Shy at First: Monk Parakeets ‘Test the Waters’ When Making New Friends

Making friends can be awkward for adults — and it’s no different for some of our feathered neighbours. A recent study led by researchers at the University of Cincinnati finds that monk parakeets cautiously build new relationships, beginning with low-risk contact and gradually escalating to more intimate behaviours only after trust is established.

To observe how bonds form, the team introduced wild-caught monk parakeets into larger groups inside a spacious flight pen. Some birds were already familiar with one another while others were strangers. Over time the researchers recorded how close pairs sat, which birds groomed or fed one another, and other affiliative behaviours.

What the researchers tracked

The study recorded five clear, observable interactions as relationships developed:

• Shoulder contact — two birds perched side by side in physical contact
• Allopreening — social grooming
• Beak touching — birds touching beaks at the same time
• Allofeeding — regurgitating food into another bird’s beak
• Copulation — mating

In total the team analysed more than 179 pairwise relationships. Using computational approaches and statistical models, they tested whether relationship formation followed a stepwise pattern consistent with the idea of “testing the waters.”

“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 Claire O’Connell, a study co-author and doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati.

The observations confirmed that unfamiliar birds often approach cautiously. Newcomers spent time sharing space at a distance before moving closer; over time many pairs progressed to shoulder-to-shoulder perching, beak touching and preening. A subset of relationships later advanced to food sharing and even mating.

These findings echo prior work in other social species — such as a 2020 study of vampire bats — that showed a similar gradual progression from grooming to food sharing with partners who proved trustworthy over time.

By documenting the stepwise emergence of social bonds, the study highlights a trade-off animals face when forming relationships: initial caution reduces the risk of injury, while successful bonds bring benefits such as lower stress and higher reproductive success.

“What’s really fascinating about testing the waters is how intuitive it feels,” O’Connell added. “I started observing the parakeets shortly before I moved to Cincinnati to start graduate school. I was excited but also a little nervous about making new friends. Watching the parakeets helped me see parallels with human social behavior — and reminded me that building trust often takes time.”