pinning: a sign for speech

[ptagle]

I was hunting for new birds at a pet shop center(lots of shops in one place) here in riyadh and found many IRN's for sale. all are green though! there was one shop owner I was haggling with coz he had 4 fids (2 males and 2 females - all green) and he had different prices for each. though a bit difficult to communicate, I asked him why the difference in prices. He then showed me that when a bird's eye pins/dillates (meaning the white pupils are moving when it opens its beak) it is indicative that it can be trained to talk. I think he was saying this thru experience. Can anybody support this claim/ theory?

[kyria]

As far as I know "every" IRN can pin their eyes, its a primal ability and is a show of either, stimulation, aggression, fear etc. It's just natural for them to pin their eyes. I wouldn't listen to his claims.

[ringneck]

Agree with kyria! Though he probably meant well, I have to disagree with that pet shopw owner. Many parrot species will pin their eyes—it’s their way of showing their emotions. From my experience, I have never noticed a correlation between a talking ringneck and eye pinning. All Ringnecks pin, their eyes even if they don’t talk.

Good post and best wishes,

Imran Chaudhry