Will birds learn from each other?

Im not sure how to ask this.. It may be an odd question. I only ask because I'm a dog trainer by trade and know dogs can do this but not sure about birds. Im new to the bird world compared to most. I have one VERY well socialized and interactive bird who loves being with myself and the kids.. hangs out with us every chance he gets and loves to greet new people, being social etc. The bird I just adopted a bit ago is a 28 yo DYH amazon. He was a shop bird that was exposed to a lot of different faces but rarely ever touched. He just sits on his cage all day, doesn't play with toys at all, talks a bit when he's hungry and thats about it. He seems to just sit there and watch us more than anything. I will spend time going over to talk to him and try to interact but he just sits there and makes some noises but wont let me near him. So my possible odd question is, does anyone know if birds can watch and learn from each other? Will PJ pick up some of kiwi's habits eventually as he watches us interact and have fun and play with him? will just seeing how we are with our other bird help him come out of his shell at all and trust us a bit more?

Parrots can totally learn from one another, but it all comes down to if the birds want to or not. But like people they may ignore all others, or simply not care.

Can you give any more info about your amazons behavior, and how much of past last you know? We have some amazing amazon parronts here who can help with him.

Like Copper says they can learn from one another easily but can ignore them just as well. As the way I put it, monkey see monkey do.

By doing the monkey see monkey do, I got certain birds to be interested in eating certain food I was not able to get them to eat before. Or interested in coming to say hi when the other ones do it.

My rescue Galah, Dominic, has learned a number of things from the Beaks (Alexandrine Parakeets). First, he learned that eating veggies will not cause him to choke and die. Second, he learned that pellets do not contain a lethal neurotoxin and are actually OK. Third, he learned that climbing on the playgym is not only possible but it's fun. I'm not sure whether he learned to call from the Beaks or whether he just responded to wild Galahs calling from outside. I will say, though, that when the Beaks do their ear-splitting flock call in the mornings and evenings, Dommie joins in with a will.

When he arrived at our place, Dom had spent the previous 25 years in a small, toyless cage and eating an exclusively sunflower seed diet. Oh, and one other thing! Having watched the Beaks 'play ball' in return for a treat, Dom has learned to do the same.

So yeah, I reckon birds certainly can and do learn from each other!

I don't know a heck of a lot and I don't like to speculate about prior care but this is what I know is this. He was a Vacuum shop bird who lived in the shop his entire 28 years. His owner was a female who let him sit out front when she worked. She battled cancer for a long time and not sure how much time if any she spent with him during those years. The other owners of the shop liked the bird and talked to him a bit but didn't handle him at all. Maybe gave him a treat here and there but thats about it. His cage was in a small cluttered room in back that had the central vac canister in it. When I went to visit him and it went on he would scream bloody murder bc it was so loud. He was very sick and had a ton of mucus coming out of his eyes and nose and labored breathing. He was talkative and friendly towards me but kept his distance as he does with everyone ive seen him with. He just doesn't like to be touched. He will come to the edge of his cage and put his head down when he wants you to scratch him but thats once every few days and only for a minute at best. He never ever even thinks to venture off his cage. He goes from inside to the top and back and forth through the day at will. When I ask him to step up he walks to the back of his cage. He will just sit there and watch us all day, really. Plays with no toys... and naps on and off. From what I can gather (and this is just an educated guess) is that he has been talked too and payed attention too by many people through his years, living in a shop but barely was ever handled and touched and truly interacted with. He doesn't like men at all but I've heard thats normal for a lot of birds to be partial to the sex of their owner. The one time I did get him to step up he seemed VERY off balance and VERY insecure about using a person as a perch. He didn't like it at all and it seemed very foreign to him. His cage is his whole life it seems and he just seems so blaaaah every day. I mean I would be too after 28 years of the same 5x3 ft cage and not having anything but strange ppl saying hi to me through the day. I even think they left him at the shop the 2 days they were closed each week. He lived there and never knew anything else. I am the exact opposite type of pet owner. I want them to live a rich and exciting life with new experiences and interactions. I take my Quaker with me a ton of places.. socialize him and he's just full of life and you can tell he's happy. PJ just seems drained of life and bored to be honest but not trusting of ppl enough to let them near him past a certain extent. Im just hoping as he watches us interact with kiwi that he will learn a bit from it or be interested enough to want to do more than sit on his cage day after day. LOng winded, sorry!!!

I believe so.It just might take him a very LONG time. I have gotten a few of mine from a store.Theirs definitely a difference between a bird that's been poked at [and not handled much. Sounds like the poor guy doesn't know how to be a bird . My advice ,be super sweet and consistent with him. Be happy with what hes willing to give you. Im sure eventually he will turn around.Try newspaper, branches and cardboard with him. Good luck

I'll keep everyone posted on his progress but as im typing kiwi is running around on the ground with my son near PJ's cage and he's jus sitting there emotionless. Im hoping him seeing the other bird walking around and being social will help him realize there is more to life than his cage. We shall see..... Thanks again for all your feedback. This forum is really helpful and I really appreciate everyones help and advice as I progress with this new member of the family. <3

Poor PJ

I wonder if he has learned hopeless, my galah had that when I adopted her. It's when they reach a point that they have just given up, their life isn't going to change and they are a bit unresponsive towards their surroundings. It's something that may take a long time to improve. Rosie developed learned hopeless from being in a abusive situation, she lived in a very small cage without any toys and was terrified of men. She lived with my friends for 5 years after, and lost her intense fear but it seemed over the years her learned hopelessness only got worse(she only had two perches and no toys). Afte I adopted her she would stare off into space for an hour without moving. And slept
all the time(sleeping was caused by her health problems though). Even today she sometimes slips back into her old habits. Compared to when I first adopted her in 2011 she is a different bird, much happier and more playful, she still barely touches toys but at least she plays with them a little.

A few signs of learned hopelessness is pretending to sleep, sitting in one spot all day, being unresponsive to their surroundings, having no reaction to toys, not eating enough, being quite, acting lethargic/depressed.

I would guess that his legs are weak, he hasn't used them a lot. Carrying him around carefully will help to strengthen those muscles.

One of the best ways I have found to make friends with a stand offish zon is to eat with them. Danny did not like to leave his cage and when I started bring him to eat dinner with me he started to come out of his shell fast. Birds are hard wired to be flock animals so when given a chance to flock around food they really seem to love it.

Yes. Absolutely they do.

They will also occasionally try to one-up the other...