Do Parrots Have Taste Buds? It’s Interesting!

Do parrots have taste buds? – Yes of course. Taste is a vital sense for birds that gives them important information about the food they are dealing with. In the wild, distinguishing bitter tastes can help these feathery animals to avoid poisonous and dangerous food. 

Parrots, like most other birds, have a keen sense of taste that helps them identify certain kinds of food and develop a liking or show a preference for some food. 

Parrot Tongues’ Sense of Taste and Favorite Food!

As a parrot keeper, you have to make sure that your birds do not consume too much of anything harmful to them and to provide a healthy and nutritional diet.

If you are new to bird-keeping and want to know more about the taste preferences of parrots, we’ve listed some of the common questions of parrot owners with their answers below. 

What Can Parrots Taste?

Parrots are mainly fruit-eating birds that have an inherited liking for sweet-tasting fruits with mushy textures. They can differentiate between sweet, sour, and bitter tastes. 

Parrots generally avoid eating bitter foods as an evolutionary trait to avoid poisonous fruits and berries in the wild. Salty taste is also not appealing to parrots as too much sodium can be harmful to them.

Due to their limited number of taste buds (around 300-350) they get take more information about their food from the way it looks and texture. So, parrots may even avoid certain fruits if they are not visually appealing or if they dislike their texture. 

Why Do Parrots Flick Their Tongues?

Tongue-flicking or clicking their tongue against their beak are often signs that your parrot is either entertaining itself or asking to be petted or picked up.

It can also be a way of scraping off the remnants of food in their mouth. Have a look at the tongue and make sure there is no dry creasing of the skin on the tip or any visible injuries.

Can Parrots Taste Spicy?

Parrots do not have the capsaicin receptors like humans which helps us distinguish spicy foods. So, they are generally immune to the hot taste of spicy foods. 

Quite a lot of parrots enjoy chili peppers and chili flakes because of their vibrant colors and seed-like texture of flakes. Chilli can be a healthy source of vitamin A for your parrot which also helps in improving feather quality, color and shine. 

However, spicy seasonings like onion and garlic can be harmful to them. 

How Are Parrots Taste Buds Different From That Of Humans?

Parrots have some of the best sense of taste among their fellow birds but are severely inferior when compared to humans.

It is estimated that parrots have about 300-400 taste buds distributed in their mouth and some taste glands at the back of their throat. They allow the parrot to differentiate between sweet, sour, bitter, and salty flavors. 

We have over 9000 taste buds that help identify more flavors including spicy, umami, etc. 

Parrots do not have the capsaicin receptors present in our tongues that help us identify spicy flavors. This is why parrots and most other birds are immune to hot and spicy foods. 

The taste buds of parrots are distributed on its tongue and the roof of its mouth. Some birds even have taste buds on their beaks. 

Parrots also rely on the color of their food and their texture to inspect their food. 

Parrot’s Favorite Food🦜

Parrots are omnivores that enjoy a wide variety of plant and animal foods ranging from fruits and vegetables to inspects like termites and caterpillars. 

Fresh vegetables, fruits, and pellets or seeds are considered the best food for your parrots. A lot of bird keepers feed their parrots sunflower seeds which are adored by them for their high-fat content. It is suggested to give sunflower seeds in moderation, especially for parakeets, as they can get too full to eat other nutrient-rich food. 

Parrots love to eat chili peppers because of their alluring colors and the seeds in them offer a great source of nutrition. 

Corn, oats, wheat, cashews, cumin, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, pomegranates, pears, mushrooms, mangoes, various other grains, and citrus fruits, are some of the most commonly loved foods of parrots.

Final Thoughts

Do parrots have taste buds is a commonly asked question due to the misleading idea that birds cannot taste. Although the sense of taste is considered poor when contrasted with that of ours, parrots do have a keen sense of the kind of flavors that are safe for them to eat.

Parrots can be quite picky in their diets and they rely on their sight and checks the texture of the food they eat to consider their preferences.

The apparent immunity of parrots when it comes to hot and spicy foods can seem impressive to watch them go through chili peppers like treats. But certain spicy foods may be harmful to parrots and it is up to their keepers to avoid them from their diets. 

When it comes to healthy choices for your parrot there are plenty of options. Always make sure you occasionally switch up their diets so they get all kinds of essential nutrients.

Also Read: Can Parrots Eat Lemons? The Answer May Surprise You!