Plants for Pet Birds

If you have ever watched birds in the wild, you will most likely see them around flowering trees and shrubs. Honeyeaters love the pollen and nectar provided by Australian native plants. Parrots enjoy the branches and seed pods and will also eat flowers.

Providing plant material is also important for pet birds. Birds love to strip bark off branches and to chew on leaves and seed pods. It is very important to choose the right plants to give your pet bird as some can be very poisonous.

We recommend giving only Australian natives. The branches must be fresh and taken from the ends of the larger branches. There must not be any dirt, mould or fungus growing on the plant material and it is recommended that you wash any branches that have been collected close to busy roads. Many birds enjoy bathing in wet branches.

Some safe Australian native plants are:

• Eucalyptus
• Melaleuca
• Callistemon
• Grevillea
• Banksia
• Arcacia
• Dandelion (not native)

While it is important for pet birds to enjoy the plant material that is safe, it is just as important to know which plants are dangerous and should not be given to your bird. The following list includes the main species in Australia that are dangerous for birds. It is not a complete list so it is recommended that only plants from the safe list be given to your bird. Research has shown that certain parts of the following plants are poisonous to certain birds but to be safe they should be totally avoided.

Poisonous plants that should not be given to your pet bird:
Plants known to be fatal:

• Avocado (Persea americana)
• Dumb cane (Diffenbachia spp.)
• Oleander (Nerium oleander)
• Lupins (Lupinus spp.)
• Yews (Taxus spp.)

Other poisonous plants:

• Azaleas, rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.)
• Black locust or False acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia)
• Clematis spp.
• Philodendron spp.
• Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
• Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
• Coffee senna (Senna occidentalis)
• Cruel plant, white moth plant (Araujia sericifera)
• Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
• Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis)
• Mexican poppy (Argemone spp.)
• Milkweeds (Ascelpias spp., Gomphocarpus spp.)
• Mother-of-millions, live-leaf
• Plakkies, pig’s ears (Cotyledon orbiculata)
• Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
• Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)
• Elephant’s ear, cunjevoi, taro (Alocasia spp., Xanthosma spp., Colocasia esculenta)
• Rosary pea, precatory bean (Abrus precatorius)
• Nightshades (Solanum spp.)
• Spurges (Euphorbia spp.)
• White cedar (Melia azadarach)
• Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
• Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum)
• Thornapples (Datura spp.)
• Bishops weed, meadow sweet (Ammi mujus)
• Cestrum spp.
• Mexican tea (Chenopodium ambrosiodes)
• Rattlepods (Crotalaria spp.)
• Ruby saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa)
• Linseed (Linum usitatissimum)- seeds
• Mother-in-law’s tongue (Sanseveiria spp.)
• Pepperina, pepper trees (Schinus spp.)
• Vetch (Vicia sativa)
• Crown vetch (Coronilla varia)
• Walnut (Juglans nigra)

Copyright © 2004 Rob Marshall, All Rights Reserved.