evaluation
In birds, a behavior change can be the first sign of pain or illness, even without a specific symptom.
What to do
- Contact an avian veterinarian promptly and describe when the change started.
- Weigh the bird on the same scale, monitor appetite, and photograph unusual droppings.
- Record a short video only if it causes no stress and does not delay care.
What to avoid
- Do not assume a sudden change is “just hormonal.”
- Do not use forum remedies or medication.
Sources used
🪶 Feather damage — veterinary evaluation needed
Plucking or breaking feathers is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Pain, skin, diet, infection, and environment must be evaluated before calling it “just behavioral.”
What to do
- Schedule an avian veterinary examination.
- Photograph affected areas weekly and record when the behavior occurs.
- Provide bathing, balanced nutrition, and a calm routine without abrupt changes.
What to avoid
- Do not apply creams, bitter sprays, or collars without a veterinarian.
- Do not automatically assume parasites or boredom.
Sources used
🥚 Isolated laying — prevention and monitoring
Even if the bird seems well, a first egg is a good time to prevent repeat laying and learn warning signs.
What to do
- Inform the avian veterinarian and track egg count, weight, and energy.
- Remove nesting triggers and body petting; provide a long, consistent night.
- Ask before removing eggs, because immediate removal can stimulate replacement laying.
What to avoid
- Do not attempt hormonal treatment at home.
Sources used
💛 Likely courtship regurgitation
A controlled motion toward the same person or object, with an otherwise alert bird, is consistent with reproductive behavior.
What to do
- Calmly end the interaction and remove the mirror/toy that triggers episodes.
- Pet only the head and neck and remove nest-like spaces.
- Redirect to foraging or short training without intense attention.
What to avoid
- Do not reward the episode or repeatedly provide the target.
- If there is no clear target or other symptoms appear, treat the case as medical.
Read the regurgitation vs. vomiting guide →
Sources used
🪶 Likely feather-damaging behavior
The pattern can combine medical causes, stress, learning, and unmet natural behavior. There is rarely a single solution.
What to do
- Start with avian medical evaluation even if there was an obvious stressor.
- Use an ABC log and gradually increase foraging, exercise, sleep, and safe chewing.
- Reward alternative activities; seek an avian behavior professional for persistent cases.
What to avoid
- Do not react dramatically when plucking occurs.
- Do not introduce many changes or improvised treatments at once.
Sources used
🌙 Likely hormonal or territorial behavior
Nest-like spaces, long days, pair bonding, and body petting can fuel aggression, screaming, and regurgitation.
What to do
- Provide at least 12 uninterrupted hours of dark, quiet sleep.
- Remove huts, boxes, dark spaces, mirrors, and objects guarded like a nest.
- Pet only the head and neck; calmly redirect to foraging and short training.
What to avoid
- Do not punish, shout, or force interaction.
- Do not encourage regurgitation or access to nest-like spaces.
Sources used
⚕ Likely vomiting or medical regurgitation
Uncontrolled food scattering, no clear target, and repeated episodes should not be treated as simple courtship behavior.
What to do
- Contact an avian veterinarian promptly; seek emergency care if food/water will not stay down, the bird is weak, or breathing is difficult.
- Record frequency, target, appetite, weight, and dropping appearance.
What to avoid
- Do not force food or water.
- Do not diagnose from a single head movement.
Read the regurgitation vs. vomiting guide →
Sources used
🥚 Risk of chronic egg laying
Repeated clutches can deplete calcium and increase the risk of egg binding and other reproductive complications.
What to do
- Contact an avian veterinarian for evaluation and an individual plan.
- Reduce triggers: nests, dark spaces, mirrors, body petting, and very long days.
- Do not automatically remove eggs immediately; ask the veterinarian about leaving them through the cycle.
What to avoid
- Do not give calcium, hormones, or other treatment without a veterinarian.
- Do not ignore weakness, straining, or sitting on the cage floor.
Sources used
Gentle plan and monitoring 11 outcomes
🌙 Insufficient sleep may contribute
Late light and noise can maintain arousal and irritability, but they do not automatically explain every sudden change.
What to do
- Provide 12 hours of dark and quiet at consistent times for at least 1–2 weeks.
- Keep a simple log of sleep hours and behavior intensity.
- If the problem persists or physical signs appear, contact the avian veterinarian.
What to avoid
- Do not cover the cage in an unventilated space or use sleep as punishment.
Sources used
📣 Likely a contact call
Parrots call their flock when it is out of sight. A short, predictable vocal reply can confirm you are safe without rewarding continuous screaming.
What to do
- Choose a whistle or short word as a contact reply.
- Reply once, then give attention during quiet or a softer vocalization.
- Practice very short absences and increase gradually; provide foraging before leaving.
What to avoid
- Do not rush into the room or shout back at every call.
Sources used
🪶 Likely a normal molt
Relatively symmetric feather loss and new pin feathers without exposed skin or a general behavior change are consistent with molting.
What to do
- Provide bathing, good sleep, and balanced nutrition.
- Monitor skin, symmetry, and the appearance of bald areas.
What to avoid
- Do not pull pin feathers or open feathers that are not ready.
Sources used
🔁 Likely attention-reinforced screaming
If every scream immediately brings a person, conversation, or cage release, the bird learns that the strategy works.
What to do
- Set predictable times for attention, exercise, and foraging.
- Reward quiet, a whistle, or an acceptable call before screaming begins.
- Use an ABC log to identify exactly what follows the scream.
What to avoid
- Do not shout back or punish; it can increase arousal or fear.
- Do not ignore a new scream accompanied by illness signs.
Sources used
🧩 Likely biting maintained by its outcome
If biting reliably makes a hand retreat, returns the bird to a favorite person, or avoids the cage, that outcome can reinforce the behavior.
What to do
- Keep an ABC log for 5–7 days: what came before, the exact behavior, and what followed.
- Change the antecedent and teach a rewarded alternative: perch step-up, target, or stationing.
- Respond calmly and consistently; immediately reward the alternative behavior.
What to avoid
- Do not turn the cage into punishment.
- Do not shout, hit, or spray the bird with water.
Sources used
🫶 Likely fear or adjustment to change
Retreating, freezing, and biting to create distance often mean the bird is over its comfort threshold.
What to do
- Stop approaching at the first signs and provide distance.
- Use very short sessions: trigger at a safe distance, calm behavior, reward, then a break.
- Keep the routine predictable and let the bird choose to approach.
What to avoid
- Do not force step-up or use flooding.
- Do not punish a fear response.
Sources used
🌿 Likely insufficient enrichment or social routine
Conures need to forage, chew, move, and interact. Too little of these activities can fuel screaming and repetitive behavior.
What to do
- Gradually turn part of the food routine into simple, safe foraging.
- Rotate chew toys and provide daily exercise plus short, predictable interaction.
- Introduce new items one at a time; too much change can stress a fearful bird.
What to avoid
- Do not compensate only with fatty treats or attention during screaming.
Sources used
🌿 Likely normal parrot behavior
Chewing, preening, beak rubbing, and quiet beak grinding before sleep are normal when they cause no injury and the bird is otherwise well.
What to do
- Provide safe chewing and foraging materials.
- Continue monitoring weight, appetite, skin, and feathers.
What to avoid
- Do not stop normal behaviors simply because they look unusual.
Sources used
🎵 Likely normal vocalization
Short periods of morning, evening, or contact vocalization are part of normal parrot communication.
What to do
- Keep a predictable routine and offer alternatives such as whistling, speech, and foraging.
- Watch for a sudden change in duration, intensity, or context.
What to avoid
- Do not try to eliminate all normal vocalization.
Sources used
⚡ Likely overstimulation and crossed boundaries
Intense play and access to the face/shoulder can continue after the bird has signaled it needs a break.
What to do
- End interaction before escalation and calmly move the bird to a safe perch.
- Shorten play and reward gentle beaking, step-up, and calm behavior.
- Learn the individual signals: pupils, tail, feather posture, movement, and beak.
What to avoid
- Do not allow face or shoulder access while biting is a risk.
- Do not respond with drama or punishment.
Sources used
📝 The pattern is not clear enough yet
It is safer to observe behavior in concrete terms than to quickly label it “jealousy” or “dominance.”
What to do
- Keep an ABC log for 5–7 days: what happened before, the exact behavior, and the consequence.
- Record sleep, appetite, weight, droppings, and household changes.
- Retake the guide with those observations; contact an avian veterinarian if the change is sudden, persistent, or worsening.
What to avoid
- Do not deliberately test triggers that provoke fear or aggression.
Sources used
The rest of the reference
The same guide, asking the questions for you
The LunarKiri app narrows these twenty-one down to the one that fits, in four questions, and keeps first aid and the care guide beside it. It works with no network.