parrot
dr. dolittle | June 20, 2016Birds get such a bad rap when it comes to intelligence. Sure they have relatively small brains, but scientists have known they are similar to primates with respect to their cognitive abilities. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences presents data showing how this apparent dichotomy is possible. They found that the brains of songbirds and parrots pack two times the number of neurons as a primate of similar size. This means that these birds are able to pack neurons more tightly than mammals, which allows them to fit more brain cells in a smaller package.…
dr. dolittle | December 16, 2015Researchers from the University of York and the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom observed greater vasa parrots (Coracopsis vasa) using pebbles and date pits to extract a fine calcium powder from seashells that they would then lick off the shell. Their observations were published in Biology Letters. The birds were in essence creating their own nutritional supplements from materials readily available in their cages. While parrots are known to use their beaks to extract calcium from shells, this study shows the first known example of them using tools to accomplish the task.…
edyong | April 30, 2009Snowball, the sulphur-crested cockatoo, is an internet superstar. He's known for his penchant for grooving to music, notably Everybody by the Backstreet Boys. As the music plays, Snowball bobs his head and taps his feet in perfect time with it. If it speeds up or slows down, his rhythm does too. He is one of two parrots that are leading a dance dance revolution, by showing that the human behaviour of moving in time to music (even really, really bad music) is one that's shared by other animals.
People who've attended parties at scientific events may question the ability of humans to move to a…
grrlscientist | November 27, 2008This amusing essay is making the rounds on the intertubes (as usual) this year, so I had to share it with you.
Ingredients:
Turkey
Stuffing
Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Green Beans
Cranberry Sauce
Hot rolls and Butter
Relish tray
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream
Hot Coffee
Instructions:
Get up early in the morning and have a cup of coffee. It's going to be a long day, so place your parrot on a perch nearby to keep you company while you prepare the meal.
Remove parrot from kitchen counter and return him to perch.
Prepare stuffing, and remove parrot from edge of stuffing bowl and…
amillikan | November 23, 2008Brain & Behavior
An African gray parrot. From Flickr, by The G-tastic 7
“Imagine you wake up and have a new sense. No, you can't imagine! If you try, you'll be trapped thinking in terms of your existing senses.“
Rafael C. P. on Can a blind person whose vision is restored understand what she sees?
grrlscientist | October 30, 2008tags: Riley, talking parrot, Eclectus roratus, parrots, behavior, streaming video
This video shows a conversation with a pet eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus, named Riley. He is very talented, with a large and varied repertoire as well as a nice "voice." I also live with an eclectus, a female Solomon Islands eclectus named Elektra, and I can attest to their talent as talkers. This species of parrot is color-coded by gender: males are emerald green while females are scarlet red [4:33]
grrlscientist | November 30, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, clicker training, streaming video
As some of you know, I recently added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. I plan to learn how to clicker-train this bird (I already have the necessary tools and books). Below the fold is an example of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter (owned by Jeannie), who was approximately eight months old in this video. This training session reinforces and refines earlier training where Scooter was taught how to place a ring on a peg, to…
grrlscientist | November 23, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, clicker training, streaming video
As some of you know, I recently added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. I plan to learn how to clicker-train this bird (I already have the necessary tools and books). Below the fold is an example of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter (owned by Jeannie), who was approximately seven months old in this video. This training session reinforces earlier training where he learned how to place a small ball into a bowl. You can even…
grrlscientist | November 16, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, clicker training, streaming video
As some of you know, I recently added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. I plan to learn how to clicker-train this bird (I already have the necessary tools and books). Below the fold is an example of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter (owned by Jeannie), who was approximately seven months old in this video. This training session focuses on teaching the bird how to place a small ball into a bowl. [4:14]
grrlscientist | November 9, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, clicker training, streaming video
As some of you know, I recently added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. I plan to learn how to clicker-train this bird (I already have the necessary tools and books). Below the fold is an example of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter (owned by Jeannie), who was approximately six months old in this video. This training session focuses on teaching the bird how to pick up and retrieve a small ball. [8:52]
grrlscientist | November 5, 2007tags: parrots, pets, aviculture, bird breeding, avian, history
A reader, Natasha, asked a question in response to a recent blog entry I made that is probably no doubt on the minds of at least a few others of my readers;
Hi, Please don't take this badly, I really don't mean to troll. But I've noticed that a few Science bloggers, Jonah, Shelley and you, have parrots. I was wondering where you get them from, what their provenance is? Are they bred in the US? Or are they from the fairly huge amount of wildlife trade? If it is the second, does it make you in the least uncomfortable? Most of you…
grrlscientist | November 2, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, clicker training, streaming video
As some of you know, I recently added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. I plan to learn how to clicker-train this bird (I already have the necessary tools and books). Below the fold is an example of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter (owned by Jeannie), who was approximately six months old and had only been clicker-trained for two days in this video. This training session focuses on reinforcing the bird's earlier training…
grrlscientist | October 31, 2007tags: halloween, parrots, birds, Image of the Day
This picture is a departure from my normal "image of the day" fare, but it is cute, so I hope you all can forgive me for sharing it with you.
Image: Image source [Larger size].
grrlscientist | October 29, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, streaming video
I just added a four-month-old hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, to my household. Since I don't have a camera or video camera at my disposal (yet) I decided to share a video with you of another young Hawk-headed parrot, named Scooter, who was approximately five months old in this video. Scooter had just come to his new home four days prior to this video. [1:51]
I am bringing my own Hawk-headed parrot home on the subway from the airport this afternoon. This video appeared at the time when…
laelaps | October 27, 2007I can't say that I'm a fan the music choice, but I have to admit, this bird can dance to the beat better than I can. This is Snowball, "a medium sulphur crested Eleanora cockatoo," who's apparently a big fan of the Backstreet Boys.
grrlscientist | October 26, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus, streaming video
As some of you know, I will soon be adding a four-month-old young parrot to my household. For those of you who have not heard of a hawk-headed (red-fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, or who are not familiar with them, here is a video of a five-month-old parrot of that species, named Cassius. In this video, the bird is being preened by its human companion and during that process, raises the feathers of its red fan [1:02]
grrlscientist | September 27, 2007tags: parrot, lories, lorikeet, loriinae, loriidae, Rimatara lorikeet, Kuhl's lory, Vini kuhlii, conservation, ornithology, South Pacific Islands
Back from the brink:
The endangered Rimatara lorikeet or Kuhl's lory, Vini kuhlii,
has been successfully reintroduced to Ätiu.
Image: Phil Bender.
As I've mentioned a few times already, my life's passion is the birds of the South Pacific, particularly the Loriinae, which are parrots commonly known as the lories and lorikeets. I study them professionally and I have lived with them and bred them for most of my life. So it was exciting to me when I…