Trained Parrot Blog

Trained Parrot Blog

Kili

Type: Senegal Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: Senegalus
Subspecies: Mesotypus
Sex: Female
Weight: 120 grams
Height: 9 inches
Age: 16 years, 5 months

Truman

Type: Cape Parrot
Genus: Poicephalus
Species:Robustus
Subspecies: Fuscicollis
Sex: Male
Weight: 330 grams
Height: 13 inches
Age: 14 years, 8 months

Rachel

Type: Blue & Gold Macaw
Genus: Ara
Species:ararauna
Sex: Female
Weight: 850 grams
Height: 26 inches
Age: 12 years, 5 months

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Stop Parrot Biting
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List of Common Parrots:

Parakeets:
Budgerigar (Budgie)
Alexandrine Parakeet
African Ringneck
Indian Ringneck
Monk Parakeet (Quaker Parrot)

Parrotlets:
Mexican Parrotlet
Green Rumped Parrotlet
Blue Winged Parrotlet
Spectacled Parrotlet
Dusky Billed Parrotlet
Pacific Parrotlet
Yellow Faced Parrotlet

Lovebirds:
Peach Faced Lovebird
Masked Lovebird
Fischer's Lovebird
Lilian's (Nyasa) Lovebird
Black Cheeked Lovebird
Madagascar Lovebird
Abyssinian Lovebird
Red Faced Lovebird
Swindern's Lovebird

Lories and Lorikeets:
Rainbow Lorikeet

Conures:
Sun Conure
Jenday Conure
Cherry Headed Conure
Blue Crowned Conure
Mitred Conure
Patagonian Conure
Green Cheeked Conure
Nanday Conure

Caiques:
Black Headed Caique
White Bellied Caique

Poicephalus Parrots:
Senegal Parrot
Meyer's Parrot
Red Bellied Parrot
Brown Headed Parrot
Jardine's Parrot
Cape Parrot
Ruppell's Parrot

Eclectus:
Eclectus Parrot

African Greys:
Congo African Grey (CAG)
Timneh African Grey (TAG)

Amazons:
Blue Fronted Amazon
Yellow Naped Amazon
Yellow Headed Amazon
Orange Winged Amazon
Yellow Crowned Amazon

Cockatoos:
Cockatiel
Galah (Rose Breasted) Cockatoo
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Umbrella Cockatoo
Moluccan Cockatoo
Bare Eyed Cockatoo
Goffin's Cockatoo

Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw

Glossary of Common Parrot Terms

Parrots of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago

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By Michael Sazhin

Wednesday September 7th, 2011

During a recent trip to Chicago, I visited the Field Museum. This natural history museum boasts an outstanding collection of bird specimens even finer than the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

I was astonished to be looking at a real life (dead actually) Carolina Parakeet well knowing that they had been extinct for a century. The Conuropsis carolinensis was a mid-sized parakeet with the approximate dimensions of a Sun Parakeet, green body, and colorful head. The last confirmed wild specimen was caught in 1904 and they went extinct in captivity by 1918. Besides capture for the pet industry, deforestation and hunting were the main causes of their extinction. Farmers were cutting down trees and shooting the Carolina Parakeets because they were considered an agricultural pest. One unusual trait of the Carolina Parakeet certainly contributed to its demise: they appeared to show a remorse for their dead and visit the location as a flock. Farmers took advantage of this by shooting some and waiting for the rest to come.

Carolina Paroquet

Carolina Parakeet at the Field Museum in Chicago

The label reads, "Carolina Paroquet. Conuropsis c. carolinensis Linnacus. This species and its close relative, the extinct Louisiana Paroquet, were the only parrots native to the United States. The demand for caged birds was an important cause of their decline. The last birds of which there is record were captured in southern Florida for that purpose. Southeastern United States. Last authentic record: 1904."

Photo of extinct Carolina Parakeet

Photo of extinct Carolina Parakeet

Carolina Parakeet, extinct as of 1904

The Carolina Parakeet was not the only rare parrot I got to see at the museum. Also were featured a Hyacinth Macaw, Palm Cockatoo, Galah, Grey Parrot, Kea, Budgerigar, and some others. Most interesting, however, were the Night Parrot and Kakapo! The Night Parrot is a critically endangered Australian ground parrot once believed to be extinct. The Kakapo is a nearly extinct flightless parrot of New Zealand and the largest of the parrot family. Surprisingly the Kakapo did not appear to be so large though I recognized it immediately. In fact most of the birds I saw in the collection appeared surprisingly small or disproportioned to what I would expect. I think shrinkage of the preserved specimens could play a part but also it seems that they are not scaled to the population. In other words they would display what they had rather than the largest or most average sized birds of the species. A fascinating part of the exhibit was that erect skeletons of species were placed alongside some of the feathered specimens to give you a view both inside and out.

Parrot specimens at field museum

Parrot specimens at field museum

Collection of Parrots including Hyacinth Macaw, Kea, Palm Cockatoo, Grey Parrot, and Galah

Night Parrot

Critically endangered Night Parrot

Kakapo

Kakapo, the largest parrot

No Poicephalus parrots were represented. I had to settle for just a Grey Parrot and a Lovebird for the African Parrots. On a side note, I have never seen a Poicephalus parrot in a zoo or museum. Once in a while a Grey parrot but never any Poicephalus or Vasa. I wonder if it's because they are too common is pets, unrepresentative, or just uninteresting to the public.

The Field Museum is well known for its dinosaur exhibit and the largest mounted skeleton of a T. rex welcomes visitors in the main hall. Named after Sue Hendrickson who had found the colossal fossil, Sue is mounted according to the more modern theory about tyrannosaurus posture. Although the skull on the mount is a cast, the original is on display on the second floor above. This $8 million dollar display is considered the pride and major highlight of the museum.

Sue Tyrannosaurus rex

Sue Tyrannosaurus rex

Sue the largest found Tyrannosaurus rex

It is quite possible that Sue descended from the same common ancestor to modern birds and even lived beneath their flying ancestors. Speaking of dinosaurs and ancestors, the museum featured a cast of the Archaeopteryx fossil but more interestingly a 3d model of what the dino-bird may have looked like. Archaeopteryx is believed to be the missing fossil link between birds and their dinosaurial ancestry. Archaeopteryx is much like a bird but manages to maintain some dinosaur features such as teeth, claws on wings, and bony tail. Feather impressions in the fossils prove that Archaeopteryx was capable of flight like modern birds.

Archaeopteryx model

Archaeopteryx model based on cast of fossil

So overall it was a valuable visit to the Field Museum with a good focus on avian and paleontological exhibits. So next time you're in Chicago I highly recommend you stop by to say hello to Sue and the rest of the collection.

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Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
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