What Can Parrots Not Eat? The Complete List of Foods Toxic to Parrots

If you've just Googled "can parrots eat this" in a panic, you're in the right place. Whether your bird just stole a bite of something off your plate or you're trying to get ahead of potential dangers before they happen, this guide covers everything you need to know about foods that are toxic to parrots, and a few that are surprisingly safe but widely misunderstood.

Parrots are curious, food-motivated, and will attempt to eat almost anything they can get their beak on (apart from a vegetable apparently!). That's part of what makes them so entertaining to live with. It's also what makes it so important that every parrot owner understands what's genuinely dangerous, what's a myth, and what sits in the grey area that requires caution.

Let's get into it.

Foods That Are Toxic to Parrots: The Non-Negotiables

These are the foods that can kill or seriously harm a parrot. There is no safe amount, no "just a little bit is fine," and no exceptions. These need to be kept completely away from your bird at all times.

Avocado

This is the big one. Avocado, including the flesh, skin, pit, and leaves, contains a fungicidal toxin called persin. In parrots, persin causes respiratory distress, weakness, inability to perch, fluid accumulation around the heart and lungs, and death. It can act rapidly. A small amount of avocado flesh is enough to be fatal to a small parrot, and larger birds are not immune. Guacamole, avocado toast, anything containing avocado, keep it completely out of reach. Funnily enough, parrots eat avocado in the wild - but avocado on the branch is less of an issue. That's a topic for another day though!

Chocolate and Cocoa

Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, both of which are toxic to parrots. Theobromine cannot be metabolised by birds the way humans process it, and even small quantities can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures, and cardiac arrest. Dark chocolate is significantly more dangerous than milk chocolate due to higher theobromine content, but no form of chocolate is safe. This includes cocoa powder, hot chocolate, chocolate-flavoured biscuits, and anything baked with cocoa.

Caffeine

Beyond chocolate, caffeine in any form is dangerous for parrots. Tea, coffee, energy drinks, cola: all off limits. Caffeine causes cardiac arrhythmia, hyperactivity, tremors, and in high doses, death. Even a sip of your morning coffee shared with your bird is inadvisable. If you want to give your parrot a warm drink, parrot-safe herbal teas are a lovely alternative: The Aviary's Tummitea, Serenetea, and Beautea are all formulated specifically for birds, with no caffeine, no harmful botanicals, and ingredients chosen for their positive health benefits.

Onion and Garlic

Both onion and garlic contain compounds, thiosulphates and disulphides, that damage red blood cells in parrots, leading to haemolytic anaemia. Cooked or raw, in any form. This includes onion powder and garlic powder, which are concentrated and particularly dangerous. Leeks, chives, and shallots fall into the same family and carry the same risk.

Xylitol

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in sugar-free products including chewing gum, some peanut butters, certain yoghurts, sugar-free sweets, and some baked goods. It causes a rapid drop in blood sugar and liver failure in many animals, and parrots are no exception. Always check labels before offering any processed human food to your bird. If in doubt, don't. We generally don't advise any processed foods at all!

Alcohol

This should go without saying, but alcohol of any kind, beer, wine, spirits, even vanilla extract and some cooking wines, is toxic to parrots. Their bodies cannot process ethanol. Even very small amounts can cause severe neurological damage, organ failure, and death. Never leave unattended glasses within reach of a free-roaming bird.

Apple Seeds, Cherry Pits, Peach Stones, and Other Fruit Pits

This is one that trips up many well-meaning parrot owners. The fruit itself, apple, cherry, peach, apricot, plum, nectarine, is generally fine and often nutritious. But the seeds and pits of these fruits contain amygdalin, a compound that converts to cyanide when digested. Always remove seeds and stones before offering these fruits to your parrot. The flesh is safe; the core is not.

Rhubarb

Both the leaves and the stalk of rhubarb contain oxalic acid at levels that are toxic to parrots. Rhubarb leaves are particularly concentrated. Oxalic acid binds to calcium in the body, causing kidney damage, tremors, and potentially fatal metabolic disruption. Rhubarb in any form, raw, cooked, or in jam, should be kept away from parrots entirely.

Tomato Leaves and Stems

Here's a distinction worth knowing: ripe tomato flesh, in small amounts, is generally considered safe for most parrots. However, the leaves, stems, and unripe green tomatoes belong to the nightshade family and contain solanine, which is toxic. If you're offering tomato, make sure it's ripe, red, and free of any green parts or greenery. Many owners avoid tomato altogether due to its high acidity, which is a reasonable precaution.

Raw Potato and Green Potato

Raw potato is difficult for parrots to digest and contains solanine in the green parts and skin, particularly when the potato has begun to sprout or turn green. Cooked, plain potato flesh in small amounts is generally tolerated, but raw potato and any green-tinged potato should be avoided. Many people offer potato generally to their birds, roasted, mashed, boiled, however they are generally low in nutrients. If your bird loves potato, try sweet potato instead. It has much higher nutrient content and is high in Vitamin A which most birds are deficient in!

Peanuts in the Shell

Peanuts themselves are not inherently toxic to parrots, but peanuts in the shell carry a serious and often overlooked risk that every parrot owner needs to understand. Because peanuts grow underground, they are particularly vulnerable to contamination by Aspergillus, a naturally occurring soil fungus that thrives in the warm, humid conditions inside a peanut shell. When ingested, Aspergillus spores can cause Aspergillosis, a severe and progressive fungal infection of the respiratory system.

Aspergillosis is notoriously difficult to diagnose, hard to treat, and in many cases fatal. By the time symptoms are visible - laboured breathing, tail bobbing, weight loss, lethargy - the infection is often already advanced. There is no reliable cure once it takes hold.

This doesn't mean peanuts must be banned entirely. Shelled peanuts from reputable suppliers who test for aflatoxin (the toxic byproduct of Aspergillus mould) are considered safer, but even then they should be offered sparingly due to their high fat content. Peanuts in the shell, however, should never be given to parrots. The risk simply isn't worth it.

Household Hazards That Are Just as Dangerous as Food

Toxic foods aren't the only threat in the kitchen. Some of the most deadly dangers for parrots in the home have nothing to do with eating at all.

Non-Stick Cookware Fumes (PTFE / Teflon Toxicity)

This deserves as much attention as any food toxin, because it kills silently and quickly. Non-stick cookware coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), commonly known by the brand name Teflon, releases toxic fumes when overheated. To a human, these fumes are imperceptible (however still unsafe and should be avoided!). To a bird, whose respiratory system is extraordinarily sensitive and efficient, they are rapidly and often instantly fatal. PTFE toxicity in parrots causes what is known as "sudden death", a bird that was fine moments before is found dead at the bottom of the cage.

Non-stick bakeware, some self-cleaning ovens, certain drip trays, hair straighteners, air fryers, radiators, hair dryers and even some heat lamps can contain PTFE. If you own parrots, the safest approach is to replace non-stick cookware with stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic alternatives, and ensure your bird is never in or near the kitchen when cooking.

Aerosols, Air Fresheners, and Scented Candles

A parrot's respiratory system is designed to be hyper-efficient; in the wild, this is what allows birds to detect changes in air quality, fly long distances and escape danger. In the home, it means that aerosol sprays, plug-in air fresheners, scented candles, incense, and even some cleaning products can cause serious respiratory damage. Fragrance diffusers using essential oils are particularly dangerous. Never use these products in rooms where your bird spends time, and ensure good ventilation when using them anywhere in the home.

The Grey Areas: Foods to Approach With Caution

Some foods aren't outright toxic but deserve a degree of care.

Dairy

Parrots are lactose intolerant. Small amounts of plain yoghurt or hard cheese are unlikely to cause serious harm, but dairy has no place in a parrot's regular diet and can cause digestive upset. It's better avoided.

Salt

Parrots have very little tolerance for sodium. Salty snacks, crisps, crackers, processed food, and anything seasoned with salt should be kept away from your bird. Salt disrupts fluid balance, stresses the kidneys, and in larger amounts can cause excessive thirst, kidney failure, and death.

Mushrooms

Some varieties of mushroom are safe; others are not. Since it's genuinely difficult to guarantee which you're working with and raw mushrooms contain compounds that can be hard to digest, many avian vets recommend avoiding them altogether.

Dried fruit from supermarkets

Often contains added sugar, sulphur dioxide as a preservative, or other additives. Unsulphured, unsweetened dried fruit in small amounts is fine. Standard shop-bought dried fruit is best avoided or offered very rarely.

High-fat seeds in excess

Sunflower seeds and safflower seeds are not toxic, but a diet dominated by them causes obesity and fatty liver disease over time. Variety and balance are everything.

What Should Parrots Actually Eat?

A parrot's diet in the wild is extraordinarily varied - fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, flowers, bark, insects, soil, clay, stones, roots and leafy matter all feature depending on the species, season, and location. The captive diet should reflect that variety as closely as possible.

A good foundation includes:

Fresh vegetables daily: particularly dark leafy greens (kale, chard, spinach in moderation, dandelion), root vegetables, peppers, courgette, carrot, and broccoli.

A wide variety of fruits: berries, mango, papaya, melon, pomegranate, apple (no seeds), pear, and banana.

High-quality, varied seed and grain mixes: not the basic pet-shop sunflower-heavy blends, but properly formulated mixes with a diverse range of human-grade seeds, herbs, and botanicals. The Aviary's Soothing Seed Mix and Happy Gut Seed Mix are both made with human-grade ingredients and specifically designed to offer nutritional variety well beyond what a standard pet-shop seed mix provides.

Dry mixes with added botanicals and leafy greens: The Aviary's Soothing Dry Mix and Nature's Rainbow Dry Mix are built around the kind of whole-food variety that supports immune health, feather condition, and long-term wellbeing, without the fillers, artificial additives, or seed-heavy imbalance of many commercial parrot foods.

Sprouts: sprouted seeds are nutritional powerhouses. The Aviary's Foraging Feast Sprouting Mix makes sprouting accessible and straightforward.

What to Do If Your Parrot Has Eaten Something Toxic

If your parrot has eaten something from the toxic list above - or you suspect they have - contact an avian vet immediately. Do not wait to see if symptoms develop. With fast-acting toxins like avocado and PTFE exposure, time is critical.

Signs of poisoning in parrots include: sudden lethargy, loss of balance or inability to perch, laboured or open-mouthed breathing, vomiting, seizures, disorientation, and collapse. Any of these following potential toxic exposure is a veterinary emergency.

Keep the number of your nearest avian vet and an emergency out-of-hours vet if applicable somewhere accessible. Moments matter when a bird is in toxic distress.

FAQ: Foods Toxic to Parrots

Is avocado really that dangerous for parrots?

Yes, avocado is one of the most dangerous foods a parrot can consume. The flesh, skin, pit, and leaves all contain persin, a toxin that causes respiratory failure, fluid around the heart, and rapid death in birds. There is no safe amount. Keep all forms of avocado completely away from your parrot.

Can parrots eat grapes?

Yes, grapes are generally considered safe for parrots in moderation. They are high in sugar, so they should be an occasional treat rather than a staple. 

Can parrots eat peanut butter?

Plain, unsalted, xylitol-free peanut butter in very small amounts is generally considered safe, but it is high in fat and salt is often present in commercial versions. It also carries a risk of aflatoxin contamination (a mould toxin that can develop on peanuts) if the quality is poor. It's best offered very occasionally if at all, and always check the ingredients for xylitol, which is fatal. Almond butter is a better option.

What fruit can parrots not eat?

Parrots should not eat avocado in any form. The flesh of most common fruits is safe, but the seeds and pits of apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, and nectarines must always be removed as they contain compounds that convert to cyanide. Rhubarb, which is technically a vegetable but often treated as a fruit, is also toxic.

Can parrots eat tomatoes?

Ripe tomato flesh in small amounts is generally considered safe, but the leaves, stems, and unripe green parts of the tomato plant are toxic due to solanine content. Many owners avoid tomato altogether due to its high acidity. If you do offer it, use only ripe red flesh and remove all green parts completely.