Why do African greys nibble/nip at people's ears?

[Beachsv]

I was holding an african grey parrot on my arm and over time she walked from my arm to my shoulder and as she was on my shoulder and next to my head she began to gently chew on my ears.

Is there a reason behind most ear nipping when it comes to african greys?

 

[goalerjones]

It's not just an African Grey thing. My Hahns macaw does the same thing. They do it for many reasons. Food, water, having to poop, curiosity, warnings. They key is to learn the bird and know what it means when it's done

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[LordTriggs]

it's all birds! Ears are fun little toys, they're warm, have hard bits, soft bits and if you do a screm in the hole your human jumps around and plays!

 

[PL84]

I've had 3 CAG's and they all nibbled around my ears, never bite!

I've had RB2 that would nibble around my ears too, but he would bite occasionally too

I have Mealy Amazon that will sometimes nibble my ears but usually he just bites =)

I've just had extremely nice CAG's or is there something that makes CAG's bite less? ... Bite less of ears, there is no difference between biting any other body parts =)

 

[clark_conure]

Again I find myself aligned with LordTriggs it's just a bird thing, not even a bird thing if you've ever had a puppy they also do the huffy huffy noise in your ear.

Your ear has wax, it has an interesting shape, unlike the flat plane of your cheek it's something that a beak can hold, It the closest body part to him, and it's part of your head that you can't scratch with your teeth..."bird logic".

So long as it's not a bite, enjoy it...I do. My bird sometimes climbs up on my ear like he's para-sailing. If it's not hurting you, just enjoy the attention. He/she probably sees it as preening you, like birds do to each other.

 

[Sandy19]

Peanut puts her whole beak in my ear like one of those scopes the doctors use. As long as she doesn't bust my eardrum I guess it's ok.