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

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

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

pupil The pupil is a black 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 ...

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 (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, Posture (psychology), posture, and body language. It includes the use of social cues, kinesi ...

. It is a common behavior in

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

macaw Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild. Biology Of the many differe ...

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 Sene ...

'' 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 or shell parakeet, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot usually nicknamed the budgie ( ), or in American English, the parakeet. Budgies are the only spe ...

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 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 northwest Colombia. In avic ...

, 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 turquoise-fronted amazon (''Amazona aestiva''), also called the turquoise-fronted parrot, the blue-fronted amazon and the blue-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 junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s and

woodpigeon The common wood pigeon or common woodpigeon (''Columba palumbus''), also known as simply wood pigeon, wood-pigeon or woodpigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the g ...

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