parrots
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Aves, Psittaciformes, Pseudasturidae, parrots, Palaeogene, Eocene, Denmark
An artist's impression of the parrot-like bird, Mopsitta tanta, dating back 55 million years. The fossils indicate that parrots once flew wild over what is now Norway and Denmark.
Image: David Waterhouse [larger view].
A team of researchers, including a former postdoctoral colleague of mine, recently described fossils from two Lower Eocene parrot-like birds that were discovered in Denmark. The analysis of the fossils reveals that one of the ancient parrots, named Mopsitta tanta, is the…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: parrot, amazon parrot, behavior, mimicking behavior, streaming video
This streaming video shows a talented amazon parrot that appeared recently on Animal Planet. [3:19].
grrlscientist | May 6, 2008tags: National Pet Week 2008, companion pets, birds, parrots
Orpheus, preening his feathers.
Hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus
(if you look closely, you can see a pale bare spot where the feathers that cover his ear are located).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
In honor of National Pet Week, and in response to one of my readers, I am writing a little about what makes a parrot a good pet, because I wrote an essay about some of the drawbacks of living with a parrot.
So please keep in mind that describing why a parrot makes a good pet is much like…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2008tags: National Pet Week 2008, companion pets, birds, parrots
Odysseus, screaming his fool head off.
Yellow-bibbed lory, Lorius chlorocercus
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Okay, as I promised yesterday, I am going to write a series of articles about parrots as pets. Even though I have lived with, bred, raised, trained and researched a variety of birds, I am focusing on parrots as pets because they are generally what people think of first when they talk about pet birds.
The first thing to consider before you ever add a parrot to your household is whether a parrot would make a…
grrlscientist | May 1, 2008tags: eclectus, Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, birds, photograph
Elektra.
Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Last night, I was feeling rather depressed, so instead of writing, I watched The Golden Compass on DVD with my parrots. I crawled into bed and under the covers because it was cold, and Orpheus sat in front of my laptop screen, watching the movie while Elektra snuggled down on my side and pulled the blankets around herself into a cup nest there. She made…
grrlscientist | April 30, 2008tags: red fan parrot, hawk-headed parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus, parrots, birds, photograph
I took this picture yesterday morning to share with you;
Orpheus.
Male Hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
This species originates in the New World tropics; Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana and the extreme northwest portion of Brazil. This bird was captive-bred and was purchased for me by a friend. He was shipped to me by the breeder when he was only four and a half months old, so he was quite young…
grrlscientist | April 29, 2008tags: eclectus, Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, birds, photograph
I took this picture this morning to share with you;
Elektra.
Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Not only did I not handfeed this bird, but this is the one bird I live with who is a "used parrot": she spent her formative years with someone else before she came home with me. She unfortunately has a bad wing so she cannot fly as well as I wish she could, even though I leave her fully flighted (I do…
grrlscientist | April 28, 2008tags: lories, loriinae, yellow-bibbed lory, Lorius chlorocercus, parrots, birds, photograph
Odysseus.
Male yellow-bibbed lory, Lorius chlorocercus, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
This parrot is a lory. Lories are a group of nectar-feeding parrots that are from islands in the south Pacific Ocean. This particular species originates on the Solomon Islands. When I lived in Seattle, I had a flock of 8 species (30 individuals) of lories that I bred, raised and trained for most of my life, and I studied the evolution of the lories for my postdoctoral work. When I left…
grrlscientist | March 14, 2008tags: birds, parrots, White-fronted Parrots, Spectacled Amazons, Amazona albifrons nana, ornithology, Image of the Day
White-fronted Parrots, Amazona albifrons nana,
otherwise known as Spectacled Amazons. This picture
was taken near the Maya village of El Senor in the south central Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | February 17, 2008tags: birds, kea, Nestor notabilis, ornithology, Image of the Day
I have been digging through my image archives in my gmail account and found some real treasures that my readers sent to me. Unfortunately, I overlooked quite a few images that were sent when I was in the hospital and had poor computer access. So let me fix this oversight during the next few weeks;
Kea, Nestor notabilis.
Image: Daniel Collins [larger view].
The photographer writes; This particular shot was taken around Arthurs Pass, in the middle of the South Island, NZ. This is standard Kea habitat, but I suspect you'd…
grrlscientist | January 23, 2008tags: Orpheus, hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus accipitrinus, photography, parrots, pets
Orpheus, a six-month-old red-fan (hawk-headed) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus, who lives with me. (flash, ISO, no zoom).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008.
I managed to capture a few pictures of Orpheus last night which I would have shared with you then, except that my wifi connection disappeared (boo!), so I had to wait until tonight. This picture, like all of the pics I captured last night, are not very good because my parrots have gotten wise to the ways of photography and have…
grrlscientist | January 9, 2008tags: Deroptyus accipitrinus, hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, pets, birds, avian, parrots, behavior
Orpheus, a very young male red fan (hawk-headed) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus,
who lives with me (December 2007).
GrrlScientist, 2007 [larger view].
My birds and I have been watching David Attenborough's Attenborough in Paradise on DVD (review coming soon) on my computer. In this situation, Elektra, my female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, perches on my left shoulder, thereby preserving her top-dog status in my little flock of parrots, while Orpheus, the very young male hawk-…
grrlscientist | January 3, 2008tags: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, pets, birds, avian, behavior
Sophie, a female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis,
who looks just like my own Elektra.
Image: Courtesy of Denise and Dave Bell/Eclectus House.
As you might have surmised by looking at the image credit above, I still have not managed to get a picture of my companion, a female Eclectus parrot named Elektra, that pleases me enough to share it with you. Even though I don't have an image of her that is good enough to share with you, I do have a story about Elektra to share with you, thanks…
grrlscientist | December 25, 2007
Orpheus, a male Hawk-headed (red fan) parrot, Deroptyus accipitrinus,
Christmas day 2007.
This is the best picture I've taken of him so far, but unfortunately,
I didn't notice that he had a bit of dried food stuck to the side of
his beak until after I took the picture. Of course, after removing it,
(wouldn't you know it) I was unable to get another suitable image!
Image: GrrlScientist, December 2007.
grrlscientist | December 21, 2007tags: Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus, rollerskating, streaming video
This is another one of those "parrot struts his stuff" videos because, in this video, Stewie, a male Eclectus parrot, shows off his rollerskating abilities [1:06]
grrlscientist | December 20, 2007tags: Deroptyus accipitrinus, hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, pets, birds, avian, parrots
I hope to post an update about my parrots every Friday, complete with pictures.
Orpheus, a very young male red fan (hawk-headed) parrot, Deroptyus a. accipitrinus,
who lives with me (December 2007).
GrrlScientist, 2007 [larger view].
Orpheus has been busy this past week, destroying or trying to destroy nearly every material object that I own and behaving in an aggressive manner towards me, so -- sadly -- I clipped his primaries to prevent him from flying freely around my apartment. It made me…
grrlscientist | December 14, 2007tags: Meyer's parrot, Poicephalus meyeri, hatching, streaming video
This isn't the best video, but it's really interesting because it shows a Meyer's parrot, Poicephalus meyeri, chick in the process of hatching [3:20]
grrlscientist | December 7, 2007tags: hawk-headed parrot, red-fan parrot, Psittacus e. erithacus, African grey parrot, streaming video
This is an amusing streaming video of Bibi, an African grey parrot who clearly enjoys talking. [0:53]
Dirty Bird
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, pets, birds, avian, behavior
Sophie, a female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis,
who looks just like my own Elektra.
Image: Courtesy of Denise and Dave Bell/Eclectus House.
As I had mentioned earlier, I am playing host to a surprise house guest, so my birds are behaving in new and different ways than usual. The usually stoic Elektra, my Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, has been especially mischievous.
Yesterday morning, all the birds were out and the hawk-headed parrot (still…
grrlscientist | December 6, 2007tags: researchblogging.org, evolutionary behavior, sociobiology, ornithology, birds, avian, evolution, William Dilger, Agapornis roseicollis, Agapornis fischeri, lovebirds
Peach-faced lovebirds, Agapornis roseicollis (left)
and Fischer's lovebirds, Agapornis fischeri (right),
can interbreed to produce sterile offspring.
Images: LoveBirds New Zealand.
Is behavior genetically "programmed" or is it the result of learning? Or is it instead a little bit of both? This is the old "nature versus nurture" argument that has occupied behavioral and evolutionary scientists, psychologists and even…