All species of parrot except budgies & cockatiels are threatened
or endangered. Over 94 species are threatened with extinction.
It is illegal to import wild caught birds into the U.S. under the CITES act.
(Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species)
Parrots are highly intelligent, similar to a 3 or 4 year old child.
Parrots are flock animals and are very social.
Parrots are not sexually dimorphic. No visible differences exist between
males & females. DNA testing is routinely used to determine sex. One
exception is the Eclectus. Males are green & females are red.
All parrots are zygodactyl - 4 toes. 2 facing forward & 2 facing back.
Parrots are the only bird able to raise food to their mouths with their feet.
Parrots do not have vocal cords. Sound is produced in the syrinx
and manipulated by changing the depth & shape of a bifurcated
trachea.
Parrots have a movable upper & lower jaw. They can open their mouths
with out moving their heads
Parrots produce very little saliva. The tongue is dry and very tactile.
Parrots see more colors than humans. Parrots see into the ultra violet
spectrum. People perceive 16 images a second. Parrots perceive 1600.
Parrots are generally monogamous. All parrot eggs are white.
Parrots range is size from 10grams & 3.2 inches for the Buff Face Pygmy
parrot to 3.5 lbs & 3.3 ft for the Hyacinth macaw
