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Parrot Magnets - Customize for free |
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More About Parrots ...
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A parrot is any of the many birds belonging to the family Psittacidae. They have a characteristic curved beak shape with the upper mandible having slight mobility in the joint with the skull and a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back.
Along with the cockatoo family (the Cacatuidae), the parrot family makes up the order Psittaciformes. Confusingly, the term parrot can be used in either the narrow sense of the parrot family Psittacidae or the broad sense of the order Psittaciformes.
Birds of the parrot family can be found in most of the warmer parts of the world, including India, South East Asia and West Africa, with one species, now extinct, in the United States (the Carolina Parakeet). By far the greatest number of parrot species, however, come from Australasia, South America and Central America.
Many species can imitate human speech or other sounds, and at least one researcher, Irene Pepperberg has made controversial claims for the learning ability of one species; an African Grey Parrot Alex, has been trained to use words to identify objects, describe them, count them, and even answer complex questions such as "How many red squares?" (with over 80% accuracy). Many other scholars claim that parrots are only repeating words with no idea of their meanings and point to Pepperberg's results as being nothing but an expression of operant conditioning.
Parrots are commonly kept as companion animals in many countries. Often the wings of such birds are clipped, but many people keep flighted pet parrots, allowing the birds to roam their homes or neighborhoods. Some parrots, including the conures, macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels, and budgerigars are said to make good family pets.
While most birds have a hinged lower mandible (jaw) and a fixed upper mandible, in parrots both the upper and lower mandibles are hinged. This makes them look a bit comical when they yawn. While most birds have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing rearward, parrots have two forward-facing toes and two rearward-facing twos. This foot structure is termed "zygodactal."
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Taxonmony
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Parrots
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