Eye pinning, also known as eye flashing or eye blazing, is a form of body language used by

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

s. The term that refers to the rapid and very conspicuous dilation and constriction of the

pupil The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black becau ...

s of the bird's eyes in response to an external stimulus. Unlike humans, parrots are able to control this reflex and use it as a form of

nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact (oculesics), body language (kinesics), social distance (proxemics), touch (Haptic communication, haptics), voice (prosody (lingui ...

. It is a common behavior in

amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

macaw Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...

s, ''

Poicephalus The genus ''Poicephalus'' belongs to the subfamily Psittacinae of the true parrots (Psittacidae) and comprises ten species of parrots native to various regions of the Afrotropical realm, which encompasses Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Seneg ...

'' species and the African grey parrots. It can be an indication that the parrot is feeling excited, angry, afraid or is interested in something. In some circumstances, it may also be a warning that the parrot is currently in a state of being where it will bite if touched. Male

budgerigar The budgerigar ( ; ''Melopsittacus undulatus''), also known as the common parakeet, shell parakeet or budgie ( ), is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot native to Australia. Naturally the species is green and yellow with black, scallop ...

s will perform eye pinning as part of their courtship behavior, pinning the eyes while singing, fluffing and head bobbing, while amazon parrots may pin their eyes to show excitement during play, alongside a fanned tail and raised head and neck feathers. In the

Panama amazon The Panama amazon, also known as the panamanian parrot, Panama yellow-headed amazon, (''Amazona ochrocephala panamensis'') is a subspecies of the yellow-crowned amazon, and is endemic to Panama (including the Pearl Islands and Coiba) and north ...

, eye pinning has been noted during vocal communication with humans. The parrot's eyes were observed to noticeably contract when talking or mimicking other sounds of human origin, video recordings indicating that the pupils began contracting several milliseconds prior to the utterance, perhaps suggesting some sort of 'internal rehearsal' process. This was not seen to be the case in the experiment with innate parrot sounds such as short squawks, neither was this behavior observed in a non-talking

blue-fronted amazon The blue-fronted amazon (''Amazona aestiva''), also called the blue-fronted parrot, the turquoise-fronted amazon and the turquoise-fronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon parrots kept in capt ...

. In certain circumstances, eye pinning would also occur when the bird heard specific favored words or sounds from humans. This behavior has also been observed in

domestic chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

s and woodpigeons.

References

External links

Video showing eye pinning in a rose-ringed parakeetEye pinning in a blue-fronted amazon parrot
{{parrot-stub Animal communication Aviculture Nonverbal communication Eye