14 Proofs That Parrots Are Among The Most Intelligent And Adorable Animals

Parrots and their “cousins” — parakeets, macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels and many others — are very intelligent and fun animals. They delight and amaze humans with their unusual actions and speech (some have a vocabulary of over 1,500 words). However, there are some “little secrets” about parrots that most are unaware of and that deserve to be shared. Did you know that they are romantic, very generous and even know how to place bets?

O incredible.club will reveal to you these and other interesting facts about the funniest birds in the world, the beloved parrots. Read to the end and find out why some of them are smarter than 4 year olds. Check out!

Until recently, it was thought that only a few species, such as humans, bonobos and orangutans, had the virtue of generosity. However, researchers announced that gray parrots are the first non-mammals observed expressing charity. In one test, they had to exchange chips for nuts, but some were “hard” and only one could eat them. Result? The parrots gave their tokens to their classmates so they wouldn’t go hungry.

Really, they need to be very generous, after all, they can consider over 350 birds as “relatives”, all included in the order Psittaciformes🇧🇷 Among the most famous are:

parrots; macaws; parakeets; cockatiels; cockatoos,

but there is also:

lorises; maracanãs; tuins; confections; parakeets.

Despite species diversity, they share similarities. All have a curved beak and zygodactyly, that is, feet with two toes in front and two in back. Also, most eat fruits, flowers, nuts, seeds, small insects and live in tropical regions, but there are exceptions.

Since it debuted, in 2008, dancing todo Mundo Backstreet Boys’ Yellow-crested Cockatoo Snowball is a hit on the Internet, on TV shows, and even in commercials. Impressed, researchers at Tufts University, in the USA, studied the bird’s dancing skills and concluded that the spontaneity and diversity of musical movements is not exclusive to humans.

They found that Snowball doesn’t dance to eat or mate, but to interact with its human caretakers. Also, they noticed that he anticipates the beat, tapping his feet and moving his head in time with the music. So they saw that Snowball was experimenting with new moves and that he created his own moves (click here to see), 14 in all.

The repertoire ranges from Another One Bites the Dustfrom Queen to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, by Cyndi Lauper. “We were amazed! There are movements there, like Madonna’s Vogue, that I just can’t believe,” said psychology professor Aniruddh Patel.

Parrots are notorious talkers, but some can go further and learn hundreds or thousands of words. For example, the gray parrot N’kisi learned 950 words and even made up some when he didn’t know, just like children. The world record belongs to Puck, an Australian parakeet that entered the Guinness Book with a vocabulary of 1,728 words.

Perhaps the most well-known talking parrot is Alex, made famous in TV shows, news and scientific articles. This gray parrot spoke about 150 words, classified them into categories, made requests, counted numbers and even recognized the shape, color and material of certain objects by touching them.

Another skill that parrots share with humans and apes is assessing probabilities to make decisions. Researchers studied an endangered species and the world’s only alpine parrot, the New Zealand parrot, or kea. In tests, it was seen that this bird is capable of making bets based on the chances of winning rewards, a discovery that even generates influences for artificial intelligence.

In many species of parrots, females and males are virtually identical. To know the difference, you need to observe carefully or even do laboratory tests. Despite this, there are exceptions, such as the eclectus parrot, which has the two genera so different that they were thought to be separate species. Males are green with orange bills, while females have a red and blue body with a black bill.

Parrots are social animals and live in flocks, however, most are monogamous and stay with the same partner for life. In addition to companionship, equality also prevails, as they take turns to fetch food and take care of the puppies. Some, like the lovebird, become depressed when their peers are away. Thus, in reunions or after stressful moments, they feed each other in the beak to reestablish their bonds.

There are parrots of different shapes and sizes. Considered the smallest of all, the pygmy parrot weighs around 10 g and measures around 8 cm. The longest among them is the great blue macaw, known only as the blue macaw, which measures between 150 and 190 cm in length, weighing up to 2 kilos. The kakapo is the heaviest, in addition to being nocturnal and the only one that cannot fly. It measures about 60 cm and can weigh an incredible 4.5 kg, that is, as much as an adult cat.

The life expectancy of parrots is very high and can exceed that of humans, something that is usually not considered when adopting this animal as a pet. For example, cockatoos and macaws live between 35 and 50 years. One gray parrot, named Tarbu, lived to the ripe old age of 55 in England. However, the record for the oldest parrot is held by Cookie, a pink cockatoo from a zoo in the United States who reached the age of 82.

Studies have shown that, in addition to being used for camouflage and communication, parrot feathers have a defense against the action of bacteria, which is only seen in these animals. This protection is given thanks to the psittacofulvin pigment, responsible for the green, yellow and red colors of birds. Researchers believe that the exuberant coloration typical of parrots is the result of evolution to protect them from bacterial degradation.

There is still little data on the behavior of wild parrots. Partly because it is difficult to see and follow the birds that live in the treetops. In addition, studies with GPS tracking are rare. That’s because these birds have the habit of pulling foreign objects out of their bodies. A solution was presented in a study, in which researchers wrapped the devices in peck-proof plastic, and thus were able to successfully track a group of keas.

Many countries protect endangered or wild species, punishing those who put them in captivity. However, India goes further and prohibits the cage of any Indian bird. The justification is that all are considered wild animals and preserved by the Wildlife Protection Act. Despite this, a large part of the population is unaware of this law and believes that parrots are domestic animals. Therefore, there are programs to raise awareness and combat sales and creation.

Dominica is a small country located in the Caribbean, well known for its preserved natural beauty. This is the only place where it is possible to find the red-collared parrot and the imperial parrot, the latter being the symbol of the country, stamping its flag and coat of arms. In addition, there are two national parks with the main objective of preserving the habitat of these birds.

Researchers have concluded that certain parrots can solve problems that young children cannot yet. One study evaluated the cognitive skills of “object permanence” — the notion that a hidden object still exists — and spatial tracking — after hiding, knowing how to look for it in the new location. The result showed that, in these aspects, birds rival great apes and humans up to 4 years old, as they have not yet developed this understanding.

So what’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen a parrot do? Tell us in the comments!