Parrot

For other uses of the word parrot, see Parrot (disambiguation)., or lump the cockatoos into one giant family. The majority view, however, is that the Cacatuidae are quite distinct, having a movable headcrest, different arrangement of the carotid arteries, a gall bladder, different skull bones, and not having the Dyck texture feather composition which, in the Psittacidae, scatters light in such a way as to produce the vibrant colours of so many parrots. This classification is used here:

Amazon parrot

* Family Cacatuidae: cockatoos, 21 species in 6 genera
* Family Psittacidae: true parrots, about 332 species
** Subfamily Loriinae: 12 genera with 53 species of lorikeets and lories, centered in New Guinea, spreading to Australia, Indonesia, and the islands of the south Pacific. (Sometimes classed as a full family and thus termed Loriidae.)
** Subfamily Nestorinae: 3 species in 1 genus, the Kea and Kākā of New Zealand and the extinct Norfolk Island Kaka
** Subfamily Strigopinae: Kakapo
** Subfamily Micropsittinae: 6 species of pygmy parrot, all in a single genus
** Subfamily Psittacinae
*** Tribe Psittacini: Afrotropical parrots, 12 species in 3 genera
*** Tribe Psittrichadini: Pesquet's Parrot
*** Tribe Cyclopsittacini: fig parrots, 6 species in 3 genera, all from New Guinea or nearby
*** Tribe Polytelini: three genera.
*** Tribe Psittaculini: Paleotropic psittaculine parrots, 66 species in 12 genera, distributed from India to Australasia
** Subfamily Platycercinae: 28 species in 11 genera.
*** Tribe Platycercini: 18 species in 8 genera, including the rosellas.
*** Tribe Melopsittacini: one genus with one species, the Budgerigar.
*** Tribe Neophemini: two small genera of parrots.
*** Tribe Pezoporini: one genus of parrots with two species.
** Subfamily Arinae: Neotropical parrots, 148 species in 30 genera

Parrots as vulnerable or endangered species

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has made the sale of all wild caught parrot species illegal; the highly endangered species are on on the CITES appendix 1 list and all of the other parrot species are on the CITES appendix 2 list of vunerable species.

Parrots as pets

Swainson's Rainbow Lorikeet and a Cockatiel.

Parrots are kept as pets, particularly conures, macaws, amazons, cockatoos, african greys, lovebirds, cockatiels, budgerigars and parakeets, because of their rich and varied colouration. Sometimes the wings of such birds are clipped, but many people keep flighted pet parrots. Some parrot species, including cockatoos, amazon parrots, african grey parrots and the larger macaws, have very long life-spans of up to 80 years.

In 2004, Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper carried the story of a female macaw supposedly born in 1899, and subsequently a pet of Winston Churchill during the World War; the aged parrot, called Charlie, was reputed to curse the Nazis and Adolf Hitler [1]. Subsequent research strongly suggested that the parrot had never belonged to Winston Churchill, [2] [3] although Charlie's great age was not in question.

The popularity of parrots as pets has led to a thriving - and often illegal - trade in the birds, and some species are now threatened with extinction. The scale of the problem can be appreciated in the Tony Silva case of 1996, in which a world-renowned parrot expert and former director at Tenerife's Loro Parque (Europe's largest parrot park) was jailed in the US for 82 months and fined $100,000 for smuggling Hyacinth macaws1. The case rocked conservationist and ornithological circles, leading to calls for greater protection and control over trade in the birds. Loro Parque has since become well known for parrot conservation work.

In some wildlife centers, larger parrot species such as macaws are used in falconry.

Sound imitation

Many species can imitate human speech or other sounds, and at least one researcher, Irene Pepperberg, has made controversial claims for the learning ability of one species; an African Grey Parrot named Alex has been trained to use words to identify objects, describe them, count them, and even answer complex questions such as "How many red squares?" (with over 80% accuracy). Other scholars claim that parrots are only repeating words with no idea of their meanings and point to Pepperberg's results as being nothing but an expression of classical conditioning.

Feral populations

Escaped parrots can represent a threat to local ecosystems if they become established in the wild. This is now occurring in Spain, in Barcelona and Tenerife.

A sizeable population of naturalized Rose-ringed Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) exists in and around London, England, and in various larger cities in the Netherlands, thought to have descended from escaped or released pets. The largest UK roost of these is thought to be in Esher, Surrey, numbering several thousand. Often flocking with the naturalized P. krameri populations are smaller Alexandrine Parakeets (Psittacula eupatria) populations in Belgium and England.

There are also populations of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) which have established themselves in many areas of the United States, some Rose-ringed Parakeets, some Brotogeris ssp. (mainly B. versicolorus aka White-winged Parrot and/or B. hiriri aka Yellow-chevroned Parrot in a few areas. A population of naturalized Rose-collared aka Peach-faced Lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) have naturalized themselves in Tucson, Arizona.

Several species, including Red-lored Parrots (Amazona autumnalis), Lilac-crowned Parrots (Amazona finschi), and Yellow-chevroned Parakeets (Brotogeris chiriri), have become well established in Southern California and a population of mainly Red-masked aka Cherry-headed Conure Parakeet, a hen Mitred Conure Parakeet, and hybrids of those species lives in the surrounding of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.

Parrot: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Parrot

Parrots as vulnerable or endangered species

Parrots as pets

Sound imitation

Feral populations

Species list

References

External links