Parakeets avoid danger by easing into friendships

Making new friends comes with risk – even for birds. A new study shows that monk parakeets introduced to unfamiliar flockmates don’t rush into close contact.

Instead, they edge in gradually, sampling low-stakes interactions before moving toward riskier, up-close behaviors that could provoke aggression.

“There can be a lot of benefits to being social, but these friendships have to start somewhere,“ said lead author Claire O’Connell, a Ph.D. student at the University of Cincinnati.

Caution builds parakeet friendships

Monk parakeets, as well as many other parrots, are famously social.

“Many parrots, for example, form strong bonds with one or two other birds. Partners often spend most of their time together, preen each other or sometimes form reproductive relationships,” said O’Connell.

“Generally, maintaining these strong social bonds is associated with decreased stress and higher reproductive success.”

But that social upside doesn’t erase a real downside: approach the wrong bird the wrong way, and you might get chased, pecked, or injured.

The team reasoned that when strangers meet, natural selection would favor strategies that build trust step by step and minimize the chance of a costly clash.

Inside early bonding moments

To capture the earliest moments of friendship-building, the researchers brought together groups of wild-caught monk parakeets in a large flight pen. Some birds were already familiar with each other, while others were strangers.

Over days and weeks, the team logged how pairs behaved: how close they perched, whether they tolerated side-by-side resting, if they touched beaks, preened, or escalated to food sharing or mating.

They tallied more than 179 dyadic relationships, then used computational and statistical models to ask a simple question: Do strangers follow a “test the waters” pattern, starting small and only later attempting higher-risk contact?

“Capturing the first moments between strangers can be challenging, so we were really excited that our experiments gave us the chance to observe that process up close,” said O’Connell.

Strangers build trust slowly

The pattern was clear. Unacquainted birds approached one another cautiously at first, sharing space at modest distances before moving to shoulder-to-shoulder perching, gentle beak contacts, and grooming.

Only after this slow accretion of positive interactions did some pairs escalate to sharing food or forming mating bonds.

By contrast, birds that already knew each other skipped the early probation period and were willing to be in close quarters much sooner.

How parakeet friendships begin

The results echo a 2020 study on vampire bats showing that strangers also escalate gradually – from grooming partnerships to food-sharing friendships – with individuals that prove trustworthy.

The parakeet work suggests the “test the waters” rule may be a general social strategy across very different animals: start with low-cost signals of goodwill, watch how the other party responds, and only then commit to higher-risk cooperation.

“What’s really fascinating about testing the waters is how intuitive it feels,” O’Connell said. Her own move to graduate school made the insight feel personal.

“I started observing the parakeets shortly before I moved to Cincinnati to start graduate school,” she said. “I was excited but also a little nervous about making new friends.”

“At the same time, I was literally watching the parakeets make new friends themselves, although some did better than others. I started realizing there may be something I could learn from the parakeets.”

Why the first step matters

From an evolutionary perspective, cautious onboarding has obvious benefits. When two animals don’t share a history, neither knows whether the other will be cooperative, neutral, or hostile.

Small, reversible interactions, such as standing nearby, mirroring posture and brief mutual preening, let both sides gather information without staking too much.

If a partner responds calmly or reciprocates, the friendship can deepen. If they lash out, you’ve limited your exposure.

That logic maps onto human social life, too. We rarely start a friendship by asking for a big favor. We start with a hello, a shared coffee, a few small exchanges. Then, step by step, we gauge whether trust is warranted.

From parakeet pens to conservation

Beyond explaining how bonds begin, the findings have practical implications. In zoos, sanctuaries, and research colonies, mixing unfamiliar birds is sometimes necessary.

A structured, gradual introduction – plenty of space at first, followed by supervised opportunities for closer contact – could reduce injuries and stress, paving the way for stable partnerships that benefit welfare and breeding success.

The study’s message is surprisingly human: relationships often start best when they start small. For monk parakeets, that means inching closer day by day until a stranger feels like a friendship-ready flockmate. For us, it may mean exactly the same.

The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

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