Zahra Jazeel - Parrots For Kids: Amazing Animal Books For Young Readers

By Zahra Jazeel and John Davidson

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Introduction

If you happen to visit a zoo in yourchildhood, I am pretty sure that you must have been mesmerized bythe beauty of parrots and intrigued by the different varietiesfound in that enclosure. If a zoo could hold such an amazingcollection, imagine the spectacular shows the parrots may put up inthe wild apart from finding rare species in their very own naturalhabitat. What a wonderful sight it would be!

Especially when it comes to bird watching,parrots are a real treat to watch because of their spectacularshades of colors and their vivid behavioral patterns. Whether it isbig, medium sized or large, parrots are special in their ownway.

Parrots are real entertainers. There is nodoubt about that. You may know that parrots can talk. But how isthat possible? Do you know why they talk and what helps themtalk? Did you know that some parrots have some personality inthem and require attention? Fascinating isnt it?

Come join us as we explore into the world ofparrots where we would be learning about different parrotvarieties, their behavior and most importantly why and how dothey talk.

AboutParrots

Parrots are colorful birds found mostly intropical and subtropical regions in the world. There are more than300 species in total. Now thats a lot of variety for a bird. Thegreatest diversity of parrots exist in Australasia, CentralAmerica, and South America.

Interestingly, when it comes to size, parrotsare the only birds with the most variable sizes as they range fromsmall, medium, large or somewhere in between.

The lifespan of a parrot is roughly about20-75 years depending on their species. Some have even reported tohave lived more than 75 years in the wild. Mostly, parrots live inflocks as social birds. Just like human beings communicate with oneanother through speech, parrots are known to communicate with eachother by a series of loud screeching and squawking sounds. Recentlyit was revealed that baby parrots are given names and the littleones use the names to identify themselves and others to communicateeffectively with one another.

Though some parrots build ordinary nests,others prefer their homes to be in holes of trees, rock cavities,ground tunnels and even in termite mounds.

Parrots are highly intelligent unlike someother birds and could be trained to perform tricks or imitatesounds. Some parrots are even said to have followed their ownerslike puppies when they are trained. So the next time you pay avisit to the pet shop, dont forget to check on parrots!

Features of Parrots

Just by looking at a parrot, we can identifymany of its physical features. Parrots usually weigh from 0.6-1.6kg and they are 3.5 to 40 tall depending on their species. Acloser look at a parrot will reveal its cuteness and adorability inan instant. Some parrots are unicolored while some others likemacaws are multicolored.

Each parrot species tend to have uniquepersonalities. For example, cockatiels are quite nippy whileAlexandrine parakeets demand attention when required. Parrots havea keen sense of hearing and sight which helps them escape fromdanger or to find food. The pupils of parrots eyes dilate when itfeels threatened or excited. The eyes are small and positioned oneither side of its head which allows them to have a clear visioncovering a wide scope.

A distinct feature found in all parrots isthe presence of zygodactyl feet. Zygodactyl is the presence of 4toes in a foot, 2 pointing forward and the rest pointing backwards.This feature helps parrots in having a firm grip when resting onbranches or to hold any food when eating. They also have a strongpointed beak to crack open nuts or hard shells in fruits. Now youwouldnt want a bite from a parrot because that could be prettypainful.

Just like humans having a preference on usingright or left hand to do most of their work, parrots have proven toshow this ability in a research conducted on Australian parrots.These parrots demonstrated their distinct handedness throughtheir feet.

Some parrot species like cockatiels andcockatoos have a mobile crest on their head which adds to theirbeauty as well as charisma.

Whereparrots live

Parrots live in all tropical and subtropicalcontinents across the world. They prefer warm climates in general.This explains why a great number of species are found inAustralasia and South America. It is important to note that certainendemic species are found in some Caribbean and Pacific islands.Though parrots are widely seen in rain forests, surprisingly someare even found in cities and suburbs as well.

Over the past few years, many parrots havebeen introduced to areas having temperate climates and the parrotshave successfully established stable populations in some regions ofAmerica including New York. This was a step taken to make theparrots adapt to different regions and face challengessuccessfully.

Some parrots are sedentary but some are fullymigratory. Macaws for instance are found commonly in Mexico. Thoughcockatoos are native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia, 7different species are found in Philippines and Solomon islandsapart from New Guinea and Indonesia.

Feral parrots are parrots living innon-native environments. A flock of feral parrots can be formed ifthey escape in mass quantities while importing them from airportsor even quarantine facilities. If you think releasing a pet parrotcan contribute in forming a feral population, you are wrong. Thisdoes not happen because the captive birds do not have the skills tosurvive unlike wild birds. However, there are instances where petparrots having escaped or released have joined a flock of feralparrots successfully.

Dietof Parrots

What do you think is the diet of parrots?Only fruits and seeds? Well, think again. A parrots diet is madeup of fruits, seeds, pollen, buds, nectar and insects. Some of youmay not believe that parrots consume insects. Not all speciesconsume insects but some do. Heres an example to change your mind.Gold-winged Parakeets prey on water snails while some species ofcockatoos feed on grubs. It may sound disgusting. But it is true.Many species also consume nectar when it is available. Henceparrots are omnivores, which means they eat both plant and animalmatter.