Most parrot owners can think of at least one time when they enthusiastically purchased an overpriced toy for their pet parrot, only to bring it home and have their bird completely ignore it. There are numerous factors to consider when choosing a toy for a bird, such as color, size, shape, material, and cost. In many cases, what is appealing to the human eye may not be to the bird’s eye. Clearly, there is a distinction between what humans and birds perceive as an attractive toy. Caring bird owners have hundreds of varieties of bird toys to choose from, but how is a person to know what their avian companion would like and ultimately use?

Environmental enrichments, such as toys, are additions to a captive animal’s surroundings that promote species-typical behaviors and have the potential to vastly improve an animal’s overall well-being. Research has found substantial benefits of providing enriching environments to a variety of captive species. In one study, researchers at the University of California, Davis evaluated the behavioral effects of an enriched environment on captive Orange-winged Amazon parrots. The birds were given access to foraging substrates and their cages were modified to increase physical complexity. The alterations to their environment led to a significant decrease in the frequency of feather-picking (Meehan et al., 2003).

Parrots are highly intelligent and social creatures that are often behaviorally restricted in captivity due to housing limitations. Left confined and alone for the majority of the day, these birds may develop boredom which could translate into unsuitable behavior patterns (Pepperberg, 2004). Many of the common health and behavioral problems seen by avian veterinarians, such as obesity and feather-picking, might be ameliorated with an enriched environment. Given this information, it seems imperative that further research evaluate ways to improve enrichment devices for parrots.

      An enrichment device or toy is effective in decreasing boredom and encouraging interaction only if the bird will actually use it. In an attempt to better understand parrot toy use, we have been evaluating different aspects of environmental enrichment devices. Thus far, results suggest that certain aspects of enrichment devices, such as color, size, and material, do indeed play a significant role in the extent to which a parrot will play with a toy.

     One study evaluated the effect of color on toy use – basically, to determine whether or not parrots have a color preference. Twelve Orange-winged Amazon parrots, individually housed, were presented with multiple combinations of dyed wooden blocks. Eight different colors were used: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and natural/non-dyed (Icing color, Wilton Industries, Woodridge, IL). The colored blocks were attached to computer-monitored omni-directional switches inside the birds’ cages that measured any and all movement of the toys for 24 hours a day. Each cage had two switches, so two different toys could be compared at one time; toys were tested on both sides to control for side preferences. After a 28-day trial, the results showed that the parrots significantly preferred long wavelength colored blocks, such as red, orange, and yellow, over short wavelength blocks, such as green, blue, and violet. Overall, yellow colored wooden blocks were the most highly preferred toy (Kim and Millam, 2007).

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