- Parrots are intelligent birds. How do we know this? Scientists tell us that they are capable of complex thinking – the genes that play a role in their brain development are similar to those that evolved to give humans large brains. One example of this is the way parrots make noises that resemble sounds we make syringes conversations. We click our tongue in a particular way to convey, “Not going to happen.” Parrots click their tongue to make very similar sounds. It is quite astonishing to know that humans and parrots have similar traits.
- In one experiment, the genome of the blue-fronted Amazon parrot was compared with that of 30 other birds. The results showed that regions of brain development genome in parrots are the same as those found in humans. Humans ended up with bigger brains and more brain cells and so capabilities, including language skills than primates. Parrots have bigger brains than other birds and more communication skills.
- Parrots live far longer than expected based on their body size and metabolism. Some live up to 80 years. Parrots genes associated with lifespan help repair DNA damage, slow down cell death due to stress, and limit cell overgrowth and cancers. Amazing!
- According to New Scientist, wild keas (a New Zealand mountain parrot with a long, narrow bill and mainly olive-green plumage) sometimes burst into playful behaviour when they hear recorded laughter. They are the first bird known to respond to laughter-like sounds. What did they do? The keas soared one after the other in aerobatic loops, exchanged foot-kicking high fives in mid-air and tossed objects to each other. They behaved like they were copying one another. When the recording stopped, they simply went back to whatever they were doing.
- The playful behaviour of the keas is accompanied by a special warbling call they make. This is significant because it looks like the laughter they are exposed to is contagious, just like it happens in human conversations. All the birds in a flock – male, female, young ones – join the fun. One report said, “On hearing the calls, many birds started to spontaneously play with non-playing birds, or with an object close by, or by performing aerial acrobatics.”
- The African grey parrot Alex was said to have the intelligence of a five-year-old human. Researchers at the University of York and the University of St. Andrews observed captive greater vasa parrots (Coracopsis vasa) using date seeds and pebbles to break cockle shells. Male vasas ate the powder and then offered a regurgitated calcium-rich snack to females before mating.
- Parrot toes are zygodactyl. Have you noticed the toe-arrangement on the parrot’s foot? Parrot toes are aligned for maximum grip: two in front and two behind, like two pairs of thumbs opposite to each other. Beaks that can crack the world’s toughest nuts and feet that have a solid grip together make parrots dexterous climbers and healthy nut-eaters.
- Parrots generally are omnivores – they eat fruits, seeds, nuts, insects and even meat. Rainbow-coloured Lories and lorikeets of the South Pacific use their brush-tipped tongue to sip nectar and are ready to eat meat when available. Keas were found to attack and kill sheep in 1868.
- Of the roughly 350 known species of parrots, most live in the tropical and subtropical regions of Australia, Asia, Central and South America and Africa. Keas live in the alpine regions of New Zealand and nest in ground burrows. The endangered maroon-fronted parrot (Rhynchopsitta terrisi) lives 6000 feet above ground in the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains of Mexico.
- Though parrots do have some taste glands at the backs of their throats, most of their 300 or so taste buds are located on the roofs of their mouths. Compared with the 10,000 taste buds in a human mouth, the birds’ palate may not seem like much, but parrots do show definite preferences for certain foods.
- Parrots come in different shapes and sizes. The pygmy parrot (Micropsitta pusio) weighs a mere ounce and is about the size of our finger. The world’s longest parrot is the brilliant hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus). It is nearly 3.5 feet from tip to tail. A fully-grown, flightless, nocturnal kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) of New Zealand can weigh as much as nine pounds.
- A parrot’s brilliant plumage contains Psittacofulvins, a bacteria-resistant pigment that only parrots are known to produce.
It gives the birds’ feathers red, yellow and green colouration. They also protect the glorious plumage from degradation.
Picture Credit : Google