Parrots are amazing creatures, distinguished not only by their brilliant beauty, but also by their intelligence and intelligence. The variety of these birds is enormous - from the tiny woodpecker parrot to the giant macaw. Which parrots are “smarter than all” and which have the largest beak, which of the representatives of the “parrot family” flies the fastest and which is not capable of flying at all, which of the birds became famous thanks to their outstanding ability to sing and dance, and which has a vocabulary of dozens of times greater than Ellochka Shchukina’s vocabulary? Read about this and much more in the article “Interesting facts about parrots.”
The largest parrot
The largest parrot in the world is considered to be the hyacinth macaw - a very beautiful parrot with bright blue plumage and a distinctive yellow ring around the eyes. Some individuals reach 1 meter in length, while the giants weigh relatively little - 1.5-2 kg.
Black cockatoos can hardly compete with them - they reach sizes of 60 cm and weigh about 1 kg. But the black cockatoo has the largest, up to 10 cm long, and powerful beak - it can easily bite a human finger. Not surprisingly, the word “cockatoo” means “biters” in Malay.
The smallest parrot
The tiniest are woodpecker parrots. The body length of an adult is 10 cm, and body weight is only 10-13 grams. Due to their miniature size, they are almost inaccessible to observation by scientists and for this reason are little studied. They live in New Guinea.
The heaviest parrot
The heaviest (but does not mean the largest) is the kakapo parrot (or owl parrot). The body length of a kakapo is about 60 cm, and its weight can reach four kilograms! These parrots have lost the ability to fly and lead a mainly terrestrial lifestyle. But sometimes, apparently remembering their “feathered” origin, kakapo climb to the tops of trees and glide from a height of up to 50 meters. Heavyweights meet in New Zealand.
By the way, in the USA the kakapo is recognized as one of the “ugliest” animals. Paradoxically, here he is also considered one of the most charming. Plus it smells. It does not stink, but rather smells, one might say, of perfume.
The most "bloodthirsty" parrot
This title was given to the kea parrot, which lives in New Zealand. Local farmers hate these birds: supposedly, at night the birds attack sheep and peck them to death. Indeed, kea is the only parrot whose diet, in addition to the usual nuts, fruits, cereals and other vegetation for these birds, includes lamb. New Zealanders create legends about the bloodthirstiness of kea and claim that they cause significant damage to sheep farming. Researchers have concluded that in each flock of kea there are 2-3 individuals that are actually capable of killing a sheep. But according to scientists, this rarely happens.
In addition, kea are famous for their hooligan behavior and impudent disposition. You can learn more about these unique items from this article.
The most expensive parrot
The most expensive parrot in the world is considered to be the giant we have already mentioned - the Hyacinth Macaw. The price for the bird is more than 500 thousand rubles, which is explained by the incredible beauty of the parrot and its rarity. By the way, the hyacinth macaw is on the verge of extinction and is listed in the International Red Book. The culprits behind the disappearance of the handsome bird are hunters and bird catchers who use them for commercial purposes.
The most capable parrot
Several species of parrots are capable of imitating human speech. So, cockatoos can remember up to four dozen words and several sentences. Lories are distinguished by their ability to reproduce fifty words and several sentences. And some wavy animals can repeat about 100 words, but rarely speak in sentences. But the most intelligent and capable of learning is the gray parrot. There are cases when talkers not only learned more than 2000 words, but also pronounced them with different intonations corresponding to the topic of the “conversation.”
The fastest parrot
Budgerigars received this nomination. These birds fly at a speed of 120 km/h. However, this speed is short-lived and the wavy birds use their abilities only when searching for food.
How to care at home?
A talking bird requires comfortable conditions. The minimum size of the cage is such that the parrot can fully spread its wings. The cage is equipped with perches at different levels and toys. It is advisable to use wooden perches of different thicknesses to train the legs.
A feathered family member needs a lot of toys to develop. By doing them, the bird will not fall into hysterics from idleness. Jaco really loves forage toys when he needs to figure out a way to get to the treat. The more entertaining the toy, the more your feathered friend will like it.
Reproduction
In the wild, gray parrots make nests in hollows, choosing hard-to-reach places. While courting, the male dances around his partner, making peculiar sounds. The female answers him and pretends to be a chick demanding food. The male imitates feeding or actually feeds the female. The courtship cycle is repeated several times.
The female lays 3-5 eggs and incubates them for 30 days. Until the chicks hatch, the male protects the family and provides food. The parents fiercely defend the nest from threats. The chicks become independent at 2-3 months, but live near the nest for some time.
The technique of breeding Grays at home is based on the same behavioral characteristics of birds. Usually mating takes place in a special spacious cage. The birds are placed together and observed to determine whether they are showing aggression.
It is better not to use the cage in which one of the partners lives, in order to avoid territorial claims. You can place the parrots' cages nearby so that the first acquaintance takes place at a distance. Representatives of this breed are strong and, when enraged, are capable of injuring or killing an unlucky partner. Therefore, increased demands are placed on the strength and reliability of the dating cage.
The cage must have a nesting area. Having studied it, the birds begin the courtship ritual. Soon the happy parents will have chicks.
You can watch a video of specialists breeding Gray Gray chicks in captivity. In Russia, the culture of nurseries is not developed, so it makes sense to look for information on foreign resources.
Feeding
The diet for keeping a Gray parrot at home must include:
- Balanced grain mixtures. This is the main food for the parrot, containing all the necessary nutrients.
- Natural fruits and vegetables. They are added to the diet to provide the feathered pet with vitamins and diversify the menu. You can squeeze the juice out of the fruit and offer it to the bird.
- Porridge. You can periodically feed your parrot porridge cooked in water. In small quantities it is useful for regulating poultry metabolism.
- Water. You need to constantly monitor how much water is left in the drinking bowl. It is advisable to change it once a day.
- Special feedings normalize the parrot's diet in terms of micro- and macroelements.
- Twigs. Feeding must include twigs. By gnawing on them, the gray parrot supplies itself with natural vitamins, sharpens its beak and has fun. Birds are given rowan, alder, cherry, and birch branches. They should first be scalded with boiling water.
A consultant at a pet store or an educational video will tell you how to properly feed a talking pet at home and how much food to give.
Boomerang effect
Some parrots not only eat tree fruits, but also pollinate them. The swallow parrot, which lives in south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, is the main pollinator of some varieties of eucalyptus. Now these birds are on the verge of extinction due to deforestation of eucalyptus forests. Their disappearance will make it impossible to restore forests.
Amazon
There are 26 species of Amazons, depending on the color of their plumage. Homeland South and Central America. Most of them live in the Amazon jungle.
In terms of intelligence, they are inferior to previous species. However, they are considered the easiest to train and better imitators than Grays. They have a good ear for music. They can reproduce various melodies very accurately.
In addition to imitating human speech and various sounds, Amazons can be taught simple circus tricks. They have excellent abilities for this.
They are not shy about demonstrating their abilities to the public. And they love to be the center of attention.
They adapt well to new living conditions and quickly get used to their new owner. The character is friendly and very sociable.
They have beautiful bright plumage and clear diction in pronunciation of memorized words. The disadvantage is poor intonation and timbre.
Intellectual abilities
For decades now, New Zealanders have been practicing their ability to make a mechanism that would be beyond the power of a kea. So far to no avail. Parrots can distinguish colors and solve logical problems with dexterity. Experiments have shown that birds have surpassed primates in skills. Possessing excellent memory, once birds receive food from human hands, they take it for granted. Feeding kea is strictly prohibited.
Legends and rumors surround these amazing creatures, which is why today kea parrots continue to attract more and more tourists.
Leave comments and share on social networks. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to visit the South Island and meet kea.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mnAB-RYtDs8
Ara (genus)
This term has other meanings, see Ara. The request for "Ara" is redirected here; for the constellation, see Altar.
| Ara (genus) |
| Red Macaw |
| Scientific classification |
| intermediate ranks Domain: Eukaryotes |
| Kingdom: | Animals |
| Sub-kingdom: | Eumetazoans |
| Without rank: | Bilaterally symmetrical |
| Without rank: | Deuterostomes |
| Type: | Chordata |
| Subtype: | Vertebrates |
| Infratype: | Ghostostomes |
| Superclass: | Quadrupeds |
| Class: | Birds |
| Subclass: | Real birds |
| Infraclass: | New palates |
| Squad: | Parrots |
| Family: | Parrots |
| Subfamily: | Real parrots |
| Tribe: | Neotropical parrots |
| Genus: | Macaws |
| 9225 | |
| EOL | 33888 |
| FW | 372099 |
Macaw (lat. Ara) is a genus of birds of the parrot family.
Large (up to 95 cm long) parrots with very bright colors of green, red, blue and yellow. The areas around the eyes and sides of the head are bare, sometimes with sparse and short feathers. The wings are very elongated and pointed towards the end. The wedge-shaped tail is longer than the body. A characteristic feature of these parrots is a large, laterally compressed and strongly rounded beak with a steeply curved tip. Males, females and young parrots have almost the same coloration. This type of parrot has the strongest beak on earth.
> Distribution
Distributed in Central and South America.
Under natural conditions, they settle in tropical areas with wooded areas. They lead a gregarious lifestyle, but create pairs for many years. Flocks of macaws sometimes damage fruit tree plantations. 1 species and 1 subspecies are listed in the IUCN Red List.
With good care, they are easily tamed and thrive in captivity. They can live 30-75 years, but on average up to 60 years. The Indians of pre-Columbian America kept these birds in their homes and today they are found quite often at home. They feed on a grain mixture, various vegetables, fruits and other foods.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yls9yTPyj-4
Nesting and breeding
These parrots prefer to rest and have offspring in rocky areas. They peck holes 5-7 meters deep in the surface of rocks. They drag leaves and blades of grass there, and then form comfortable nests. Surprisingly, most of the work on arranging the bird's home is carried out by female nestors. They can do this for about 2 years. Due to the climate of New Zealand, the kea parrot prefers to wait out the summer heat in its nest. When darkness falls, the bird flies away in search of food and adventure.
Puberty in these predators occurs at the age of 3 years. They begin to create offspring between July and January. The clutch, as a rule, consists of 2-4 eggs with a snow-white shell. The female has to hatch them. For 21 days she does not leave the future chicks a single step. At this time, the male is engaged in food production and brings food to the female. Only after 2 months can the new mother leave the nest, and the young father begin feeding the tiny birds. In order to gain strength and get stronger, kea chicks are given 70 days. As soon as this period expires, young parrots must leave their father's house and begin an independent life.
These birds of prey can easily be called polygamists. During the mating season, males are able to have up to 4 partners, each of which they have to take care of. Such loving nature and reliability of nests built in rock crevices make it possible to produce numerous offspring.
Smarter than monkeys
For many decades, ornithologists have considered parrots to be the smartest birds. They learn easily, can solve logic problems, distinguish colors and are famous for their good memory. Repeated studies have shown that only kea parrots can fully cope with tests of intelligence. Even monkeys, considered the most intelligent mammals, cannot complete some of the tasks proposed by scientists.
Researchers call the ability to imitate their relatives another proof of the high mental abilities of the “mountain clowns.” Watching other birds helps New Zealand parrots learn new skills and duplicate the behavior of crows, wrens, ospreys and other birds.
It is the intelligence of these parrots that makes it possible to turn a feathered predator into an affectionate domestic animal. Attempts to domesticate savvy thieves by many residents of Yuzhny Island have been successful. Perhaps only the steel bars of the cage can keep the predatory kea parrots from theft, hooliganism and vandalism.
Small parrot. Types of parrots. Descriptions, names and features of parrot species
Birds of the parrot order cannot be confused with any other birds among other birds. The characteristic shape of the beak, bright plumage, and lively character distinguish representatives of the main families. The wide distribution of birds, the ability to communicate, and the ability to imitate sounds have made them very popular among pets.
The names of parrots are numerous. According to various classifications, ornithologists count 350-370 species in the families of parrots, cockatoos, Loriaceae, and Nesteraceae. Representatives of parrot-like individuals vary greatly in size, weight, body composition, color, but the lively intelligence of birds and external attractiveness are inherent in both majestic giants and miniature parrots. Studying different species reveals the extraordinary world of these birds.
Amazon
An ancient genus of parrots, known since the time of Columbus. Large birds up to 40 cm in length. They are attracted by their size, beautiful appearance, playfulness, and ability for meaningful communication. The dominant color of the plumage is green; there are species with bright spots on the tail, head, and wings. Peculiarities of color and habitat are reflected in the names of the varieties:
- blue-fronted;
- yellowneck;
- blue-cheeked;
- Venezuelan;
- Cuban and others.
Birds are known long-livers, having a lifespan of 50 to 70 years. In nature, they live in the Amazon basin, in the states of America.
They love the company of people. Keeping a pet requires mandatory education and training of the bird, which can be aggressive if it is not given time and is not occupied with toys and conversations.
Blue-fronted Amazon
Yellow-necked Amazon
Blue-cheeked Amazon
Venezuelan Amazon
Cuban Amazon parrot
Macaw
Parrots are larger than their relatives - some individuals grow up to 1 meter in length, although there are varieties 30-40 cm from the top of the head to the wedge-shaped tail. The plumage is dominated by bright colors, with rich green, red, blue, and yellow colors.
A characteristic species feature is in the non-feathered areas around the eyes and on the sides of the head.
The red-eared macaw is distinguished for its special ear for music. They perfectly imitate the sound of any instrument. Different types of macaw parrots are valued for their ability to participate in conversation. The vocabulary is inferior to its chatty relatives, but everything spoken is appropriate.
Birds, with sensitive paws, are good at detecting the approach of a person or animal by vibration. In the old days, parrots were kept as watchmen, screaming to alert the appearance of strangers.
Macaws fly beautifully, covering a distance of 500 miles per day in search of food. The wings in flight look like huge multi-colored fans. Domesticated individuals are very attached to humans.
The fragrant heavyweight is a polygamist who cannot fly
The heaviest parrot in the world, the kakapo, turns out to not be able to fly. Having climbed a tall tree, he is forced to descend from it, using his wings as a parachute - gliding at an angle of 45°. This parrot lives in New Zealand and is on the verge of extinction - according to some estimates, there are only about fifty individuals left.
Unlike its relatives, it prefers to lead a nocturnal lifestyle and creates polygamous families. The bird has a pleasant strong smell, slightly reminiscent of honey.
Parrots are the only birds that can feed with their paws
Parrots have zygodactyl feet, that is, they have four toes on each foot, two of which face backward and two forward. They have very powerful paws, allowing them to hold on to branches for a long time and even swing or hang upside down on them. However, that's not all they use their paws for.
Photo: David Clode
A parrot's feet are like human hands. They often use one paw to grasp food, branches and other objects, while using the other paw to balance their body. Parrots literally eat with their paws, bringing food to their mouths. It has even been observed that parrots prefer one paw over the other. Therefore, just like us humans, parrots can be left-handed or right-handed.
Interesting facts about budgies
- To teach your budgerigar to speak, you can send him to a special school created for birds in Australia. Do you think this is fiction? In fact, these are confirmed facts.
- This is what these amazing and popular “birds of paradise” are like.
- Are you wondering if budgerigars can see in the dark? No. They have virtually no night vision.
- The heart of the wavy bird has a beating frequency of two hundred beats per minute.
- One newborn wavy chick weighs two grams!
- The body temperature of the wavy is 41 degrees.
- There are much more wavy birds kept at home than in the wild.
- For an ordinary bird to become a talking parrot, a child or woman must work with them, as they have a high timbre of voice.
- In the wild, budgerigars live in flocks and breed all year round.
- An adult wavy weighs from 25 to 35 grams. He lives from thirteen to fifteen years. There have been cases when a pet lived up to twenty years.
Smarter than monkeys
For many decades, ornithologists have considered parrots to be the smartest birds. They learn easily, can solve logic problems, distinguish colors and are famous for their good memory. Repeated studies have shown that only kea parrots can fully cope with tests of intelligence. Even monkeys, considered the most intelligent mammals, cannot complete some of the tasks proposed by scientists.
Researchers call the ability to imitate their relatives another proof of the high mental abilities of the “mountain clowns.” Watching other birds helps New Zealand parrots learn new skills and duplicate the behavior of crows, wrens, ospreys and other birds.
It is the intelligence of these parrots that makes it possible to turn a feathered predator into an affectionate domestic animal. Attempts to domesticate savvy thieves by many residents of Yuzhny Island have been successful. Perhaps only the steel bars of the cage can keep the predatory kea parrots from theft, hooliganism and vandalism.
Bloodthirsty
Next to the kakapo in New Zealand is the kea parrot, which prefers a cool mountain climate. Local residents claim that these birds were repeatedly seen trying to attack defenseless sheep, so the kea were mercilessly exterminated. Only at the end of the 20th century were they given the status of protected birds.
This parrot is not only bloodthirsty, but also has thieving tendencies. There is a known case when a kea stole a wallet from the car of an unwary tourist from Scotland after a photo shoot with him.
Black palm cockatoo
The most expensive parrot became so, not least because of its low prevalence. The black palm cockatoo is endemic to Australia and is found nowhere else in nature. Of course, catching wild representatives of the species is prohibited, as is export from the country. Birds are distinguished by the following features:
- large sizes - up to 80 cm;
- the feathers are more of a dark graphite hue, despite the name;
- after molting, bright red “cheeks” appear - another feature of the palm cockatoo;
- weight up to a kilogram.
Breeders will offer to purchase a chick for 8-12 thousand dollars. Cockatoos are well accustomed to humans and quickly learn to speak. The owner should remember about the powerful beak: it costs nothing for the parrot to bite through a wooden stick up to 5 mm in diameter, so you immediately need to teach the chick not to “bite”.
Kea is the only alpine parrot
Photo: Pavlina Trauskeova/ Shutterstock
Kea, the kakapo's cousin, is also unique. While most parrots live in warm places, kea live in cold, high-altitude environments. It has thick feathers that provide warmth in chilly weather and a round body that allows it to retain heat. Keas are known to be very intelligent and curious birds. However, sometimes their curiosity causes serious harm. Kea sometimes peck at cars, brightly colored backpacks and human clothing. Cases of theft of wallets, passports and jewelry have also been reported. Mischievous, isn't it?
Emotional
Interesting fact: parrots are able to experience emotions and show them to others. According to research conducted by a group of New Zealand and Australian scientists, “bloodthirsty” kea can laugh. Moreover, this is not an imitation of human laughter, but a trill produced in a special way that can amuse all nearby relatives.
The largest parrots, blue-and-yellow macaws, can experience embarrassment when interacting with humans. This conclusion was made by French scientists who studied the behavior of macaws. They noted that parrots ruffled their feathers when they wanted to impress people around them. At the same time, their “cheeks” acquired a reddish tint.
