Grey Fisher
Bird hanging by its beak is normal
 We've been trying to figure out what our new harlequin macaw is expressing when she "hangs herself". She will grab a bar of the cage with her beak and hang straight down with her legs tucked in. It's a very funny position, but also a little spooky looking. She did it quite a bit when she first moved in and then again when we had several dinner guests. Is she showing off or anxious?
-- Mary Saudek, Montpelier, Vermont
 IT NEVER FAILS to amaze me, as I wander past the enclosures at work, the strange contortions that some of our birds get themselves into! There is Lolita, the yellow-nape Amazon, who straddles the corner of her cage, beak grasping the corner bar, and one leg to either side. She sits in this position for long periods of time, even while napping. Then there is Carter the green-wing macaw, who hangs from the top of his enclosure with his feet stretched up above his head. He looks like me back in high school trying desperately to do just one chin-up.
There are birds that hang by their beaks as you describe and some who even hang from a single toenail while they watch the world go by. Why do they do this? We can only guess. Maybe when we walk by and go, "Aww, isn’t that cute," and dote on them, we ensure the behavior will happen again, especially when company is over and our birds are trying to figure out how to get our attention back on them where they think it belongs.
However, I'm inclined to think they simply enjoy being in those positions. I have seen many macaws hang in the same manner that you describe and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that young macaws in the wild do the same thing. I think you can feel safe in knowing that there is nothing wrong with your bird; she is just having a good time!
Grey Fisher is a trainer at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. Previously he was a trainer with Natural Encounters, Inc., a world-renowned organization that helps zoos all over the world train birds and many other types of animals using positive reinforcement.
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