I came across an interesting study called The Green Plant Parrot Project by Robin Horemans. She wanted to find out if pictures of live plants as well as plants themselves placed AROUND her birds cages (resembling what they would experience in the wild) can have positive effects on their behavior.
The recap: She was inspired by parrots she saw on a trip to Mexico whose cages weren't filled with toys, but just had food and water bowls as well as perches, but they still appeared to be vibrant healthy and were actively singing and preening. However, In Mexico, they were surrounded by trees, vines and dense forest. They couldn't access the plants, just see and smell them.
Once back home, she wondered if she could recreate those surroundings to see if it would make a difference in her own parrots behaviors. She put up a blanket with a rainforest image on it and added a bunch of plants to the room. She recorded and observed her birds before changing their environment, after adding the greenery and then again after taking it away.
The results were very interesting. Two of her birds steadily began moving and preening more and more as time went on. Her other bird displayed an immediate increase in vocalizations and movement. This continued until the greenery was removed, when all the birds reverted back to a state of less activity.
The surprising thing was, the activity increased even though the birds were only spending time in the greener room, not actually physical interacting with any plants.
Of course, this was a small home-based study, completed over a short period of time. And like she mentions, we don't know if the birds responded to the plants, the images on the blanket, the colors from them, or all three. The study also didn't simulate the many sounds the birds in Mexico would've been encountering (would their activity have increased even more if it did?).
I love her discussion points at the end, specifically where she questions if we should be focusing on more than just the things we're putting inside their cages, something that could fulfill some deeper biological and ecological need parrots have.
What you can do at home.
This really got me thinking about how much of our parrots’ world exists outside their cage, and how easy it is to overlook that. Even simple changes to the room around them, like adding safe houseplants, hanging fresh branches, or even just placing their cage near a window with natural greenery, could make a difference.
If you want to try this yourself, you don’t need to recreate a rainforest overnight. Start small and add a few bird-safe plants nearby (just in case they get access to them), rotate in fresh cut branches, or even use natural textures and colors in the space around your bird. You could also experiment with nature sounds or different lighting to layer in more of that “outdoor” experience.
Her study is a good reminder that enrichment isn’t just about toys, it’s about creating an environment that encourages curiosity, movement, and engagement. Sometimes the biggest changes come from thinking beyond what we put in the cage and focusing more on the world we’re creating around it.
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