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A [[parrot]] is defined as a bird with a hooked beak, mallet shaped tongue, and talons with two toes in the front and two in the back on each foot. The medieval equivalent is '''poppinjay''. The beak is designed to crush nuts, hull seeds, and consume fruits, grains, and vegetables.  The beak is also designed for the shaping of wood.  Beak, tongue, and foot are used together to climb, manipulate objects, hold food, play, and much more.  Parrots are able to create and use tools for nesting and obtaining food.  Their eyes are on opposite sides of their faces so they can monitor the presence of predators. They have exquisite memories and are long lived with infant, chick, juvenile, young adult, adult, and elderly stages of life.  The smaller species like budgies live over ten years when properly cared for.  The larger species live over 100 years.  Medium sized birds like cockatiels and quaker parrots live to be around 20-35 years old.    

Parrots live either in a combination of pairs and small flocks or in larger flocks designed to provide maximum protection from predators.  In all species, parrots rely on their complex social relationships and social “pecking�? order to survive, resulting in the need for a complex system of vocal communication.  Pair bonds are marriages based on social and emotional needs for love and companionship, needs that are sometimes translated to human “mates.�?

While misconstrued as "pets", these birds retain their wild qualities, even after centuries of breeding successive generations in captivity.  This is in stark contrast with [[dove]]s and [[finch]]es ([[canary|canaries]] are a sub-group of [[finch]]es) which were domesticated by humans and bear little resemblance to the wild members of their species.

Together, parrots, doves, and finches are the main branches of birds kept in [[aviculture]]

==Types of Parrots==

Parrots are divided into many families.  Some of the major ones are:

*African Greys
**Congo African Grey
**Timah African Grey
*Amazons
*Cockatoos
**Sulfer Crested species
**Umbrella
**Moluccan
**Goffin
*Conures
*Parakeets
**Psiticula
***Indian Ringneck
***Alexandrine Parakeet
***Plum Headed Parakeet
***African Ringneck Parakeet
**Quaker Parakeets
**Budgerigars

In addition, there are some species of parrots whose grouping is uncertain.  For example, [[cockatiel]]s may be a species of cockatoo or they may be independant.

==External Links==

*[http://www.theafricangreyparrot.com African Grey Parrot]

[[category:animal]]