General Parrot Information and Some Interesting Facts That May Surprise You

Parrots are the most popular birds to be kept as pets. With their sociable character and utmost intelligence, people can't help but fall in love with this these wonderful birds. Known as psittacines, they are tropical birds that thrive in the warm and tropical forests around the globe.

This article aims to share general parrot info and help you become more familiar with these avian wonders. Psittaciformes are divided into three families: the true parrots or Psittacidae, Cockatoos (Cacatuidae) and the parrots of New Zealand and regions around Australia, the Nestoridae.

Parrots can be recognized by their colorful plumage usually green and yellow, bright blue and red sometimes with multitudes of hues, strong bill that curves downwards and short, pudgy legs with two pairs of toes pointing in opposite direction- toward the front and back. These toes come in handy when they eat and pick-up objects to play with. In the wild, their strong legs enable them to maneuver on tree trunks with ease and these also come in handy in their cages while playing around. Their sizes vary from the 8cm long Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot to the meter-long Hyacinth Macaw. This makes parrots the most variable-sized birds in the animal kingdom.

People that plan on adopting a parrot as a pet should be aware that parrot care is a serious matter that requires utmost dedication, patience and time not to mention money. True, the fun that can be had training it to talk and do tricks is one of the best things a human can experience with a pet, but be warned that it's not all fun and games. Not all parrots are guaranteed to talk and one has to be consistent and have enough patience to keep repeating the words you want to teach it again and again.

Before training a parrot, an owner has to first determine whether it's accustomed to humans or not. Forget about trying to teach baby Polly a trick if all he does is try to bite you when you get close. Make sure he feels comfortable and accepts your presence first before attempting to teach him to pick-up things or say a specific word. If you've already started to teach him a word, don't skip to a new one before he knows the current word first. This will only add confusion on his part and frustration on your part.

Ben Greene is a parrot care and training expert. For more detailed parrot info, visit http://www.happyparrotguide.com.

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