Eye Contact Intuition

I handle many birds. I am careful and observant to ascertain just when a parrot needs to be watched carefully when I transport him or when direct eye contact makes him more likely to bite. One cannot generalize with such techniques.
With an active and assertive personality, keeping one's eyes on the bird will usually prevent the "I gotcha bite."


However, with a nervous or shy bird, the opposite holds true. By making direct eye contact, you get bitten because the bird is anxious and unsure of its security.

Some birds can be one way at one time, and the other way, another. It is usually better to keep an eye on a male amazon. Greys are more difficult to read because, although they are usually a little anxious or reserved, they also enjoy taking a clamp on your hand to show you who's in charge. Therefore, you might use a combination of eye contact...looking forward but glancing their way if you feel a nip coming on. Large macaws can go either way. Generally, most of the large macaws that I handle seem to need the "no eye contact" way of travel. If I don't watch them, they are more comfortable. Their other common trait seems to be if you're going to get it, you'll get it as soon as you pick them up. After that, they'll go along for the ride. I experience plenty of challenges in this line of work and it is difficult to explain the way I read the birds. Let's just say, the more you handle "other people's children," the more you learn. Hopefully you all have your own parrots figured out!