Parrot Facts

Parrot Facts

1. There are over 372 different species.  Almost 100 of these are threatened with extinction, mainly due to loss of habitat and capture to be pets.

2. Parrots are tropical or sub tropical birds that have curved, hooked bills and often boast crest and brightly colored feathers.  Cockatoos, macaws and parakeets are kids of parrots.  

3. Most live in tropical and semi-tropical areas like Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, India, New Zealand and Australia.

4. Parrots range in weight from about 30 grams (1 ounce) to around 1600 grams (3 1/2 pounds). 

5. Parrots range in size from about 3 inches to about 40 inches from head to tail. 

6. There are three basic kinds of feathers:
Down feathers are the small, soft, fluffy feathers located closest to the bird’s skin. They help the bird regulate its temperature.

Contour feathers cover the head and body. They make the bird very smooth so it can travel easily through the air. 

Flight and tail feathers are much stiffer and longer than contour feathers.  They move the air so that the bird can fly.

7. The feet of parrots are unusual (zygodactyl). The 2 outer toes of the foot point backwards and grip in opposition to the 2 forward pointing inner toes.  This provides them with an extremely powerful grasp, enabling them to hold and manipulate objects close to their beaks.

8. Males and females are so different in color (sexually dimorphic) that they were once thought to be 2 different species. 

Eclectus Parrots

9. Male and female Eclectus Parrots have such different colours that they are often mistaken as two different species. The males are bright green with red underneath their wings. The beak is two different colours. The upper bill is orange and the lower bill is black. Females are bright red with a broad blue band across their breast.Their beaks are black.

10. Eclectus Parrots make a ‘kraach-krrack’ call when flying and a horn-like ‘chu-wee chu-wee’ when feeding.

11. They have a hinged upper and lower beak.  (Watch a parrot yawn sometime - unlike other birds, it raises the upper part of the beak without moving the whole head!).

`12. Parrots are the only birds that can lift up food to their mouths using their feet. Other birds use their beaks to lift their food, or use their feet to grasp and carry it.

13. It might seem like a parrot’s beak is solid, but it’s not.  In fact, like many of the bird’s bones it is hollow, with fine bony struts inside to make it strong.  The outside is covered in keratin (which is what our fingernails are made of).  A parrot’s beak grows continuously and is worn down by eating, chewing wood, and by grinding the top and bottom parts against each other.

14. The smallest parrots (called Parrotlets) can fit into the palm of your hand.  The largest (Hyacinth Macaws) can be over 90 cm from head to tail, have a wingspan of 125 cm and weigh as much as 1,700 grams.

15. Most parrots like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and a few insect larvae.  But, some parrots are specialists - for example, wild Lorikeets eat fruit and nectar.  Wild  Hyacinth Macaws eat mainly palm nuts.

16. Some scientists think parrots are at least as smart as dolphins and chimpanzees.

17. Parrots have very loud voices.  Different sounds mean different things (like “watch out for the hawk”, or “there’s food over here”).  Parrots learn to make these calls by listening to their parents and flock mates.  As pets, some can learn to talk by listening to us. Parrots also use body language (like fluffing their feathers) to 
communicate.

18. The chicks grow incredibly fast and require a great deal of food to fuel the growth.  

19. Typically only one or two chicks from a single clutch will survive. The average clutch is about two or three eggs. The length of gestation varies, depending on the size of the bird.

20. Newly hatched chicks are covered with short, thick bristles which are replaced with fluffy, gray down after 2 or 3 days.  It is not until the gray down is replaced by the red or green feathers that the sex of the chick is known.

21. The grooming or cleaning of feathers is called preening.

22. The shedding of feathers is called molting.

23. The Uropygial Gland (preening gland) produces an oil that is spread over the feathers with the beak as part of the preening process.

24. The Syrinx is an organ in Parrots which is similar to a human voice box.

25. The long feathers on the head which can be used as a defense mechanism are called crest.

26. A group of eggs layed by female parrot is called a clutch.

27. Parrots are prey animals and are hunted by raptors, or birds of prey such as hawks and eagles.  Parrots don’t hunt, they forage fruits and nuts.

28. Parrots will spread seeds in their droppings and this helps propagate new trees, which is crucial maintenance for the forest.

29. It can be very dificult to know when a parrot is sick, as they try to mask illness. This is an important instinct because predators look for sick or injured animals knowing they will be easier to catch.

30. The Bahama Parrot was recognized as the official Quincentennial mascot in 1992.

31. Bahama Parrot bones found on New Providence have been dated back to the Pleistocene era, more than 50,000 years ago.

32. Christopher Columbus was so struck by their num bers when he made land fall in The Ba hamas in l492, he wrote in his log, "flocks of parrots darken the sun"!

33. Parrot owners find their birds to be intelligent, social animals and affectionate companions. Parrots require much attention and care.  Some parrots live as long as eighty years.  

34. Parrots learn to say words or phrases that are frequently repeated.  While most of a parrot’s “vocabulary” is taught on a purpose, a parrot sometimes learns sounds or words accidentally.  For example, some parrots learn to make the sound of a ringing telephone because they hear it frequently. 

35. Mynah birds, while a somewhat unusual pet bird, are known to be excellent mimics and talkers. Crows, ravens and other members of the corvid family are very good mimics, although they do not mimic human speech as well as a parrot can. Their voices are gravelly and not as clear.

36. One of the most common birds in the United States is another excellent mimic. Starlings, a songbird native to Europe and introduced to North America, can mimic speech quite clearly, and YouTube has many videos of pet starlings speaking.

37. Perhaps one of the most impressive mimics is the Australian lyrebird. Not only can it mimic the sound of human speech, but it can make incredibly complex sounds, such as that of a chainsaw in use. So, although parrots are the best-known of the avian chatterboxes, they certainly are not the only ones capable of mimicking speech.

38. The only parrot native to North America, the Carolina Parakeet, was hunted to extinction in the United States early in the 20th century.

39. Parrots are known to be extremely intelligent, having an intellectual capacity approaching that of a 3-5 year old child. They typically have the emotional maturity of a 2 year old. Almost all parrots are capable of human speech, but the best “talkers” are African Greys, Amazons and Eclectus. The world record for most words and phrases was held for a while by a parakeet in the UK.