Shiver Me Timbers

This picture is of Boca, a female Blue and Gold Macaw, who is a customer’s rescue bird. She boarded with us for 6 months and was often out on our front stands. We got many questions about her appearance and when she shivered, so I thought I’d share some information on the topic

 You may have noticed that sometimes birds shiver, even though they seem to be in a room with moderate temperature. Birds can shiver for a lot of different reasons, not just because they are cold. Birds do have a higher body temperature than us, usually between 102-107 degrees fahrenheit, and they can regulate their temperature with shivering, panting, and staying insulated with their feathers. Plucked birds do tend to shiver more to maintain their temperature, but it is also more obvious since we can see their skin much easier.

 Another reason birds shiver is if they are nervous, stressed, or afraid. Most often this comes alongside other indicators that they are uncomfortable, such as puffed feathers, or open beaks. They can also shiver if they are ill or not feeling good, a lot of times to try and maintain their body temperature if the illness does not allow their bodies to self regulate normally.

 Not all of the reasons are bad though. Birds also tend to shiver if they are really excited about something. Whether that be from a cool toy, favorite person, food, etc. If you have a Lovebird, you know they “vibrate” or shiver when they are with their favorite person! Shivering isn’t a definitive indicator that a bird is just cold, a lot of times other body signals and context clues can tell a very different story. Observing our birds is sometimes the best thing we can do to start deciphering between their normal behaviors and when they are feeling off or need a change.