parrots
grrlscientist | February 26, 2009tags: budgerigars, animal training, cute, streaming video
I've seen a lot of examples of animal training in my lifetime, but this certainly is one of the best because it involves not one or two animals, but a small flock .. and each bird is doing just what he or she should be doing .. amazing! [5:31]
Fun with Budgies - For more amazing video clips, click here
grrlscientist | February 16, 2009tags: Dancing cockatoo, Little Corella cockatoo, Bare-eyed cockatoo, Cacatua pastinator, Frostie, Shake your Tailfeather, streaming video
This streaming video documents a Bare-eyed (Little Corella) cockatoo, Cacatua pastinator, named Frostie, dancing to the song, "Shake Your Tailfeather" [2:42]
amillikan | December 27, 2008Scientists have long been torn about the exact evolution of birds since fossil and molecular dating techniques have yielded different answers. But by studying the DNA of birds in the parrot and cockatoo families, which do not migrate like most other birds, researchers were able to discern the times of species divergence and concluded that "parrots are an ancient lineage without any close evolutionary relationships," according to ScienceBlogger Grrl Scientist.
grrlscientist | December 24, 2008tags: parrots, Psittaciformes, evolution, molecular phylogeny, ornithology, Neornithes
Red-crowned Amazon parrot, Amazona viridigenalis, at Elizabeth Street Parrotry, Brownsville, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
One of the most contentious issues among scientists who study the evolution of birds is identifying precisely when the modern birds (Neornithes) first appeared. This is due to conflicts between the fossil record and molecular dating methodologies. For example,…
grrlscientist | December 17, 2008tags: yawning, thermoregulation, budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus, animal behavior
Yawning human, Homo sapiens serving as a perch for a domestic budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus.
Image: Wendy (Creative Commons License).
Yawning. Everybody does it. In fact, I am yawning now as I write this piece. Yawning is interpreted to have a variety of meanings, ranging from tiredness to boredom. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that yawning is contagious among humans, at least: watching someone else yawn, seeing a photograph or reading about -- and even the mere thought of -- yawning is…
grrlscientist | December 11, 2008tags: budgerigar, pets, birds, documentary, streaming video
This is a video of a very strange budgerigar. Apparently the result of a mutation, the bird's plumage is extraordinarily downy and long, so much so that it is almost impossible to see the bird's face (downy feathers are due to a mutation that causes a condition known as "neotenty"; where an adult animal takes on juvenile characteristics) [0:53]
grrlscientist | December 10, 2008tags: Holidays, companion pets, parrots, humor, funny, gift wrapping
Orpheus.
Male Hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
I thought you might find this little essay amusing about wrapping gifts when there is a parrot in the house.
How to Wrap Gifts with a Parrot in the House:
Clear large space on table for wrapping your special gifts.
Go to cupboard and collect bag in which gifts are contained, and shut the door.
Open the door and remove bird from cupboard.
Go to closet and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper.…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2008tags: safety tips, holidays, christmas, hanukkah, kwanzaa, new year's day, pets, birds, parrots
Elektra.
Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
This message was emailed to me, and I am posting it here as a public service. With the Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and the New Year's holidays upon us, we are all busy planning our family gatherings, gift giving and decorations. The season brings with it unique hazards that we all need to be mindful of so that we can ensure that our feathered family members are…
grrlscientist | December 4, 2008tags: talking parrots, amazon parrots, behavior, Tonight Show, Jay Leno, streaming video
This streaming video is a clip from the Tonight Show, hosted by Jay Leno. This show was guest hosted by several talking parrots, who actually stole the show, if you ask me [8:35].
grrlscientist | December 2, 2008tags: Snowball, dancing cockatoo, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video is a clip from a longer DVD, Snowball's Snowy Christmas DVD, which is now available for Christmas gift giving. Children love Snowball and this DVD features the sulfur-crested cockatoo, Snowball, dancing to Christmas carols.
grrlscientist | December 1, 2008tags: animal cognition, animal communication, animal behavior, birds, parrots, Alex and me, Irene Pepperberg, book review
He was not ours, he was not mine.
Thank you for sharing him with us.
He brought us much joy. We loved him well.
-- Irene Pepperberg (p. 226), modified from Karen Blixen's
eulogy for Denys Finch-Hatton in Out of Africa.
As a scientist who studies, lives with, and even breeds and hand-feeds parrots, it is easy for me to empathize with Irene Pepperberg, the author of the long-awaited book with the awkward title, Alex and Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden…
grrlscientist | December 1, 2008tags: Thick-billed Parrot, streaming news report, conservation, streaming video
This streaming video is a Bird News Network (BNN) video by American Bird Conservancy, and includes some amazing footage of the Thick-billed Parrot taken by Greg Homel, Natural Elements Productions. The video discusses several recent conservation successes to help boost populations of this endangered species that may one day be reintroduced back into the United States where it once lived in Arizona. [3:37].
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…
grrlscientist | November 12, 2008tags: ecology, exotic species, introduced species, non-native species, invasive species, monk parakeets, quaker parrots, Myiopsitta monachus, Michael A Russello, Michael L Avery, Timothy F Wright
Monk (Quaker) parakeets, Myiopsitta monachus, with nest.
Image: Arthur Grosset [larger view].
Invasive species are everywhere: from plants such as Scotch (English) broom, Cytisus scoparius, whose yellow flowers bloom prolifically along roadways of North America, Australia and New Zealand to mammals such as human beings, Homo sapiens, which are the ultimate invasive species because we have…
grrlscientist | November 4, 2008tags: Ringnecked parakeet, Rose-Ringed Parrot, Psittacula krameri, talking parrot, parrots, behavior, streaming video
This video shows Tajj, a male Ringneck parakeet talking with his human. Ring-necked parakeets are also known as Rose-Ringed Parrots, Psittacula krameri, due to the colorful ring on the males' neck. There are four subspecies, distinguished mostly by size, that originate from regions in both India and Africa. This is a sweet video that shows the affection that can develop between a parrot and his human [1:17]
grrlscientist | November 3, 2008tags: Irene Pepperberg, Alex, Alex the African grey parrot, talking parrot, cognition, behavior, streaming video
As you know, I went to Irene Pepperberg's reading last night from her new book about her friend and colleague, Alex the African grey parrot. This is an interesting video interview with Pepperberg about Alex, shortly after he died [3:29]
grrlscientist | November 2, 2008tags: Irene Pepperberg, Alex, Alex the African grey parrot, talking parrot, cognition, behavior, streaming video
Tonight, I will attend Irene Pepperberg's reading where she will read from her new book about her friend and colleague, Alex the African grey parrot. Below is an interesting video showing some of what Alex was capable of doing, and it also provides a small glimpse into the relationship between Alex and Irene [2:06]
grrlscientist | November 1, 2008tags: Indian Ringneck parakeet, Rose-Ringed Parrot, Psittacula krameri, talking parrot, parrots, behavior, streaming video
This video shows an unnamed male blue color variant of the Indian Ringneck parakeet talking (this species is usually green in color), also known as a Rose-Ringed Parrot, Psittacula krameri, This species has different markings by gender, since adult males have a colorful ring on their neck, while females do not. This is a very talented species of parrot when it comes to talking, and they are quite long-lived too. In the background, you can hear some finches buzzing and a…
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 | October 29, 2008tags: African grey parrot, Alex the parrot, Alex & Me, ethology, cognition, learning, parrots, Irene Pepperberg, books
I am attending a book tour reading by researcher, Irene Pepperberg, that is promoting her new book, Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence -- and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, this Sunday evening, 2 November, in NYC. I have been trying to arrange an interview with her, and still have no idea if it will happen, but if I do manage to interview her, what questions would you like to ask her?
Unfortunately, even…