Parrot

For the runtime engine for Perl 6, see Parrot virtual machine.

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, kea, 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 Australasia, South America and Central America.

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 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 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,
amazonss,
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, do not 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.

The very attractiveness of parrots as pets has led to a thriving - often illegal - trade in the birds, some species of which are now threatened with extinction. The scale of the problem can be appreciated when one considers the Tony Silva case, 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 the birds 1. The case rocked conservationist and ornithological circles, leading to calls for greater protection and control over trade in the birds. Escaped parrots, like other exotic animals, can also represent a potential threat to local ecosystems if they become established in the wild. This is now occurring in Spain, in both Barcelona and Tenerife.

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