Parrots pushed to extinction despite protection policies
Habitat destruction by logging and agriculture is pushing parrot species towards extinction, while current protected areas are failing to mitigate these effects, according to new research.
Habitat destruction by logging and agriculture is pushing parrot species towards extinction, while current protected areas are failing to mitigate these effects, according to new research.
Plants & Animals
Jan 18, 2021
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New research has shown just how picky the iconic superb parrot is about the types of tree hollows they nest in, with the discovery potentially key to protecting the threatened species.
Plants & Animals
Dec 11, 2020
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New research shows one of the world's rarest birds, the orange-bellied parrot, remains at severe risk of extinction despite decades of intensive conservation work in their Tasmanian breeding range.
Ecology
Aug 17, 2020
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Australia's most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the dark than other parrots active during the day.
Plants & Animals
Jun 09, 2020
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202
People readily help each other. We donate blood and food or help old people across the street. Among non-human animals this propensity to help is very rare.
Plants & Animals
Mar 03, 2020
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Parrots are considered extraordinarily clever animals. Alex, the famous Harvard-based African grey parrot, communicated with a vocabulary of more than 500 human words, could answer questions and classify objects spontaneously. ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 09, 2020
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369
Acting selflessly to help others in need was long thought to be a trait confined to mammals, in particular humans and some great ape species like bonobos and orangutans.
Plants & Animals
Jan 09, 2020
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438
In a neighborhood on the outskirts of Miami, a red-bellied woodpecker made two individual nests in two neighboring dead palm trees. It picked one. A red-masked parakeet moved into the other. Over the summer, they shared alarm ...
Ecology
Oct 29, 2019
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Australasian palaeontologists have discovered the world's largest parrot, standing up to 1m tall with a massive beak able to crack most food sources.
Archaeology
Aug 06, 2019
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A devastating forest fire in Nicaragua has destroyed a vitally important nesting and roosting site of the yellow-naped amazon, one of the most endangered parrots in Central America.
Ecology
Jun 11, 2019
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Parrots, also known as psittacines ( /ˈsɪtəsaɪnz/), are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae ('true' parrots), the Cacatuidae (cockatoos) and the Strigopidae (New Zealand parrots). Parrots have a generally pantropical distribution with several species inhabiting temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere as well. The greatest diversity of parrots is found in South America and Australasia.
Characteristic features of parrots include a strong, curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. The plumage of cockatoos ranges from mostly white to mostly black, with a mobile crest of feathers on the tops of their heads. Most parrots exhibit little or no sexual dimorphism. They form the most variably sized bird order in terms of length.
The most important components of most parrots' diets are seeds, nuts, fruit, buds and other plant material. A few species sometimes eat animals and carrion, while the lories and lorikeets are specialised for feeding on floral nectar and soft fruits. Almost all parrots nest in tree hollows (or nest boxes in captivity), and lay white eggs from which hatch altricial (helpless) young.
Parrots, along with ravens, crows, jays and magpies, are among the most intelligent birds, and the ability of some species to imitate human voices enhances their popularity as pets. Trapping wild parrots for the pet trade, as well as hunting, habitat loss and competition from invasive species, has diminished wild populations, with parrots being subjected to more exploitation than any other group of birds. Measures taken to conserve the habitats of some high-profile charismatic species have also protected many of the less charismatic species living in the same ecosystems.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA