Parrot Types

Parrot Types
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Anna_Hart]Anna Hart

You walk by a bird shop, or visit the aviary at the zoo, and there may be several types of parrots. You study them, and begin to wonder, “What types of parrots are there anyway? How many types of parrots are there?”

Actually, there are more than 350 parrot types when you consider every species and sub-species in the group. Many of the most common parrot types are from Australasia and the tropics.

Parrot Families

All parrots, of whatever parrot types or breeds they are, belong to the scientific order Psittaciformes. That scientific order is further broken down into two different parrot families: Cacatuidae and Psittacidae.

The Cacatuidae family includes only the Cockatoo, a bird that is native to Australia and islands near that continent.

The second parrot family, the Psittacidae, includes all of the true parrot types.

Cockatoos

To most people, the cockatoo is a large white parrot with a feathered head crest that it can lift high in regal splendor. That is, however, only one of the parrot types in this family. There are 21 different cockatoos, and not every one is white.

1. The palm cockatoo is mostly dark gray, with red cheek patches below the eyes – cheek patches that change to a deeper red when the bird becomes excited or alarmed.

2. The male gang-gang cockatoo is dark gray with a cherry red head and red crest. This parrot type is often called the red-headed cockatoo.

3. The Major Mitchell’s cockatoo is often called a pink cockatoo due to its soft pastel pink shade.

4. The cockatiel’s plumage is mid-grey on top, lighter grey underneath. It has an orange cheek patch, and a prominent white blaze on its wings. It has a much longer tail than the other cockatoos have.

So Cockatoos are not always a white parrot type, and not all cockatoos are the same in build.

True Parrots

This family includes all of the other commonly-known parrot types. The list that follows is not intended to be exhaustive, but in this family, you will find parrot types such as these:

1. African Greys: This is said to be the most intelligent of all the parrot types. A large gray parrot with a red tail, some of these bird have vocabularies approaching 1,000 words or more.

2. Amazons: This popular parrot type includes about 27 sub-types. Most are large, affectionate, and predominantly green.

3. Budgies: Officially known as a parakeet or budgerigar, this parrot type is small and colorful. It is one of the most popular parrot pets.

4. Conures: This parrot type seems to be a group of large parakeets. With long tails and strong beaks, these “clowns” come in a variety of colors.

5. Eclectus: Eclectus Parrots are unusual in their coloring. On the one hand, males are bright green, with beaks like bright candy corn, tails and wings of blue or red. Females, on the other hand, have red heads, blue breasts, and the same red or blue wings and tails. In place of the candy corn look, they have black beaks.

6. Lovebirds: Lovebirds are a small, stocky parrot type – among the smallest in the world. Many are green, sometimes with red faces or eye rings.

7. Macaws: Native to South America, this is the largest parrot type in wingspan and length. The blue and gold macaw is especially beautiful.

8. Parrotlets: These may look like parakeets at first glance, but this small parrot type has a broader body and tail than the parakeet.

9. Pionus: There are many parrot types under the name Pionus parrot, and this larger, quieter parrot comes in many varieties of color.

10. Quakers: This parrot type is often called a Monk Parrot or Grey-breasted Parakeet. It is a name that comes from facial feathering that resembles an old-fashioned Quaker costume.

There are many more parrot types than this article can list or discuss, even in a surface manner. You will find muc more information in your library or bookstore.

Best Parrot Types for Children’s Pets

A final question is this: “What types of parrots are there that would make good children’s pets?”

Many children are drawn to large parrots because of their colors or their reputation for talking well, but the large parrot types are not good pets for children. They require firm handling and training, and do well as pets only when the owner has had experience first with smaller parrots.

The best parrot type for a child’s pet is the Budgerigar, aka budgie or parakeet. The small Budgerigar requires the least amount of care, and is easily trained to talk and do tricks. Budgies that are young, or those that have no cage mate, will learn most readily.

©2007, Anna Hart. An avid reader and researcher, Anna explores parrot information, and offers her gleanings at http://www.parrots-of-the-world.com If you want to read more about a specific parrot type, you won’t want to miss Anna’s articles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Hart http://EzineArticles.com/?Parrot-Types&id=488993

Related News:

Nature Chest owner takes care when pairing humans with bird companions
For young children (with responsible parents, she reminds), budgies and cockatiels are wonderful pets. Doves, she said, are hard to beat for children. They don’t fluster easily, and are amenable to being held. Older children are usually up to the responsibility of a Quaker parrot...
The Decatur Daily

Lost & Found: Parrot finds his way home through classified advertisement
By Nancy Green - Buck, a Quaker Parrot, is glad to be back at his home on South Natchez Street after spending almost a week out of his cage with the majority of that time at the home of Mr. and Mrs. David Fancher in McCool...
Kosciusko Star Herald, MS

Parrot Squawks To Avert A Burglary
Salvador, a Mexican Red-Headed Parrot helps owner catch a burglar.

Parrot Saves Family By Imitating Smoke Alarm
An Amazon Parrot called Peanut woke its owner by mimicking house smoke alarm at about 3 a.m when the house was on fire.

UI evicting monk parakeets
Monk parakeets, also known as Quaker parrots, are native to Argentina and neighboring countries in South America. They build nests that can weigh more than 150 pounds, Carbone said, with hundreds of chattering green birds...
New Haven Register, CT

Parrot Rescue - Michigan Has an Answer
Pet parrot rescue in Michigan is an example of what it should be in every state and in every country.

What to Feed Your Parrot
Over the last few decades, a new trend popped up regarding pet nutrition, regardless of the type of pet involved. This trend focused on giving your pet the food that they would hypothetically eat in the wild if they were still feral. The supporters of this method argument it with the fact that eating raw, natural food keeps your pet healthy and lively, whereas stuffing him with commercial nutrients can cause some serious problems. At the same extent, supporters of the traditional diet methods say that the natural food diets don’t work, for the simple reason that the pet doesn’t get the amount of exercise, freedom and harshness he gets in his potential "wild" state, thus the natural diet has no effect. Parrots make no exception from the rule ...

Teaching Your Parrot to Talk
Having talking parrots as pets goes way back to at least the time of Ancient Greeks. By the time of the Roman Empire it was even more common and courses were given to teach people how to get their birds to mimic human speech. The material covered in this article is much more effective than those courses of ancient times and the training myths of ancient times have been omitted. One of the craziest myths was that the parrot should be placed in a completely dark room during training. As the following joke suggests, having a talking bird is one of the reasons that people purchase parrots.

Quaker Parrots
Whether you know them as Quaker parrots or Monk parrots, these little green and grey birds are the subject of a lot of controversy in the U.S. Quakers are illegal to keep in many states. The worry is that escaped individuals will form large wild populations and become a major pest.

That Cute Baby Macaw: What You Need to Know
Those in the know on parrot information advise that you hand-raise Baby Macaw, being careful not to spoil him. Teach him to trust people, to bond with your family, and to learn house rules.

Parrot Training Tips
As with all other pets you might have, a parrot's training is based on the reward/ignore/punish method. However, you'll have to apply some specific training strategies that only work for our colorful friends, strategies that have proven to be extremely effective in numerous training programs. We've set up a list of short tips and tricks that could help you train and shape your parrot the way you want him. It should be noted that most of these tips work best if the parrot is still at a young age and hasn't yet had the chance to "grow habits," but with a little hard work, they can be adapted to adult parrots as well. So here it goes...

The Complex Behavior Beyond The Parrot Bite
Parrots’ behavior is commonly misunderstood by people who have them as pets. Parrots have a complex behavior which is a little harder to manage by a person, not as the case of a dog for instance. Parrots are intelligent, beautiful and entertaining birds. Nowadays, parrots’ care and behavior books and videos can be found everywhere and seem to be the new main branch in the pet industry.

How Many Toes Does a Parrot Have?
Parrot toes make for awkward walking, but they are very useful tools. Parrots can use the 2-forward, 2-backward combination as humans use a thumb and finger, grasping objects tightly between back and front toes.

Choosing the Right Bird Cage for Your Pet Parrot
Once you buy him, your parrot will become an important family member for a long, long time so if you truly come to care for him, you should make sure he has the most adequate living conditions you could get. Seeing how his bird cage will be his home for the most part of his life (unfortunately, leaving even the best trained parrots fly freely through the house poses a real danger to them, or is a potential risk for them to run away), you need to make sure it's the right one for him.

Common Pet Parrot Dangers
The fact that your parrot will probably be tucked away in his cage for most of the time might give you the false impression that he’s safer than other pets, since there won't be any outdoor dangers lurking around him. Even if your parrot is trained not to leave the house and you can literally let him fly around loose, there are still several household dangers that you need to keep off him. The following article will try to list these dangers and offer you some tips on how to avoid them, saving your parrot’s life or at least keeping him away from serious injury.

The Complex Behavior Beyond The Parrot Bite
Parrots' behavior is commonly misunderstood by people who have them as pets. Parrots have a complex behavior which is a little harder to manage by a person, not as the case of a dog for instance. Parrots are intelligent, beautiful and entertaining birds.

All The Secrets of the Amazing Quaker Parrot
The Quaker Parrot is more formally known as the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) and is native to the temperate areas of Brazil, and Argentina. They average a twenty nine centimeter length with a forty eight centimeter wingspan and an average weight of one hundred grams with females usually 10%-20% smaller than there male counterparts.

Parrot Adoption: What You Need To Know
Parrot adoption is very much like baby adoption. Those who have parrots they cannot care for offer them to people who want a parrot. The adoptive parrot owners may not be able to afford the initial outlay, or they may simply want to give a good home to a parrot that must be relocated. Parrot adoption does not always mean "free" parrots. The term is also used for inexpensive parrots purchased from former owners. Finding Interested Homes

Parrot Types
You walk by a bird shop, or visit the aviary at the zoo, and there may be several types of parrots. You study them, and begin to wonder, "What types of parrots are there anyway? How many types of parrots are there"?

A Sun Conure Parrot Named Sunny
Sunny, the Sun Conure parrot, is a stunning bird, dressed in a shimmering, hooded shirt of gold with a sun-kissed, orange face. His wings and tail are shades of green and blue, mixed with a hint of gold.

Parrot Types

Related News:

Related Articles: