Parrots

Parrots belong to the psittacine family and are placed in the order Psittaciformes. They live in subtropical and tropical regions around the world. The order is made up of 92 genera and subclasses, which fall into three groups, including Strigopoidea and Psittacoidea.

Parrots are colorful birds, long linked with talking and with the image of a bird perched on a pirate's shoulder. Their range is broad, and this book gathers many interesting facts about them, including where they live. Some have adapted to city life. Roughly 550 wild parrots now roam the neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens, having escaped from a shipment bound for JFK Airport.

Parrots are known for copying human speech, and they can also sing. Videos online show them reproducing human sounds, including spoken words. The Guinness Book of World Records names a parrot called Puck as the bird with the largest vocabulary. Twenty-one volunteers supervised Puck to confirm he had learned each word, and he could mimic more than one thousand words.

Many parrot species are threatened with extinction because of commercial trade, and their popularity as pets has contributed to this. Their habitats, particularly in temperate regions, are being destroyed. Some have been hunted for their feathers and body parts, which makes them costly to keep as pets. Even so, their popularity has not reduced their chances of survival.