What is a Parrot?
This may seem like a question with an obvious answer, but quite frequently this is the source of a lot of confusion. For example, many people don't realize that Cockatiels, Budgerigars (a.k.a. Budgies / Parakeets) and Love Birds are all in-fact parrots.
On this page I will discuss many of the characteristics that make a parrot a parrot, as well as some brief information about their taxonomy.
On this page I will discuss many of the characteristics that make a parrot a parrot, as well as some brief information about their taxonomy.
Common misconceptions
-Birds are "stupid"
This is perhaps the most harmful misconception. Not because it hurts their feelings, but because it translates to an underestimation of the mental stimulation that a bird, especially a parrot, requires. This originates from a very outdated understanding of avian intelligence. Recent research shows that birds are much more intelligent than we initially thought, particularly the corvids (Crows, ravens, magpies, jays) and, you guessed it, the parrots. Due to the extremely intelligent and social behaviours of parrots, they require a lot more stimulation than many people realize. Without it their health will suffer and they'll resort to behaviours such as self-harm and endless screaming to cope. The most likely result is their arrival to a rescue like us. Parrots are not just a fun decoration, they require just as much, if not more attention than a cat or dog. This holds true for even the smallest parrots such as cockatiels and budgies. That is why this misconception is so harmful.
-Parrot "breeds"
I believe that it is important to use the correct terminology and recognize different parrots as species, not breeds. This is because it creates an overall tendency to underestimate the differences between two species of parrots. To help put this into perspective, parrots make up a taxonomic order of birds just as rodents make up a taxonomic order of mammals. Would you think it appropriate to refer to a beaver and a mouse as different breeds because they're both rodents? Of course not, they are very different species with entirely different behaviours. It is also not appropriate to refer to cockatiels and budgies as different breeds, as they too are different species with distinct behaviours.
-All parrots talk
While to my knowledge most, if not all parrot species possess the ability to mimic a variety of sounds due to their physiology, not all individuals will. Even amongst the species that are most known for it, they may never choose to do so.
-Parrots only mimic
Common belief is that when parrots mimic, it is simply that, mimicry. However, it has been shown repeatedly that parrots can develop at least some understanding of the language they're using. There is debate as to how deep their understanding of language goes. One extreme believes that it is simple association, for example they may realize that saying "can I have food?" results in a treat, but they don't understand the concept of asking a person for food. The other extreme believes that they are capable of simple language. That is to say that they are capable of rearranging known vocabulary to express novel ideas. If you're curious about this, I recommend checking out some of the research with Alex the African Grey parrot. There is video footage of him identifying materials, shapes, colours, and counting among other impressive feats.
-Parakeet and budgie confusion
The term parakeet tends to cause a lot of unnecessary confusion. Most often when people say parakeet they are referring to the species budgerigar, (budgie for short) but you will hear the term used for many other species of parrots. This implies some kind of evolutionary relationship such as a family, but the term just describes a parrot with a long, slender tail. I would personally prefer it everyone were to just stop using this term. Call them budgies!
-Parrots are large and colourful
When asked to imagine a parrot, most people think of large, colourful birds. In particular the birds that tend to come to mind are Macaws, Amazons and Cockatoos. Some will even imagine a toucan, which is not a parrot at all. It is not always the case that parrots are large and colourful. I think this is why people are often surprised to learn that budgies and cockatiels are indeed parrots. I'll discuss in more detail what makes a parrot a parrot below.
This is perhaps the most harmful misconception. Not because it hurts their feelings, but because it translates to an underestimation of the mental stimulation that a bird, especially a parrot, requires. This originates from a very outdated understanding of avian intelligence. Recent research shows that birds are much more intelligent than we initially thought, particularly the corvids (Crows, ravens, magpies, jays) and, you guessed it, the parrots. Due to the extremely intelligent and social behaviours of parrots, they require a lot more stimulation than many people realize. Without it their health will suffer and they'll resort to behaviours such as self-harm and endless screaming to cope. The most likely result is their arrival to a rescue like us. Parrots are not just a fun decoration, they require just as much, if not more attention than a cat or dog. This holds true for even the smallest parrots such as cockatiels and budgies. That is why this misconception is so harmful.
-Parrot "breeds"
I believe that it is important to use the correct terminology and recognize different parrots as species, not breeds. This is because it creates an overall tendency to underestimate the differences between two species of parrots. To help put this into perspective, parrots make up a taxonomic order of birds just as rodents make up a taxonomic order of mammals. Would you think it appropriate to refer to a beaver and a mouse as different breeds because they're both rodents? Of course not, they are very different species with entirely different behaviours. It is also not appropriate to refer to cockatiels and budgies as different breeds, as they too are different species with distinct behaviours.
-All parrots talk
While to my knowledge most, if not all parrot species possess the ability to mimic a variety of sounds due to their physiology, not all individuals will. Even amongst the species that are most known for it, they may never choose to do so.
-Parrots only mimic
Common belief is that when parrots mimic, it is simply that, mimicry. However, it has been shown repeatedly that parrots can develop at least some understanding of the language they're using. There is debate as to how deep their understanding of language goes. One extreme believes that it is simple association, for example they may realize that saying "can I have food?" results in a treat, but they don't understand the concept of asking a person for food. The other extreme believes that they are capable of simple language. That is to say that they are capable of rearranging known vocabulary to express novel ideas. If you're curious about this, I recommend checking out some of the research with Alex the African Grey parrot. There is video footage of him identifying materials, shapes, colours, and counting among other impressive feats.
-Parakeet and budgie confusion
The term parakeet tends to cause a lot of unnecessary confusion. Most often when people say parakeet they are referring to the species budgerigar, (budgie for short) but you will hear the term used for many other species of parrots. This implies some kind of evolutionary relationship such as a family, but the term just describes a parrot with a long, slender tail. I would personally prefer it everyone were to just stop using this term. Call them budgies!
-Parrots are large and colourful
When asked to imagine a parrot, most people think of large, colourful birds. In particular the birds that tend to come to mind are Macaws, Amazons and Cockatoos. Some will even imagine a toucan, which is not a parrot at all. It is not always the case that parrots are large and colourful. I think this is why people are often surprised to learn that budgies and cockatiels are indeed parrots. I'll discuss in more detail what makes a parrot a parrot below.
Characteristics
Physical characteristics:
The most prominent characteristic of all parrots would be their large hooked beaks, in-fact because of this parrots are often referred to as "hooked-bills." In addition to these big beaks they have a joint unique to parrots called the "craniofacial hinge." This joint allows them to move their upper mandible(upper beak) independently from their lower mandible. Their large hooked beaks with an extra joint not only aids in climbing, but it makes them very powerful and dexterous for cracking tough nuts. So a large parrot can do a lot of damage to furniture or even people, especially children when they bite.
Another characteristic of parrots is their feet, most birds have 3 toes facing forward, and 1 toe facing backward but parrots have 2 forward and 2 backward, this toe arrangement is called "Zygodactyly". This is another adaptation that, similar to their beaks, makes them excellent at climbing but also allows them to hold things such as a nut with one foot.
The majority of parrots are monomorphic, which means they show no visible outward appearance to indicate whether they are male or female. Some exceptions include the Eclectus and Budgerigar (Budgie/Parakeet) but otherwise a DNA test is required to determine their sex.
Behavioural characteristics:
This is very difficult given the diversity of parrots, so these characteristics may not apply to a particular species. Parrots are very social birds, they have large flocks and form monogamous bonds. Communication is important in these large flocks, because of this parrots have developed extremely loud vocals. The Moluccan Cockatoo is the loudest bird in the world and their "screams" can reach as loud as 135 decibels. Interestingly many species will assign a signature call or a "name" to their young which others use to address it. The majority of parrots don't build nests, instead they prefer hollow logs and tree cavities. Love birds and Quaker parrots are examples of exceptions that build nests, Quakers interestingly build massive communal nests. Their charm, intelligence and social nature is what makes parrots popular as pets, but they are not domesticated animals like dogs or cats and are a huge commitment.
The most prominent characteristic of all parrots would be their large hooked beaks, in-fact because of this parrots are often referred to as "hooked-bills." In addition to these big beaks they have a joint unique to parrots called the "craniofacial hinge." This joint allows them to move their upper mandible(upper beak) independently from their lower mandible. Their large hooked beaks with an extra joint not only aids in climbing, but it makes them very powerful and dexterous for cracking tough nuts. So a large parrot can do a lot of damage to furniture or even people, especially children when they bite.
Another characteristic of parrots is their feet, most birds have 3 toes facing forward, and 1 toe facing backward but parrots have 2 forward and 2 backward, this toe arrangement is called "Zygodactyly". This is another adaptation that, similar to their beaks, makes them excellent at climbing but also allows them to hold things such as a nut with one foot.
The majority of parrots are monomorphic, which means they show no visible outward appearance to indicate whether they are male or female. Some exceptions include the Eclectus and Budgerigar (Budgie/Parakeet) but otherwise a DNA test is required to determine their sex.
Behavioural characteristics:
This is very difficult given the diversity of parrots, so these characteristics may not apply to a particular species. Parrots are very social birds, they have large flocks and form monogamous bonds. Communication is important in these large flocks, because of this parrots have developed extremely loud vocals. The Moluccan Cockatoo is the loudest bird in the world and their "screams" can reach as loud as 135 decibels. Interestingly many species will assign a signature call or a "name" to their young which others use to address it. The majority of parrots don't build nests, instead they prefer hollow logs and tree cavities. Love birds and Quaker parrots are examples of exceptions that build nests, Quakers interestingly build massive communal nests. Their charm, intelligence and social nature is what makes parrots popular as pets, but they are not domesticated animals like dogs or cats and are a huge commitment.
Parrot perception
Like most animals and people, parrots have five main senses including sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. It's important to have some understanding of how your pet perceives the world for a lot of reasons. One example is that you will find it easier to identify potential irritants that could cause behavioural issues.
Sight: Parrots have excellent vision. They process visual information much quicker than we do which allows them to see and react to things faster. This can be an issue because most light bulbs flicker at a frequency that we can't see but the birds can and this flickering can irritate them. They also have tetrachromatic vision, this means they have 4 different kinds of cone cells in their eyes as oppose to our trichromatic(3 cones) vision. This allows them to see the ultra-violet colour spectrum, some research suggests that this helps them identify the opposite sex which seem monomorphic(indistinguishable) to our eyes. Parrots have eyes on the side of their head(Monocular vision) which increases field of view, but makes depth perception much more difficult. They also have poor night vision, this is important to know if you have a parrot because if you can see in a dimly lit room that doesn't mean that your bird can.
Hearing: Parrots don't have particularly special hearing abilities, people can hear sounds at a higher frequency than parrots however, some parrots can hear lower frequencies than us known as infra-sound.
Touch: Touch is another one of the stronger parrot senses, they can feel different textures that we can't which is why parrots tend to "examine" things by grabbing them with their beak as opposed to a cat or dog which prefer to smell things. If your bird doesn't like specific foods, try dicing them up, mushing them, etc. because the texture of a food is very important to parrots.
Taste & Smell: Parrots have a better sense of taste and smell than most birds, but it still isn't particularly good. Despite this, some parrots seem to be very picky eaters but often times preparing food differently to have a different texture changes their mind.
Unlike dogs or cats, parrots don't smell to "check out" new people or objects, since their strongest senses are sight and touch they instead examine things by grabbing it their beak or foot. The parrot's perception of the world is dominated by sight and touch, fairly similar to people actually.
Sight: Parrots have excellent vision. They process visual information much quicker than we do which allows them to see and react to things faster. This can be an issue because most light bulbs flicker at a frequency that we can't see but the birds can and this flickering can irritate them. They also have tetrachromatic vision, this means they have 4 different kinds of cone cells in their eyes as oppose to our trichromatic(3 cones) vision. This allows them to see the ultra-violet colour spectrum, some research suggests that this helps them identify the opposite sex which seem monomorphic(indistinguishable) to our eyes. Parrots have eyes on the side of their head(Monocular vision) which increases field of view, but makes depth perception much more difficult. They also have poor night vision, this is important to know if you have a parrot because if you can see in a dimly lit room that doesn't mean that your bird can.
Hearing: Parrots don't have particularly special hearing abilities, people can hear sounds at a higher frequency than parrots however, some parrots can hear lower frequencies than us known as infra-sound.
Touch: Touch is another one of the stronger parrot senses, they can feel different textures that we can't which is why parrots tend to "examine" things by grabbing them with their beak as opposed to a cat or dog which prefer to smell things. If your bird doesn't like specific foods, try dicing them up, mushing them, etc. because the texture of a food is very important to parrots.
Taste & Smell: Parrots have a better sense of taste and smell than most birds, but it still isn't particularly good. Despite this, some parrots seem to be very picky eaters but often times preparing food differently to have a different texture changes their mind.
Unlike dogs or cats, parrots don't smell to "check out" new people or objects, since their strongest senses are sight and touch they instead examine things by grabbing it their beak or foot. The parrot's perception of the world is dominated by sight and touch, fairly similar to people actually.
The 3 major families of parrots
Parrots, which are sometimes called "Hooked-bills" or their scientific name "Psittaciformes" is one of 23 "Orders" of birds. It consists of nearly 400 species in 86 genera. There are 3 main groups of parrots or "Super-families".
Psittacoidea ("True parrots"): True parrots is the largest Super-family, it includes the majority of parrot species including Budgies, Lorikeets, Lovebirds, Macaws, Amazons and more.
Strigopoidea ("New Zealand parrots"): New Zealand parrots are not typically kept as pets, they include birds like the Kakapo and Kea.
Cacatuoidea ("Cockatoos"): The Cockatoos, like the name suggests includes Cockatoos but also Cockatiels which some people are surprised to find are indeed parrots.
It's important to realize that there are nearly 400 SPECIES of parrots, not breeds. Some of these species are drastically different from each other in both behavioural and physical characteristics.
Psittacoidea ("True parrots"): True parrots is the largest Super-family, it includes the majority of parrot species including Budgies, Lorikeets, Lovebirds, Macaws, Amazons and more.
Strigopoidea ("New Zealand parrots"): New Zealand parrots are not typically kept as pets, they include birds like the Kakapo and Kea.
Cacatuoidea ("Cockatoos"): The Cockatoos, like the name suggests includes Cockatoos but also Cockatiels which some people are surprised to find are indeed parrots.
It's important to realize that there are nearly 400 SPECIES of parrots, not breeds. Some of these species are drastically different from each other in both behavioural and physical characteristics.