Courtney Stodden Strips Down, Gets in Cage Dressed As Bird to Protest Petco

Courtney Stodden says Petco's bird sales can't be allowed to fly ... and she and PETA are sticking together like birds of a feather to make the company stop.

We caught up with the social media star on Tuesday ... and she was feeling like a free fowl in a barely-there outfit -- featuring just a painted thong and pasties.

It seems an artist sketched bird feathers and the bright colors of a parrot onto Courtney's body ... as well as spots of red meant to be bloodstains ... and she says it's all to make sure people are aware that Petco doesn't treat its birds well before selling them off.

This isn't Courtney's first major protest like this, BTW ... you might remember a few months ago she dumped black paint on herself to protest the use of leather.

She says she's willing to go as far as she needs to in order to protect animals ... so don't think she's going to stop here either -- she'll be keeping a bird's-eye view of the animal kingdom and flying off to whichever species needs help next.