 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 ] Next Last |
| Parrots | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rainbow Lorikeet s | ||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Genera | ||||||||||
|
Many: see text. |
A parrot is any of the many birds belonging to the family Psittacidae. Parrots have a characteristic curved beak shape with the upper mandible having slight mobility in the joint with the skull and a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. Some types of parrots include amazon, conure, lorikeet, lory, lovebird, macaw, parakeet, parrotlet, and rosella.
Along with the cockatoo family (the Cacatuidae), the parrot family makes up the order Psittaciformes. Confusingly, the term "parrot" can be used in either the narrow sense of the parrot family Psittacidae or the broad sense of the order Psittaciformes.
Birds of the parrot family can be found in most of the warm parts of the world, including India, South East Asia and West Africa, with one species, now extinct, in the United States (the Carolina Parakeet). By far the greatest number of parrot species, however, come from AustralasiaAustralasia is the area that includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the many smaller islands in the vicinity, most of which are the eastern part of Indonesia. The name was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres austr, South AmericaSouth America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It became attached to North America only recently, geologically speaking, wi and Central AmericaCentral America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. Some geographers classify Central America as a large isthmus, and in this geographic sense it sometimes in.
While most birds have a hinged lower mandible (jaw) and a fixed upper mandible, in parrots both the upper and lower mandibles are hinged. This makes them look a bit comical when they yawn. While most birds have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing rearward, parrots have two forward-facing toes and two rearward-facing toes. This foot structure is termed "zygodactyl."
Many species can imitate human speechSpeech (n. an oral presentation by one person to a group (or sometimes just an individual); closely related terms include: Conversation (infomal speech by more than one person on a topic), Debate (formal communication between two groups holding opposing v or other sounds, and at least one researcher, Irene PepperbergIrene Pepperberg is a scientist, noted for her studies in animal cognition particularly in relation to parrots. Irene Pepperberg is a professor at the University of Arizona, currently ( as of 2003) a visiting fellow at the MIT media lab in Boston, MA. has made controversial claims for the learning ability of one species; an African Grey ParrotThe African Grey Parrot is a large parrot of the genus Psittacus native to Africa. As the name implies, the African Grey Parrot is predominantly grey, with accents of white and a red or maroon tail depending on the subspecies. Greys, like all parrots, are AlexAlex is an African grey parrot, whose use of language has been studied intensively over the last 20 years by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg. Alex has a vocabulary of around 100 words, but is exceptional in that he appears to have understanding of wh, 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 operant conditioning.
Parrots are kept as pets. Often the wings of such birds are clipped, but many people keep flighted pet parrots, allowing the birds to roam their homes. Some parrots, including the conures, macaws, amazons, cockatoos, cockatiels, and budgerigars are said to make good family pets. While they can be rewarding, they are also quite demanding. Intellectually and emotionally they are surprisingly like two year old humans - imagine having a two year old for 50 years. Cockatiels and budgies are often considered good birds for beginners (they cost less, don't live as long, and less likely to take over than some of the larger birds). Information on care can be found at How to care for a pet cockatoo.
ORDER PSITTACIFORMES
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |