Category: New

Dr. Irene Pepperberg talks about the individual preferences of the African grey parrots in her cognitive research lab. She also shares why personality differences among the flock oftentimes require using different approaches when it comes to training and testing.

Central Park in New York City recently saw the return a fluffy white visitor after a 130-year hiatus—a majestical snowy owl! On January 27, a popular birder tweeted the arrival of a snowy owl hunkering down behind a fenced area near the park’s baseball fields. Soon after, local birders flocked to the park for the sighting of a lifetime. Read on to learn more about the snowy owl and how this owl’s brief New York City appearance made headlines.

In her latest blog, Dr. Irene Pepperberg shares her thoughts on the past year as 2020 comes to a close. Despite the often daunting challenges many faced due to COVID, she writes about giving thanks to those in the animal community who stay devoted to their work to give to our beloved pets as well as pets in need care and attention in this time of crisis.

Andrea Garcia, a library aide in the Los Angeles area, has found parrots to be the perfect assistants when it comes to story time. Garcia hosts up to 32 Zoom virtual reading sessions a week for elementary school children.

Leila Jeffreys is an artist from Australia who uses the tools of photography to create incredible portraitures of birds of all kinds The result is large prints that reveal immaculate details of the bird subject she is working with

The thick-billed parrot (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha) is the only surviving parrot species native to North America. This special parrot once thrived in its Arizona mountain habitat and was last seen in the wild there in 1938. It has since settled in Mexico, but a team of wildlife researchers in Arizona are working with counterparts in northern Mexico to reintroduce the bird to the state’s wild.

Not only can parrots fly and have the ability to mimic human speech and sounds, but they are also capable of some seemingly perplexing behaviors that don’t fit the typical dog or cat pet mold. Here are four parrot behaviors that bird stewards are likely to encounter that might seem baffling at first.

The untimely death of a parrot was the inspiration behind the Prego Dalliance Sanctuary. Monika Sangar was a first-time parrot owner when her Eclectus died suddenly from a neurological disorder. Devasted, she vowed to help parrots in need, and the result is her small, non-profit parrot sanctuary in Los Angeles.

The Carolina parakeet was native to North America but, sadly, became extinct a century ago. Scientists recently sequenced the parrot’s genome obtained from a specimen that was originally collected by Catalan naturalist Marià Masferrer (1856-1923) to ascertain what likely led to the species’ abrupt disappearance.

Did you know that there is a parrot smaller than a budgie and smaller than a parrotlet? In fact, it is almost as small as a hummingbird. Check out this profile of the buff-faced pygmy parrot, which measures in at a mere 3 inches long.

Are changes in your household stressing out your bird? See what might cause a companion bird to be overstimulated and why you should be a super sleuth to get to the bottom of the issue.

Let’s talk about a parrot that might be scary to some people—one that can be carnivorous, resides where no other parrot dare ventures and, for fun, seems to enjoy wreaking havoc on the tourists who visit.