Budgies are social creatures, expressing their feelings and showing care in various ways. This includes ‘kissing’ by locking their beaks together or nuzzling against each other’s faces.
Budgies kiss to feed each other, strengthen their social bonds, and for practical purposes. Kissing is a way to preen around the beak, face, and eyes. Budgies do it to show trust, assist friends or mates to stay tidy, and socialize. Birds never interlock their beaks if they dislike each other.
Male budgies are far more likely to kiss each other than females since they have friendlier temperaments and tend to be the ones who forage for food.
Kissing isn’t reserved for just one special bird, as budgies will interlock beaks with various flock members, depending on who they feel closest to.
Why Do Budgies Kiss?
A budgie kiss is different than a human kiss. While people lip-lock to show affection, mostly between romantic partners, budgies kiss for practical reasons, including:
1/ Feeding Each Other
As social animals, budgies engage in many behaviors for the sake of bonding with one another. By feeding each other, budgies express their affection and cement their bonds.
Mutual feeding is most often seen between an opposite-sex pair of budgies. However, it’s also common among budgie friends of the same sex.
No matter the relationship, mutual feeding is always a sign of respect. The first budgie proves it cares by regurgitating food into the other budgie’s mouth.
According to Watchbird, this allows the male to keep the female well-fed as she nests with the eggs. Between friends, it saves one budgie the trouble of foraging for its food.
2/ Preening
Kissing is a way for budgies to preen each other and groom. Cleaning around the beak is difficult since budgies use their beaks to groom everywhere.
Without the assistance of a friend, a budgie is left to rub its face on branches, rocks, or other surfaces to stay well-groomed. A friend will be more dextrous and precise, helping to reach difficult places.
3/ Showing Trust
Of course, that isn’t to say kissing isn’t a clear sign of affection between budgies. It takes trust to allow another bird’s beak near your face, let alone the eyes.
It also takes a degree of love to look after another budgie and help it stay tidy. So, budgie kisses are a genuine way to show they care and appreciate each other.
4/ Making Friends
A budgie kiss isn’t necessarily a form of romantic affection or a mating ritual. Budgie kisses, also known as budgie taps, are a form of social bonding.
They can take place between any two budgies from the same flock. This serves as a way for budgies to keep track of their social relationships and cement their bonds within the group.
5/ Impressing A Mate
Of course, a strong bond is still necessary for a pair of budgies that intend to mate.
They’ll need to impress and care for one another to prove they’re a worthy partner. For this reason, you may find budgies kissing as a part of their mating ritual.
Why Do My Budgies Look Like They Are Kissing?
Your budgies may appear to kiss when they tap their beaks together. This can be as subtle as a quick nudge with their beaks or as intimate as gently pecking around each other’s faces.
This isn’t kissing as humans know it. What you interpret as a kiss is merely a way for budgies to preen and groom one another. This is a central aspect of the social life of all budgies. In a wild flock, many individual budgies get together in small groups and groom one another.
Preening is an evolutionary behavior that budgies engage in because it helps keep the group healthy and free of parasites. While preening is a solo job, preening the neck, chin, and head requires assistance.
Why Do Male Budgies Kiss?
Sometimes owners get confused when they see two male budgies kissing one another.
After all, they can’t mate, so why would they be so affectionate? Budgie kisses aren’t romantic, nor are they exclusive to mating rituals. Instead, they’re a way to show friendliness and respect.
Budgies are social creatures, so they don’t rely on one budgie for their social needs. Instead, they form bonds with several other flock members and maintain these relationships. One way they do this is by showing appreciation for each other through mutual grooming and ‘kissing.’
Two male budgies are more likely to kiss each other than two female budgies because male budgies are more friendly and welcoming. While females can get territorial and defensive, males form strong friendships and show affection.
When male budgies kiss, you can be sure they’re happy and well-socialized. They’re pleased to have one another in the flock and want to spend more time together.
Are My Budgies Kissing or Fighting?
Budgies kiss to show affection, but they also peck at each other’s faces and bite when they’re angry. This can make it hard for new owners to tell the difference.
The process of kissing will be gentle and soft. The budgies will rub their beaks together or ‘peck’ around each other’s faces. The gesture should be curious and friendly, purposefully avoiding any harmful moves. The kissing budgie may even chirp or accept grooming itself.
A budgie kiss may continue for a minute, while fights are normally brief clashes that conclude quickly.
Budgies that are aggressively pecking and biting will do so with other signs of anger, such as:
- Violent pecking: These include quick strikes with an open beak.
- Raised wings: Lifting the wings and holding them out to make them look larger and scarier.
- Biting at feet: An annoyed budgie will target the other’s legs and feet.
- Hissing: The two budgies hiss before and after pecking at each other.
- Chasing: If one budgie disengages, the other might chase it to continue the conflict.
You’re more likely to witness fights between budgies during mating season.
The male will guard the nesting female and may become overly aggressive toward other males. The female will hiss and bite at others who get too close to her eggs or chicks. Once the mating season has passed, this behavior should dissipate.
If your budgies kiss, they’re friendly and comfortable with each other. Budgies don’t tap their beaks if they dislike each other, nor will they ever nuzzle against a bird they distrust.
It’s a positive sign if you see your two budgies kissing, locking beaks together, or softly pecking around each other’s faces. They have formed a bond and enjoy each other’s company. You can be sure your budgies are happy, entertained, and feel safe around one another.
