What does beak banging mean in bird language

[Stevie]

Hi

I am new to bird keeping and my canaries, only had them one day, seem to like to bang thier beak on thier perches.

They fly around cheaping and then sometimes land on a perch and bang thier beak, one side then the other, then fly off.

I am wondering what this means in bird language?

Is there something I can do for them or is this just normal?

[Sally]

Normal behavior. Mine do it a lot just after eating or having a drink. IMO it is their way of cleaning their beak, just like we use a napkin after eating. They also may do this to keep the beak worn down, like we file our nails.

[Rox]

I also believe it's their way of cleaning and trimming their beaks. Totally normal

I have a cement paver under my water dish in the aviary and after the birds bath and splash water onto the paver, they then love to run their beaks along the paver. Swopping from side to side. As Sally mentioned, almost like how we file our nails.

[Stevie]

Great. Thanks guys.

Have been watching and definitely seems to be after food like you say

[MiaCarter]

This is actually called beak wiping.

I researched this extensively because in my main cage, I have TONS of beak wiping action taking place!

As the others mentioned, it's can be literally wiping off the beak after eating or a motion designed to help keep the beak nice and trim.

But it can also be a territorial. The bird version of a dog lifting his leg to mark his territory.

Beak wiping can also occur due to discomfort associated with beak mites. But with those, you typically see lots of abnormality on the beak, so it's pretty obvious.