Can Birds Cry? This Is What It Sounds Like When Birds Cry

Can Birds Cry?

Although birds are often highly visible to humans compared to other animals, there is still so much that we don’t know about them. Whether or not birds have the capacity to feel emotions is a topic of contention, but ornithologists are constantly furthering what we know about these creatures. There have even been recent studies that have transformed perceptions about whether or not birds cry. So, can birds cry?

Yes, as crazy as it may sound, birds can cry! The ability of birds to cry has been substantiated by numerous studies. Therefore, there is no question that birds can cry. However, there is still plenty of debate about the events that can trigger the production of bird tears.

Why Do Birds Cry?

The ability of birds to cry may have been a revelation to you, but you probably have many other questions now. The question that is likely to be at the top of your list is, “Why do birds cry?”.

Ornithologists have seemingly just scratched the surface regarding the topic of birds crying. Therefore, there is still plenty of uncertainty on the matter. What we do know is that birds cry to maintain an optimal environment for their eyes. In other words, birds produce tears when they need to flush excess compounds like sodium or proteins from their eyes.

The production and composition of tears in birds have received significant attention in recent years. One finding from such research is that bird tears are similar to human tears in many aspects. While this is certainly interesting, it does not address the pressing questions many will have. For instance, can birds cry when in pain or feeling sadness?

Do Birds Feel Pain?

It is easy to look at a bird–or any animal for that matter–and not feel any empathy towards it. After all, no matter how many tests scientists conduct, we will never know exactly how a bird feels. No matter, many have tried to find answers to questions related to bird feelings. Specifically, researchers have sought to address the question, “Do birds feel pain?”.

Yes, birds certainly do feel pain. This knowledge is not new, however, as ornithologists have known for decades that birds have pain receptors just like humans. The notion that birds can feel pain is probably not surprising to most, but many want to know more about the pain that birds experience. For instance, do birds feel pain like humans?

Indeed! Studies have consistently shown that birds experience pain in a similar manner to mammals. So, although some will try to claim that birds can’t feel pain or experience duller pain sensations, it does not seem that either of these claims has any truth. Therefore, can birds cry after experiencing a painful event?

Unfortunately, this is a question that does not have enough scientific backing to answer definitively. We simply don’t know at this time whether birds produce tears in response to a pain-inducing event, and finding answers to this question may require scientists to put birds through some inhumane trials.

Therefore, it may be best to leave this question unanswered for now. Remember, even though we don’t know if birds cry in response to pain, we can say with certainty that they feel pain. So, don’t allow a lack of tears streaming down the faces of birds to make you numb to other signs that they are in pain.

Do Birds Feel Sadness?

Sadness is an emotion that we can all relate to feeling at one point or another. Knowing that someone—or something—else is experiencing sadness can help us to show empathy. Indeed, there have been dozens of studies that have demonstrated that many of our fellow mammals experience sadness. Many have no trouble believing that birds can experience pain, but feeling emotions is an entirely different story. Do birds feel sadness after experiencing certain events? Moreover, do birds cry when sad?

Yes, birds can absolutely feel sadness! Such feelings usually come about after they have witnessed the death of their young or partner. There have been plenty of observations that suggest birds feel sadness or grief after traumatic events such as the loss of young or a partner. For instance, birds like geese who have the same mates for multiple years have been observed slowly walking around with their heads drooped after the loss of a mate. Since birds clearly feel sadness, do birds cry when they experience these emotions?

Birds crying when they experience sadness is a phenomenon that ornithologists have not confirmed. Although it seems irrefutable that birds may feel sad at times, tears have not been observed after such occurrences. Now, this does not mean that birds don’t produce tears when sad, rather, it means that ornithologists simply do not know.

Regardless of whether birds cry when they’re sad, there does not seem to be any denying that birds experience feelings of grief and sadness.

Do Birds Have Emotions?

Birds are wonderful creatures, and anyone who has spent time observing them knows that they are quite intelligent. Intelligence is one thing, but do birds have emotions?

If you’ve been reading the article up to this point, then you’ll know that there’s no question that birds feel emotions. I’ve already discussed how birds feel sadness, but this is just one of many emotions that birds can feel. Fear and joy are two other emotions that it seems birds can–undoubtedly–feel. Moreover, birds can have distinct personality traits ranging from friendliness to bashfulness. Indeed, individual birds have much more depth to them than people realize. 

We’ve learned that birds feel a range of emotions, but can a bird cry in response to emotions?

As with feelings of sadness or pain, ornithologists haven’t confirmed if birds can cry in response to feeling emotions. However, this does not invalidate their emotions or make them any less real. 

Conclusion

Many at the beginning of this article were uncertain about whether or not birds can cry. Now, the answer to the question, “Can birds cry?” is obvious. These feathered creatures are definitely capable of producing tears – there is no doubt about that, but can birds cry tears when sad or in pain?

Although it has been proven that birds can feel both pain and sadness, ornithologists are not sure about whether or not these feelings prompt tears to be produced. No matter, evidence that birds can experience feeling just as humans should be plenty of reason to treat them with empathy and respect.