In the tropical forests of Australia, South America, South Asia and Africa, in the dense tangle of trunks, vines, aerial roots or in the continuous cover of foliage, you will not immediately notice the inhabitants of the tree tops. During the day there is deep silence here, it seems that the forest is empty. But in the evening, when darkness descends on the earth, an unclear noise is woven into the piercing chirping of cicadas and crickets, the croaking of frogs, like the wind sweeping through the treetops. It is to the edge of the forest, closer to the water, that flocks fly out from the depths of the thicket, where they fed during the day parrots Here, among the rotting of fallen leaves and bark, among mushrooms and flowers, in open clearings, where enough light penetrates during the day, parrots look for a place to spend the night. If a sudden ray of light suddenly illuminated the trees at the edge of the forest, it would seem that they shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. No group of animals on Earth has such bright colors as parrots. Set against a backdrop of green feathers, they have red, dark purple, orange, blue, black, dove, pink, snow white, and carmine feathers on their head, throat, wings, and tail.

Parrots first came to Europe when his commander Onesicritus returned from the eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great. He brought tame parrots from India, which were considered sacred birds in those parts. Later, tame parrots appeared in Ancient Rome, where they began to enjoy great respect. The Romans kept birds in cages made of silver and ivory and hired teachers to train them. A well-spoken parrot was valued on the market higher than a strong, hardy slave.

In the Middle Ages, many of these talkative birds lived in the Vatican. There they were called "papagall", which means "papal rooster". The most talented papal individuals spoke many languages. Special caretakers were assigned to them, who looked after the parrots and taught them simple couplets. After the discovery of America and Australia, parrots began to arrive from these continents. They appeared in Russia in the eighteenth century, earlier than canaries. Parrots then cost a fortune. Only a very rich nobleman could afford an overseas bird.

What can parrots do?

Many parrots have a strong and shrill voice, but their ability to imitate human speech and the voices of various animals is known. They can not only pronounce individual words and phrases, but also skillfully imitate intonation and whistle melodies that have stuck in their memory. Some parrots have excellent diction.

Parrots are magnificent acrobats. They deftly move through trees, helping themselves with their beaks and limbs. On the ground, their movements are constrained: the birds walk awkwardly, waddling from side to side, leaning on their beaks. Their beak is bent, thick and very strong, reminiscent of the beak of owls or other birds of prey, but parrots have a slightly different structure. The movable articulation of the beak and the lower half of the beak with the skull gives the beak the necessary mobility. A parrot can easily chew a walnut shell, bite through a fairly thick wire and unscrew the nut.

All parrots are monogamous, they form pairs for life. True, if one of the birds dies, the other still finds a replacement for it. The male and female treat each other with great tenderness. Every parrot has a need for constant affectionate communication with another individual of its species. Deprived of the company of a friend, a parrot may reach out for affection from the person who cares about it. These birds have the ability to recognize people. Different types of parrots like different foods. Some feed on nectar and pollen, others prefer fruits and seeds, others dig tubers, roots and plant bulbs from the soil, at the same time grabbing insect larvae, while others drink tree sap. Parrots live a long time; there are cases when in captivity they lived up to a hundred years. Perhaps large individuals live even longer in the wild. The order Parrots consists of one family, comprising almost 330 diverse species. Half of them live in Australia, about a third in Central and South America. South Asia and Africa are less rich in parrots.

Each species of parrot has its own distinctive feature.

The largest parrot is the hyacinth macaw. Its size from beak to tail is approximately one meter. The local population uses these birds in two ways. Firstly, macaws are capable of replacing guard dogs. When strangers approach the village, they raise a terrible cry. Secondly, for numerous Indian holidays, hyacinth macaws supply their beautiful feathers, and in return people decorate them with bows and colorful ribbons.

The most capricious parrot is the cockatoo. If no attention is paid to him, he begins to remind himself of himself with piercing screams. When he is offended, he is able to take revenge on the offender. Cockatoos quickly find a way to open the most ingenious latches in cages and easily unscrew the nuts.

The most talkative parrot is the yellow-headed Amazon. They can be taught to speak up to a hundred words and many phrases. Most likely, it was the yellow-headed Amazon who knocked out the wing of Robinson Crusoe with a stick, hoping to find a single interlocutor in the person of the parrot. The talented Popka sat on his master’s finger and, imitating his intonation, sadly wailed: “Poor Robinson Crusoe! Where have you been and where have you ended up!”

The most cheerful parrot is the loris. Some types of loris are fragrant like flowers. They feed mainly on nectar. Their diet also includes insects, buds of trees and shrubs. Lorises are amazingly clean, they clean their feathers all the time and love to splash in the water. Among them there are birds talking smartly.

The most warlike parrot is the kea. He is by no means a vegetarian. Keas sometimes attack sheep grazing in the mountains. That's why they are called "sheep killers."

The most wingless parrot is the kakapo. It is also called the "owl parrot". Kakapo can only glide from a tree to the ground - the muscles that move its wings are weak. During the day he sleeps, hiding his head under his wing, and at night he sneaks along the ground between the thickets to feast on berries, mushrooms and green fern leaves. Kakapo lives in very comfortable burrows, with two entrances, numerous tunnels and a nesting chamber-bedroom.

The most intelligent gray parrot. It has ash-gray plumage and a round black beak. Jacos have not only a good vocabulary, but also the ability to dialogue. They have excellent diction and the ability to use words appropriately. When Grays are in a good mood, they sing or whistle something. The gray parrot is an excellent conversationalist who knows how to carry on a conversation. If there is no one at home, the Gray Gray can give commands to himself in the voice of his owner: “Go fly!” or “Why are you hanging around in a cage, you can take a walk!” Having flown around the room, he commands himself: “That’s enough, I took a walk, now it’s time to go home!”

The smallest parrot is the woodpecker. Its length is exactly the same as the beak of a cockatoo - ten centimeters. Woodpecker parrots, like woodpeckers or bats, hang from the trunks of the tallest trees and, leaning on their stiff tails, eat fruit seeds.

The fastest parrot is the budgie. Budgerigars are capable of covering long distances. At the same time, they are one of the favorite indoor birds, breeding well in captivity. Budgerigars are very cute, they chirp animatedly all the time, live calmly next to other species of parrots, and never offend those of equal size. A budgie can imitate the song of a songbird so well that it itself, by its singing, can be mistaken for one or another bird that it is copying. Taming a parrot is not that easy. First he must get used to his place, to his cage. Then you need to teach him to eat in the presence of his owner. When he gets used to the person, you can try to treat the parrot with some kind of treat, pushing it through the bars of the cage. When the parrot begins to take food from your hands, you can train the bird to sit on your hand. From that moment on, he becomes a tame parrot, your favorite.

External features of parrots

All over the world there is a wide variety of parrots, their colors, their names and their species. Firstly - the beak. The beak of parrots is massive, short, a little like the beak of birds of prey, but much stronger and thicker. Parrots are very skilled at using it. The beak is both a device for capturing and grinding food and for climbing trees or some other substrate, and a very formidable weapon. When climbing, the beak acts as a third leg. The beak, as mentioned above, is unusually strong. The beak of a large parrot, without much effort, can bite through a steel wire several millimeters thick, severely mutilate a person or animal, and can disassemble various objects into separate parts. But at the same time, with their beaks, parrots are able to show each other the most tender signs of attention or, showing their affection to the owner, move their beaks over individual hairs of a person’s hair, or lightly pinch their ears. Thirdly, the legs. Parrots' legs are very strong, but rather short. There are only four fingers. The first and fourth are directed backwards, respectively, the second and third are directed forward. The claws are short, strongly curved, and quite sharp. Each paw has great independence of movement. In addition, the paws help to hold the obtained fruit or nut, and they are also used by the bird to bring food to its beak. The flexibility and flexibility of the fingers is amazing. A parrot can pick up a large walnut and a small grain of oats with its paw. Many species of parrots move awkwardly on the ground and are very clubbing. The only exception is the ground parrot, which runs quickly and agilely. And finally, the luxuriously rich color scheme of the plumage. In the entire avifauna of the globe there is hardly an order that rivals in the richness of the color of its plumage, with the possible exception of Galliformes (pheasants, peacocks and other birds). Along with the most beautiful species of pheasants, monals and tragopans, as well as hummingbirds, sunbirds and birds of paradise, these are the true gems of the modern avifauna of the planet. The huge variety of color variations in the plumage of parrots is striking: red, yellow, blue, even cobalt, black, white, all possible combinations of these and other colors. I want to talk about just a few of them.

Types of parrots

The Parrot has discreet green and yellow plumage with black transverse stripes. The forehead is red. Its claws are quite long and, unlike other parrots, straight. The tail feathers are green with yellow stripes. Wing length 12.5 cm. This parrot inhabits sandy wastelands and marshy areas of the coastal strip of southern Australia and Tasmania. The ground parrot nests on the ground, scraping out a small hole in the ground with its feet or placing the nest directly under some thorny bush. Sometimes he lays eggs directly on the bare ground, sometimes he makes a real nest. There are 2-6 eggs in a clutch. The ground parrot leads a very hidden lifestyle and, thanks to its protective coloring, very rarely catches the eye of an observer. But this does not save it from predators: the bird often becomes prey for foxes and stray cats. In addition, its nests die when the grass is burned. As a result, the ground parrot became an extremely rare bird in some places, and in some places it completely disappeared. Even in the early years of the 20th century, the ground parakeet was found in very large numbers near Sydney. Currently, only single specimens of this species can be found there. Only in Tasmania, where foxes and cats are much less common than on the mainland, is the ground parrot still quite common. The ground parrot runs well, but flies very poorly, so in case of danger, it tends to run away first and takes off only at the very last moment. He never flies more than 200 m, but more often, after flying about five meters, he quickly descends, one might say, falls to the ground, touching the ground first with his chest. Its flight is somewhat reminiscent of the flight of chicken birds. He never sits on trees or bushes. Apparently, ground parakeets emit a strong odor. In any case, hunting dogs find them very easily, and hunters often shoot these birds, mistaking them at first glance for quails. However, the meat of this bird is considered extremely tasty. Ground parrots are not kept in cages. Only once (1865) was the ground parakeet brought to the London Zoological Garden. Now there are no parakeets in zoological gardens.

The ELEGANT or decorated parrot belongs to the genus of grass parrots, which belongs exclusively to Australia and New Zealand.

You need to look for an elegant parrot in the southern parts of Australia. There it inhabits sparse forests and open areas. In contrast to the night and ground parrots described above, the elegant bird is quite numerous in many places and, in any case, it is the most common species among the grass parrots. In Western Australia, its numbers have increased markedly over the past two decades and its range has expanded. This is facilitated by the increase in population in Western Australia and the associated forest thinning. This parrot avoids dense forests, but sparse forests with large clearings are just what it needs. There is an abundance of food and good nesting conditions. In forests with tall trees, the elegant parrot stays exclusively near villages, near which there are more or less extensive clearings. Moving from clearing to clearing, this parrot crossed the forest belt and recently appeared in a treeless coastal strip in the southwest of the mainland. Another reason for the increase in the number of elegant parrots in South Western Australia is the expansion of clover plantations, the seeds of which in some places have become the main food of this bird. The elegant parrot is spreading in Australia and in a northern direction, penetrating in recent years into the southern parts of the tropics. An elegant parrot nests in rotten stumps, in the voids inside large branches. A full clutch contains 4-5 rounded eggs. Nesting time is spring in the southern hemisphere, i.e. August - October; eggs are most often laid in September. This bird nests only once a year. Elegant parrots are very calm birds. While searching for food in the bushes, they make a quiet chirping sound. They easily survive and reproduce in cells. The main food of elegant parrots is the seeds of herbaceous plants (in particular, marsh plants). In addition, fruits from both cultivated and wild fruit trees are eaten.

The Budgerigar is perhaps the smallest among the flat-tailed parrots: its wing length is only 9.5 cm, the total body length is 18 cm. Its tail is longer than the wing, the middle tail feathers are much longer than the rest and are narrowed at the end. This parrot is generally green in color. The head, mantle and wings of this bird are covered with thin stripes of yellow and black. The lower back is brilliant green, the wings are gray-green, and the tail is blue. The front of the head and throat are yellow with blue and black spots. The difference between male and female is easily visible on the cere. In males it is dark blue, in females it is pale blue during non-nesting time and brown during nesting. In young birds, like in females, the cere is pale blue. The budgerigar is native to Australia and is found almost everywhere there. In the arid parts of the mainland, you can sometimes find flocks of almost a million of these birds. It nests in hollows, laying eggs without any bedding in the hollow. The number of eggs is 3-5, sometimes more, incubation lasts from 18 to 20 days. In the northern part of its range, the budgerigar begins nesting at any time of the year, as soon as the rains have passed. In the south, egg laying occurs mainly in November. Like many other parrots, the budgerigar needs water, flies to water, and if drought covers a large area, it sometimes finds itself in distress. Thus, during the drought of 1932, up to 60 thousand dead parrots were found accumulated there near one dry dam. The budgerigar is one of the favorite indoor birds. In Russia, this is the most common parrot, which, by the way, reproduces well in captivity. A very large number of color variations of this bird have been bred: yellow, blue, white, etc.

The ROCK parrot is a very peculiar parrot belonging to the genus of grass parrots. This inconspicuous and modestly colored bird constantly stays on the ground, hiding between thick tufts of grass, and can only be discovered when it literally takes off from under your feet. Even when startled, this bird flies for a very short distance, very low above the ground, and after a short time disappears again into the thick grass. On the ground among grass and bushes, this bird moves extremely deftly. The rock parakeet has a very limited distribution. It breeds along a narrow coastal strip of South West and South Australia; but where the sands of the Nullarbor Desert approach the shores of the Great Australian Bight, this bird is not present. The wide sandy shore of this bay is not suitable for the rock parrot. Thus, the rock parrot is primarily a coastal dweller. It settles almost exclusively on small islands, often completely devoid of tree and even shrub vegetation, as well as in the dune-meadow environment of the mainland coast. It is never possible to see it further than 100 m from the coastline. On the low western coast of the mainland, the rock parrot does not nest at all and appears there only occasionally in winter, blown from the islands by strong westerly winds. The rock parrot nests in recesses of rocky shores, especially chalk cliffs. Sometimes nesting burrows are located so low from the water's edge that in stormy weather splashes of waves fall on the eggs. Occasionally, rock parrot nests can be found in close proximity to the nests of oystercatchers and gulls. However, it does not at all strive for colonial nesting, and usually each cliff is occupied by only one nesting pair.

The Greater Hyacinth Macaw is distinguished as a special genus because the sides of its head are almost completely feathered, leaving only a narrow ring around the eyes and a small area at the base of the mandible unfeathered. There are 3 species in this genus. The largest species of hyacinth macaw is A. it inhabits the interior of Brazil. It is all cobalt blue, darker in some places, lighter in others. The eye ring and bare skin at the base of the lower jaw are golden yellow. The wing length of this bird is 36.5 cm, body length is 80-98 cm.

COCKATOO PINK is a light-colored parrot with a pink body and an ash-gray dorsal side. The crest is red-pink. This bird is significantly smaller than black cockatoos, its wing length is 27 cm. The pink cockatoo is widespread throughout the Australian mainland, nesting in the hollows of eucalyptus trees. Unlike most other parrots, the pink cockatoo generously lines its hollow with fresh leaves. There are usually 5 eggs in a clutch. The pink cockatoo feeds on the ground with seeds and roots of plants, which it tears out of the ground with its beak.

KAKAPO or owl parrot is the only representative of the subfamily of owl parrots. It is found only in New Zealand and is currently very rare. Its range continues to shrink. This is a large bird, standing about 60 cm in height. The male is larger than the female. The color of the plumage is mossy green with black stripes on the dorsal side of the body, and in other places with dark brown, lemon yellow and fawn yellow-green stripes. The facial plumage is well developed, hence the resemblance to owls. The coloring of this bird clearly has a protective meaning. The wings of the owl parrot are well developed, but due to muscle weakness and underdevelopment of the sternum keel, the kakapo cannot fly. The most it can do is glide at a distance of about 25-30 m. Kakapo lives on plains and mountains, rising to an altitude of 1400 m above sea level, within a precipitation range of 1900 to 6250 mm, i.e. in very wet places. It makes nests in large rock crevices or between tree roots. It often happens that there are two entrances to the nesting hole, from which tunnels extending deeper, several tens of centimeters in length. In the depths of the hole there is a nesting chamber approximately 30 cm high and 60 cm in diameter. The kakapo reportedly nests every other year. It starts nesting relatively late, laying eggs mainly in January and February (southern hemisphere), which is probably due to the massive appearance at this time of the bird’s main food - various berries. Usually there are 2 eggs in a clutch. Kakapo feeds on plant foods, mainly berries of various shrubs. It is interesting that he walks to get food and usually moves along certain paths trodden by him. The voice of an owl parrot is a kind of hum, reminiscent of the sound of a drum. This hum can be heard from November to mid-February. Owl parrots tolerate captivity well, but do not breed in captivity. The owl parrot is an endangered bird. It was originally distributed on both islands of New Zealand, apparently also on Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands. Now it is completely absent from the North Island. Why this happens is difficult to say. Its extermination by rats and stoats introduced to New Zealand is significant, but apparently only in a few places. The change in the natural situation, expressed in the destruction of forests, is also not the main reason for the decrease in its numbers. In any case, the range of the owl parrot was significantly reduced even before Europeans entered the New Zealand islands.

The lovebird has an intense green color and the back part of the back glows blue. The facial parts of the plumage of this bird are red, the cheeks and throat are pink. The middle tail feathers are green, and the side feathers are red, with narrow green and wider black transverse stripes at the end of them. The beak is pale yellow. The female is somewhat paler in color than the male. The wing length of the rosy-cheeked lovebird is only 10 cm, the total length of the bird is 16-17 cm. The rosy-cheeked lovebird inhabits South-West Africa from Southern Angola to the right bank of the lower Orange River and to Nyasa. On the sandy plains of Damaraland, this bird usually occupies for nesting separate rooms of collective nests of social weavers, without entering into any conflicts with the owners of the nest. In mountainous places, the rosy-cheeked lovebird makes skillful nests. With its beak, it inserts building material (dry blades of grass, thin twigs, etc.) between the feathers of the back of the back and, thus creating a small warehouse on its body, flies with the load to the rock crevice of its choice, where it makes a nest. His eggs, like those of all parrots, are white and almost round: their length is 25 mm, their width is 18 mm. Pink-cheeked lovebirds feed mainly on small seeds. Recently in Angola they switched to feeding on maize and got so used to it that now even in captivity they do not take any other food. It must be said that the raids of these lovebirds on the fields cause a lot of trouble for their owners. Having connected their lives with humans, rosy-cheeked lovebirds now settle in villages, making nests in the walls of houses and under tiled roofs.

PARROT GRAY or gray. The gray parrot belongs to a large group (12 genera, 66 species) of short-tailed parrots that inhabit Africa and America. These parrots got their name because of their wide, short and usually straight-cut (sometimes slightly rounded) tail. Apart from the color of the tail, this is truly a gray bird. However, its tail and upper and lower tail coverts are bright red. The featherless areas of skin on the front parts of the head are white, the beak is black. The tail of this bird is more than half the length of the wing. The beak is narrow, slightly compressed on the sides. The gray parrot is approximately the size of a jackdaw, its wing length is 22-24.5 cm, the total body length is 35-40 cm. The gray parrot is widespread in the tropical forests of Africa from Guinea to Angola and to Lake Nyasa. For nesting, he chooses the tallest trees, where he lays 2 white eggs in the hollows. It rests on these same trees at night, and early in the morning it flies out to feed, and usually flies quite far. Only in the evening does the gray parrot return to its tree. Gray parrots are often found in large flocks, but sometimes in separate pairs. If there are suitable places, several pairs can nest in one tree. The gray parrot is the best imitator of human speech among birds. He tolerates life in captivity easily.

ROSELLA, distributed in Eastern Australia from Southern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania, is widely known. The dimensions of the rosella, like all the parrots under consideration, are small: wing length 16 cm, total body length 32 cm. The head, neck, chest, and lower tail coverts of the rosella are red. The upper back is black with greenish-yellow edges on each feather. The lower back is greenish-yellow. The belly is yellow-green. The wings are lilac-blue with black spots, the tail feathers are blue, becoming lighter towards the end, and the side feathers have white terminal spots. Rosella originally inhabited the open savannah landscape. Now it is closely related to humans and is a characteristic bird of the fields. The number of the species has increased. Rosellas are found in parks in central Canberra and are common in the outskirts of Sydney. Deforestation is also contributing to the expansion of rosella's range. Rosella feeds on the seeds of various herbaceous plants. Having become a bird of the cultivated landscape, it eats large quantities of seeds of cultivated plants (wheat, clover, alfalfa), but also eats large quantities of weed seeds. In some places, rosella causes noticeable damage to fields, but by destroying weeds it is beneficial. When the fruits ripen, Rosella begins to visit orchards, where she especially readily eats apples and pears. However, even here it is beneficial, since it destroys harmful insects in huge quantities. She collects the latter, apparently, exclusively from trees and bushes. Rosellas nest in the voids of thick branches and tree trunks, relatively low above the ground. Sometimes they occupy empty rabbit holes and bee-eater holes in steep clay banks. In some places they nest in fence posts. Rosella is one of the favorite parrots to keep in cages and aviaries. It reproduces well and retains this ability until 25-30 years of age. However, Rosella always remains somewhat timid and unfriendly towards other parrots. Her loud voice sounds quite unpleasant. All these examples are just a small part of the magnificent world of parrots.

A story about pets

When a budgie appeared at our house, without hesitation we named him Kesha. It was so small that even now I wonder how they could sell it. He was not fully fledged. And I started feeding him porridge from a spoon, and then “taught” him to fly. It was very funny: Kesha was sitting on my finger, and I was sharply moving my hand up and down. He tried to keep his balance with his wings. After some time, Keshka began to fly on his own: he accelerated, but did not know how to slow down. Sometimes he simply fell, but more often he looked for a soft landing: either on family members (whoever was closest), or on a carpet hanging on the wall. Keshka was talkative and spoke clearly until I bought him a girl, Golubka. When his girlfriend appeared, he remembered all the old words, but didn’t learn anything new. The dove turned out to be very wild and also jealous. When Keshka was sitting on my shoulder or on my finger, she would push him off, sit in his place for a second and fly away.

There was such a case. One evening we were sitting watching TV, suddenly Keshka’s screams and indignation were heard from my room. We run there, and there is fluff and feathers flying from under the closet. It turns out that Keshka flew out of the cage, and at that time Milka (the cat) was walking, and she decided to give them dinner. I thought the bird would have a heart attack, as most birds do. But this does not apply to our Keshka. Having bitten the cat's ear, he continued to pinch her, and she pulled him under the closet and injured his wing. It's good that we managed to separate them in time. Since then, he flies poorly, but is not afraid of anyone: neither dogs, nor cats, nor rats. When someone enters the room where his cage is located, he begins to scream heart-rendingly, thereby showing that he is in charge.

Another case. Grandfather came to visit us. One fine morning, Keshka was flying around the kitchen while his grandfather was preparing breakfast. And the parrot has a habit of sitting on its head and sorting through its hair. Well, he sat on his head, but there was no hair, and began to pinch him. Grandfather, in order to drive away the bully, doused him with water, thereby frightening Kesha. Since then they have not loved each other. He keeps his distance from his neighbors, budgies and canaries, and does not let them get close to him, but never offends them. That's how warlike he is with us.

Radmila's story about her parrot

One day they gave me a parrot. I named him Jerry. You will ask why?" The fact is that I really like the cartoon character Jerry the mouse. He is so small, agile and does not give way to the huge cat Tom. When I got a parrot, he seemed so small and funny to me, even somewhat reminiscent of a mouse. That's why it was decided to call him Jerry. By nature, my pet is restless, even cocky. And the color of its plumage is as bright and cheerful as the parrot itself, yellow-green. I love my Jerry very much, and he loves to play with me. My mother and I set up an apartment for him: there is a feeding trough and a drinking bowl. To keep our pet from getting bored when I leave for school, I placed a small swing, a bell on a chain, and a toy parrot in his cage. There will be something for our baby to do! Jerry loves it when we let him out for a walk and fly around the room. My little parrot is frolicking to his heart's content! One day, when I was sitting on the sofa, my naughty boy flew up to me and grabbed me by the nose!

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