Parrots are birds of the order Psittaciformes, characterized by a robust, curved beak, zygodactyl feet (two toes pointing forward and two backward), and a typically upright posture. This order includes three main clades: true parrots (Psittacidae), cockatoos (Cacatuidae), and New Zealand parrots (Strigopidae). Psittaciformes are predominantly herbivorous, with specialized cranial kinesis and powerful jaw musculature enabling efficient seed and nut processing. They exhibit complex vocal learning and advanced cognitive abilities, with relatively large brains and extended developmental periods. Many species show strong pair bonding, social flock structure, and cavity-nesting behavior, and they are largely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.
Birdwatching is one of the most common and popular ways people experience nature. But it's not often that even the most enthusiastic birdwatcher returns to the same place more than 800 times to witness the changes over four ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 17, 2026
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New research has found that masturbation among bird species, including parrots, is natural, despite prevailing assumptions that it is a harmful behavior in response to environmental factors.
Plants & Animals
Jun 2, 2026
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One of the world's rarest parakeets has seen its numbers surge thanks to a pair of super breeders now responsible for more than 10% of the total population.
Ecology
May 27, 2026
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Bruce the kea is missing his entire upper beak. Yet he is the alpha bird of his circus (the apt collective noun for a group of New Zealand's famously playful alpine parrots).
Plants & Animals
Apr 21, 2026
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A study reported in Current Biology shows how physical disabilities in the animal world can be overcome through behavioral innovation. The report features an endangered kea parrot in captivity at New Zealand's Willowbank ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 20, 2026
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Like many animals, parrots make sounds that suggest they are talking with each other, maybe even calling out to a specific parrot. But do they truly have names in the same way people do? To find out, Lauryn Benedict, a biology ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 17, 2026
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The urban monkeys in New Delhi are so bold they'll steal the lunch right off your plate. If you've spent time in New York, you've probably seen squirrels try to do the same. Sydney's white ibises got the nickname "bin chickens" ...
Ecology
Apr 8, 2026
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Anyone who has seen a hummingbird poking her beak deep into a trumpet creeper blossom, or a honeyeater using its brush-tipped tongue to extract nectar from eucalyptus flowers, has witnessed something that, from a human perspective, ...
Evolution
Feb 26, 2026
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Minutes after getting to a park in the middle of Phoenix, you can see flashes of green in the sky and hear chatter because love is in the air—or at least, the lovebirds are.
Plants & Animals
Feb 14, 2026
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Islands are famous for producing some of the world's strangest creatures, and now a new international study shows that the evolution of bird species on Hawaiian islands includes an ibis with unusually small eyes and limited ...
Evolution
Feb 11, 2026
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