Parrot Facts to Entertain

There is so much to know about parrots, but you must know the parrot facts from fiction. Maybe you know some things about those famous African Greys you've seen on television, but there is so much more to know about the parrot family in general. Coming in amazingly different sizes, shapes, colors, and intelligence levels, they still share some things in common.

1. Those beautiful birds known as parrots that come in green, blue, red, yellow, orange, even hyacinth, are made up of 350 species.

2. Almost all parrots are monogamous. This is somewhat unusual in the bird world. Even birds that mate for a season are known to be "promiscuous." Laying white eggs, parrots like nesting in tree holes or cliff cavities when in the wild. When living with people they must be provided with nesting boxes.

3. They are some of the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom, and the most brilliant of birds, in addition to ravens, crows, and jays. African Grays, particularly one bird known as Alex, can associate words with meanings and speak in simple sentences. They can calculate and answer brief questions with up to 80% accuracy. Experts disagree whether this comes from the bird's understanding or not. Some think the trainer, consciously or not, signals the bird in some way to give the desired response.

4. Without the vocal chords that mammals have, they make their sounds by blowing air over their tracheas that have 2 halves.

5. Strangely enough, their beaks are unhinged. This is not the case with any other kind of bird.

6. At least one parrot, the New Zealand Kea, is able to skillfully work with tools.

7. Parrots in the wild spend huge amounts of their day foraging, requiring large amounts of energy, and for this reason they require an enormous amount of stimulation when kept in captivity. They require as much attention as a three-year old human child, more than many pet owners are prepared to offer.

8. Almost all parrots, except Lorikeets, eat nuts, fruits, seeds, and small insects. Lorikeets, on the other hand, eat only fruit and fruit nectar.

9. They can live a very long time, with some of the larger birds living up to 80 years. Even the small budgies and love birds can live for 10 or 15. Many of these birds outlive their owners, making it necessary for more and more bird rescues to take place.

10. Almost half are endangered because of poaching, pest control, or capture for sale. In so many places in the world parrots are slaughtered because of destruction to crops.

Now that you know some parrot facts, have fun getting to know a real parrot.

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Parrot Facts for the Young

Anyone who is seriously considering buying their children a parrot needs to do plenty of research on parrot facts before even deciding which kind to buy. Parrots make wonderful pets, for the right owners, but some are more appropriate for children than others. Even the more appropriate ones can take quite a bit of energy and attention in order to maintain the bird's health. They need even more attention than kittens or puppies.

If you have very young children, you might not be ready for a parrot at all. You might want to consider a more social finch, instead. They are colorful, sweet, and require very little attention, compared to any one of the parrot species. If your child is old enough to assist with feeding, watering, and cleaning the cage, though, he might be ready for the smallest, gentlest one, the budgerigar parakeet. They come in all sorts of colors ranging from green, to yellow, to white. You can even get them in varying shades of blue. They don't require huge cages or much space in your home, and they live about the same length of time as cats and dogs, 10 to 15 years.

If your child is a little older and is willing and able to take on more responsibility, then he might be ready for a cockatiel. These birds come in pale yellow and gray and are about two and a half times the size of a parakeet. Though their bills can be sharp, and they can, like most parrots, sometimes be a little surly, they don't pose the danger of the bigger parrots, like Conures and Macaws. These larger birds have beaks and talons that can do serious, blood-letting damage to children and adults who don't know what to expect. Generally, cockatiels are loving and social without causing too much difficulty.

The larger members of the parrot family should be left strictly for adult owners and handlers, however. Because they require so much attention, they won't necessarily just sulk in their bird cages if they are ignored. They will do whatever they can to demand attention. Such birds can be quite aggressive if not handled properly, and the difficulty in teaching children how to deal with such a challenging bird is probably not worth the hassle. But whatever kind of bird you decide to buy, make sure you get as many parrot facts as possible before you take the plunge.

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