Parrot

Parrots occupy an unusual place in the animal world. Their talent for speech makes them seem uncomfortably close to us, yet their brilliant plumage has made them one of the most popular birds on earth. Paul Carter's book treats the parrot as far more than a quirky curiosity, tracing its natural and cultural history. It looks at how parrots have been painted, how their imitative speech has been understood in human societies, and why many species are under threat. The book also follows parrots through literature, legend, film and television around the world.

The book is organised into three parts. "Parrotics" examines how parrots have been classified across history and science. "Parroternalia" considers how these birds relate to the languages, life stages, appetites and dreams of human societies. The final section, "Parrotology," asks what parrot mimicry reveals about the ways people communicate with one another.

Written with humour and wide in scope, the book moves well beyond the familiar images of seafaring rogues and the cracker-begging pet. Carter presents parrot history as a kind of animal history in which the bird reflects human society back at us, sometimes with a sardonic edge.