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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
parrot |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Psittaciformes |
| FAMILY: |
Psittacidae
(parrot), Loriidae (parrot), Cacatuidae (Malay name
for bird calls) |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
77
genera and 328 species |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Can
be found in every color of the spectrum, but many
South American species tend toward olive green.
All have zygodactylous feet, two toes that point
forward and two that point backwards. Most members
of the parrot family also have strongly hooked beaks. |
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| SIZE: |
From
9 cm (3.6 in) pygmy parrots to 100 cm (40 in) hyacinth
macaws |
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| WEIGHT: |
From
65 grams for the small species to more than 1.6
kg (3.5 lbs) for a large hyacinth macaw |
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| DIET: |
Fruit,
seeds, buds, nectar, and pollen. Occasionally insects
or other meat will be eaten. |
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| INCUBATION: |
17-35
days |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
21-70 days |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Usually
1-2 years in small species and 3-4 years in the
large species |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Smaller
species between 10-15 years, larger macaws and cockatoos
to more than 75 years |
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| HABITAT: |
Primarily
forest dwellers of tropical zones around the world |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No
data |
| CITES |
All
but 3 species protected |
| USFWS |
Several
threatened or endangered under USFWS such as the
Lear's macaw and golden conure |
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| 1. |
Parrots
raised by humans show an amazing ability to mimic
people and noisy objects, but in the wild they have
never been observed mimicking. |
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| 2. |
While
both sexes of parrots tend to look identical the
eclectus parrot is one of the few known vertebrates
in which the female is more colorful than the male.
She is bright red; he is green. |
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| 3. |
Lorikeets
have tongues that look like little brushes for feeding
on nectar. |
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| 4. |
Because
large parrots live so long, and may out live their
owners, it is often necessary for owners to put
the birds in their wills. |
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| The
parrot plays an important role in its habitat by
helping to propagate the forest. Because not all
of the seeds consumed are digested, many are passed
in the bird's guano over new areas of the forest.
Some species eat nectar and are important in the
pollination of many species of plants in the tropical
forests. |
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|
| Forshaw,
J.M. Parrots of the World. T.F.H. Publications
Inc., 1978. |
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| Parker,
Sybil P. (ed.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia.
Birds II. Vol. 8. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold
Co., 1972. |
|
|
Perrins,
Christopher (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Birds.
New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
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