Facts About Parrots

 

Where do they live?

Parrots can be found on all tropical and subtropical continents and regions including Africa, Australia, Oceania, South and Southeast Asia, Central and South America.

What do they eat?

Parrots eat a mixture of nuts and seeds, as well as flowers, nectar and fruit. Sometimes they also enjoy tucking into small insects.

Fun Parrot Facts

• Many birds grip food in their feet, but only Parrots can hold their food up to their beaks whilst they eat. This is similar to the way humans eat with their hands.
• The smallest parrot is the buff-faced pygmy parrot, which is only about 3 inches.
• Many species are monogamous and spend their lives with only one mate.
• Ringneck Parakeets have established themselves and are breeding in parts of the UK

Parrots are sociable creatures and sometimes they like to help the Keepers on their daily rounds at the park!

Parrot Craft

Create your own paper parrot at home with this colourful craft idea.

You will need:

• A selection of coloured paper
• Scissor and glue
• Black felt tip

Fold a piece of coloured paper in half. Using a pencil draw your parrot’s body outline and cut it out. This creates two identical bodies. Next, take a yellow or orange piece of paper and fold it in half. On this, draw the outline of the beak and cut it out. This will again create two identical pieces. Now using a white piece of paper, fold it in half, then draw and cut out an eyeball. This will create two eyes but you will need to draw the eye detail onto the reverse of the paper. Now its time to glue all the beak, eyes and the two bodies together. When glueing the bodies together leave the base section unstuck so you can add in the tail feathers.

To create the tail feathers cut a stripe out of each different coloured piece of paper and glue them neatly in between the bodies.

Repeat this process but with shorter stripes for the wings on each side of the parrot!

Macaws

Macaws are known as the giants of the parrot world. The hyacinth macaw is the longest parrot, with a head to tail length of nearly 40 inches. Macaws have long tail feathers as well as big beaks. Macaw adaptations include large, curved, powerful beaks designed to crack open hard nuts and seeds. These parrots have a long, streamlined physique and colorful feathering, ranging from the hyacinth macaw’s hyacinth blue to the scarlet macaw’s scarlet red coloring. Some macaw species have bare facial patches.

Macaws are informally classified into two groups: large macaws and mini macaws. The large macaws include those of the Ara, Anodorhynchus, and Cyanopsitta genera. This “blue macaws” group includes the hyacinth, along with the critically endangered Lear’s macaw and Spix’s macaw. The mini macaws are much smaller and include those from the genera Diopsittaca, Orthopsittaca, and Primolius.

Although there are 18 living species of macaws, not all commonly get adopted by people. The commonly kept companion macaw species include the following, listed by common name and scientific name: blue-and-gold macaw (Ara ararauna), green-winged macaw (Ara chloropterus), Hahn’s macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis nobilis), hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), scarlet macaw (Ara macao), military macaw (Ara militaris), and severe macaw (Ara severus). Some of these species have other common names. For example, the blue-and-gold macaw is sometimes called the blue-and-yellow macaw, and the military macaw is sometimes called the chestnut-fronted macaw.

AFRICAN GREY PARROT

The African grey parrot is one of the largest parrots in Africa. It is predominantly grey in color and has darker grey than its body over the head and both wings. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. Its tail feathers are red. The coloration of juveniles is similar to that of adults; however, their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark eyes of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey.

The African grey parrot’s ability to talk and mimic sounds makes this medium-sized parrot a captivating companion. African grey owners often report that their greys oftentimes talk in context and seem very attuned to their people’s emotions. The African grey parrot is not just a top talker — this bird is also known for its extreme intelligence, which gives them the moniker “The Einsteins of the Bird World.”