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Bird Safety: Poisonous and Safe Plants for Birds

John

There are a variety of plants which are poisonous to birds, but there are many safe plants, too. So if you are a dedicated house plant enthusiast, you can have your plants and birds, too.

How toxic a plant is for birds depends upon:

  1. The specific plant in question

  2. The amount ingested relative to the size of the bird

  3. The species of the bird

For example, a cockatoo that nibbles a few bites of philodendron may experience a mild degree of toxicity, whereas, the same amount or less may be lethal for a canary.


The most commonly observed sign of birds ingesting poisonous plants is some form of gastric or intestinal upset, such as vomiting or diarrhea. Treatment for plant poisonings usually involves addressing the symptoms. If you suspect your bird has consumed a toxic plant, immediately contact your veterinarian or the poison control center.


Although there are thousands upon thousands of plants out there, here are some that are safe and toxic to your pet birds.


Non-toxic plants:

  • Abelia

  • Acacia (some species; do your research)

  • African daisy (Arctotis stoechadifolia)

  • African violet (saint paulina)

  • Aluminum plant (Pilea cadierei)

  • Aloe (only fresh)

  • Aralia

  • Arbutus

  • Areca (butterfly cane, butterfly palm)

  • Ash (fraxinus species)

  • Asparagus fern (asparagus densiflorus)

  • Aspen (populus species)

  • Baby's tears (helxine soleirolli)

  • Baby's breath (gysophila paniculata)

  • Bachelor buttons (centaurea cyanus)

  • Barberry

  • Beech (fagus and nothofagus species)

  • Begonia

  • Birch (betula species)

  • Bird's nest fern (asplenium nidus)

  • Blood leaf plant (iresine herbstii )

  • Boston fern (nephrolepsis bostoniensis)

  • Bougainvillea (nontoxic; but beware of thorns)

  • Bromeliads (anans comosus)

  • California holly (heteromeles arbutifolia)

  • Calamint

  • Calendula (aka pot marigold; calendula officinalis)

  • Camellia

  • Chamomile (chamaemelum nobile)

  • Chickweed (stellaria media)

  • Chicory (chichorium intybus)

  • Cissus kangaroo vine

  • Claw cactus (schlumbergera truncata)

  • Coffee tree (coffee arabica; coffee is toxic)

  • Coleus (coleus blumei)

  • Comfrey (symphytum officinalis)

  • Corn plant (dracaena fragrans)

  • Cottonwood (populus species)

  • Creeping jenny - (lysimachia species)

  • Croton (codiaeum variegatum; house variety only)

  • Dahlia

  • Dandelion (taraxacum officinalis)

  • Date (phoenix dactylifera)

  • Daylily (hemerocallis species)

  • Dill (anethum graveolen)

  • Dogwood (cornus species)

  • Donkey tail (sedum morganianum)

  • Dracaena

  • Dragon tree (dracaena draco)

  • Easter cactus (rhipsalidopsis species)

  • Elm (ulmus species)

  • European fan (chamaerops humilis)

  • Fir (abies species)

  • Gold dust dracanea (dracanea godseffiana)

  • Echeveria

  • Elephant foot tree (beaucarnea recurvata)

  • Eucalyptus

  • Eugenia

  • Gardenia (gardenia jasminoides)

  • Gloxinia (sinningia speciosa)

  • Grape ivy (cissus rhombifolia)

  • Grapevine (vitis species)

  • Hens and chicks (echeveria and sempervivum species)

  • Hibiscus

  • Honeysuckle (lonicera species)

  • Hoya

  • Impatiens

  • Indian hawthorn (rhapiolepsis species)

  • Larch (larix species)

  • Lemon balm (melissa officinalis)

  • Lilac

  • Lily (easter and tiger)

  • Magnolia

  • Maidenhair fern (adiantum species)

  • Manzanita (arctostapylos manzanita)

  • Monkey plant (ruellia species)

  • Moses-in-the-cradle (rhoeo spathacea)

  • Moth orchid (phalaenopsis orchid)

  • Nandina (nandina domestica)

  • Nasturtium (topaeolum majus)

  • Natal plum (carissa macrocarpa)

  • Nerve plant (fittonia verschaffeltti)

  • Norfolk island pine (araucaria excelsa)

  • Parsley (petroselinum species)

  • Passionflower (passiflora caerulea

  • Peppermint

  • Peperomia (peperomia species)

  • Petunia

  • Pony Tail Palm (beaucarnea recurvata)

  • Popular – populus species

  • Prayer Plant (maranta leuconeura)

  • Purple passion, aka purple velvet (gynura aurantiaca)

  • Pyracantha

  • Raphiolepsis

  • Rubber plant (ficus elastica)

  • Russian olive (elaeagnus augustifolia

  • Schefflera (schefflera actinophylla)

  • Sensitive plant (mimosa pudica)

  • Spearmint (mentha spicata)

  • Spider plant (chlorophytum comosum)

  • Spruce (picea species)

  • Squirrel's foot fern (davallia trichomanoides)

  • Staghorn aka elk's horn (platycerium bifurcatum)

  • Star jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides)

  • String of beads (senecio rowleyanus)

  • Swedish Ivy (plectranthus australis)

  • Sword fern (nephrolepis exaltata)

  • Thistle (cirsium species)

  • Ti plant (cordyline terminalis)

  • Violet

  • Wandering jew (tradescantia fluminensis)

  • Willow (salix species)

  • Zebra plant (phelandra squarrosa)

 

Toxic plants:

  • Acokanthera

  • Amaryllis

  • Angel's trumpet (datura species)

  • Balsam pear aka bitter melon (momordica charantia)

  • Baneberry (actaea rubra)

  • Belladonna (atropa belladonna)

  • Bird of Paradise

  • Bittersweet (celastrus species)

  • Black Locust (robinia pseudoacacia)

  • Boxwood (boxus species)

  • Braken fern (pteridium aquilinum)

  • Buckthorn

  • Burdock (arcitum species)

  • Buttercup (ranunculus species)

  • Caladium

  • Calla lily (zantedeschia aethiopica)

  • Catclaw Acacia (acacia greggii)

  • Caster bean (ricinus communis)

  • Cherry (prunus species)

  • Chinaberry (melia azadarach)

  • Clematis

  • Coral plant (jatropha mutifida)

  • Crocus (cholochicum autumnale)

  • Cycad aka sago cycas (cycas revoluta)

  • Daffodil (narcissus tazetta)

  • Daphne (daphne mezerum)

  • Death camas

  • Delphinium

  • Dieffenbachia aka dumb cane

  • Eggplant (solonum melongena)

  • Elderberry (sambucus mexicana)

  • Elephant's ears aka taro (colocasia species)

  • Euonymus

  • European pennyroyal (mentha pulegium)

  • Fig (ficus species)

  • Four o' clock (mirabilis jalapa)

  • Heliotrope

  • Henbane (hyoscyamus niger)

  • Holly

  • Horse chestnut

  • Horse nettle (solanum carolinense)

  • Hyacinth (hyacinthus orientalis)

  • Hydrangea

  • Iris

  • Ivy (hedera species)

  • Jack-in-the-pulpit (arisaema species)

  • Jerusalem cherry

  • Jonquil (narcissus jonquilla)

  • Juniper

  • Lantana (lantana camara)

  • Larkspur

  • Laurel (kalmia species)

  • Lily-of-the-valley (convalleria majalis)

  • Lobelia

  • Locoweed (astragalus and oxytopis species)

  • Lupine

  • Marijuana (cannibis sativa)

  • Milkweed (asclepias species)

  • Mistletoe (phoradendron villosum)

  • Mock orange (philadelpus species)

  • Moonseed (menispermum canadense)

  • Monkshood (aconitum species)

  • Morning glory (ipomoea violacea)

  • Narcissus

  • Oak (quercus species)

  • Oleander (nerium oleander)

  • Peach (prunus persica)

  • Pear (pyrus species)

  • Peony (paeonia officinalis)

  • Periwinkle

  • Peyote (lophophora williamsii)

  • Philodendron (monstera species)

  • Plum (prunus species)

  • Poison hemlock (conium maculatum)

  • Poison ivy

  • Poison oak

  • Poison Sumac (rhux vernix)

  • Poinsettia (euphorbia pulcherrima)

  • Poppy

  • Pokeweed (phytolacca americana)

  • Potato (solanum tuberosum)

  • Pothos (eprimemnum aureum)

  • Primrose (prmula species)

  • Privet (ligustrum vulgare)

  • Ragwort

  • Red maple (acer rubrum)

  • Rhododendron

  • Rhubarb (rheum rhabarbarum)

  • Rosary pea (abrus precatorius)

  • Sage (salvia officinalis)

  • Shamrock plant

  • Skunk cabbage (symplocarpus foetidus)

  • Snowdrop (galanthus nivalis)

  • Sorrel (rumex and oxalis species)

  • Spurges (euphorbia species)

  • Star of Bethlehem (ornithogalum umbellatum)

  • Sweet pea (lathyrus odoratus)

  • Tobacco (nicotiana species)

  • Tomato

  • Tulip

  • Virginia creeper (panthenocissus quinquefolia)

  • Water hemlock (cicuta species)

  • Wisteria

  • Yew (taxus species)



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