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Do you have a pet parrot? Would you like to learn more about your parrot's behaviour? So would we!

Researchers at the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) and the University of Bristol (England) are seeking parrot owners or caretakers who are willing to participate in an online survey focusing on their parrot's behavior and living environment. We are interested in all psittacine species: from budgerigars, to cockatoos, to macaws – and all species in between. We would like to collect information on both healthy, problem-free birds and those with health or behavior problems. We invite you, as the owner of a pet parrot or parakeet, to participate in this international research project! You can be assured that your important contribution will help to improve the welfare of captive parrots. And, who knows? Maybe you'll learn some new and interesting things about your own parrot in the process…


What do we ask of you?

As a survey participant, you will complete an online questionnaire about your parrot.
The questionnaire will take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete (over as many sessions as you like). Read more about it here…

In addition to asking some general, background questions about you and your pet parrot, the questionnaire will cover topics such as your bird's history (e.g., where your parrot was bought and how it was raised), living environment (e.g., housing, enrichment, nutrition, daily routine), and behavior (including the presence or absence of different problem behaviors).
Any information you provide will be handled confidentially.
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How can you participate in this survey?

To participate in this survey, you'll need to first register yourself. We can then send you a personalized link that you'll use to access, complete, and submit the questionnaire online. You can even store your answers if you'd like to complete the questionnaire over more than one session.
Please note
that as of 01/07/16 we have updated and added some new questions to the questionnaire. If you have already completed the older questionnaire, before 01/07/16, for your parrot(s), please don’t re-register for the updated version. However, if you would like to help us further by answering the new questions, please email us on: parrotsurvey@uu.nl using the same email address that you contacted us with originally, with the species name(s) and ID(s) of your parrot(s) (usually the parrot’s name). Also, if you have a new parrot that is not yet registered, then we would love to know about it! Please register below to obtain a new link.
Read more about it here…

To register, click on the link at the bottom of this page You will be guided through a short series of questions that will determine which version of the questionnaire you'll complete (this depends on what type of parrot you have). Finally, you'll be asked to provide your email address and preferred language. Once you've done this, you'll be registered – and you can expect to receive your personalized survey link via e-mail within one week.
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Want to know more about the background of this project?
Read more about it here…

This survey is part of a large, international research project that aims to collect information about the demographics, husbandry, and behavior of pet parrots worldwide. Already, the survey data has been successfully used to identify biological risk factors for problem behaviors in parrots. Previous PhD student Heather McDonald Kinkaid found that parrot species with long wild foraging efforts were more likely to have feather damaging behavior in captivity, and that naturally intelligent species were more likely to develop other forms of abnormal behavior. Based on her findings, from 01/07/16 we have made some changes to the original survey to further investigate how natural foraging behavior influences abnormal behaviours and other health problems, such as obesity, in captivity.

Your contribution will be extremely valuable! Not just to us, but also to parrots in captivity worldwide, since the information you share will improve our understanding of normal parrot behavior in captivity and highlight factors that may play a role in the development of common behavior problems. With this knowledge, we can make informed predictions about how to best optimize our parrots' living environments – or about which solutions might best reduce, or even prevent, problem behaviors from occurring.

Are you interested in the results of this study? If so, then please keep an eye on this website. After the project is complete, we will post our findings here so that you can read about the things we have learned…

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Should you have any questions or remarks about this survey or our research project, please click here to access a contact form that you can use to send us a message.

We thank you for your consideration and hope that you will decide to participate in the survey!

Yvonne van Zeeland  
DVM, MVR, Resident in Avian Medicine and Surgery
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
University of Utrecht, The Netherlands           
Emma Mellor

PhD student
Faculty of Health Sciences University of Bristol, England


To register yourself as a survey participant: CLICK HERE


The survey is available in the following languages:

Nederlands Engels Frans Duits Italiaans Spaans Grieks portugal