{"id":35153,"date":"2022-06-01T01:09:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T06:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=35153"},"modified":"2025-07-22T11:38:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:38:28","slug":"new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"peach-faced
Peach-faced lovebird. Photo by Javad_esmaeili\/Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ve all seen it: parrots and other exotic birds using their beak to move around. Nothing unusual, right? A bird being a bird. But apparently, it IS a big deal. The interest in this maneuver is the use of the beak as a \u201climb.\u201d Something that becomes odd simply because science says that, to date, no creature \u2014 human or otherwise \u2014 has an odd number of limbs. With the results of a recent study, the New York Institute of Technology of Osteopathic Medicine<\/a> (NYITCOM) has come to the realization that our parrots do absolutely use their beak as a \u201cpropulsive third limb.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parrot Beak Recognized As Third Limb<\/h3>\n

Before this study, it was just assumed that birds used their beak as a means for stabilization and grasping support while they moved about. They cannot use their wings to grasp and so are dependent on their beaks to do that work for them. But with new studies on locomotive behavior for our feathered pals, it\u2019s determined that the head of a parrot does indeed assist to support, propel, and to power by tripedal locomotion.<\/p>\n

For this study, six peach-faced lovebirds<\/a> (also referred to as rosy-faced lovebirds) were used as test subjects. The surprising discovery was that the birds do employ their beaks as a third limb, generating the same force of power that a human or primate forearm would generate in climbing and pulling themselves up. This gives truth to the reality that a parrot\u2019s neck is incredibly strong and is biomechanically designed to be a third limb.<\/p>\n

Proving Parrots Use Beak As Third Limb<\/h3>\n

To actualize this study, two separate tests were performed with the six lovebirds. They were free of any malformations that might have encouraged the bird to adapt, to acquire usable data. High-speed cameras were mounted, and flat runways were constructed. The runways were designed to rotate to create several angles of ascent (0.0\u05af, 22.5\u05af, 45.0\u05af, 67.5\u05af, 90.0\u05af). As the birds were video-captured running at their own speed across the rotating runway, repeated data was rich enough to extract regarding the use of beak, tail, and wing during the experiment. Other more complex testing was undertaken as well to balance the study and to help solidify the results.<\/p>\n

In the initial run experiments, it was easy to see that the parrots began to use their beaks at the 45\u05af angle. By the 90\u05af angle, the parrots\u2019 beaks were generating the previously mentioned forces of a limb. It was also determined that the birds\u2019 tails produced minimal forces to help the parrot ascend. One of the assumptions pulled from this set of experiments shows that the parrots have likely evolved over time to help them develop these unique climbing forces. As a study conclusion, it is realized that parrots are the only birds known to use the head as a third limb. And the only creature known to do so \u2014 period.<\/p>\n

This rare locomotive study on parrots will continue for several more years to try to understand how this unusual propulsive behavior is undertaken by the parrots on a muscular and anatomical level.<\/p>\n

The new study was published May 18 in the prestigious journal of Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences<\/a>. The quest was studied and written up by Melody W. Young, Edward Dickinson, Nicholas D. Flaim, and by Michael Granatosky, a Ph.D, who is an assistant Professor of Anatomy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As most parrot people know, our feathered companions use their beaks for more than just eating and shredding toys and destroying whatever else they might find. They also use it to get around. A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn how a group of peach-faced lovebirds proved that a parrot’s beak functions as a third limb. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8046,"featured_media":43628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn about the third limb.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn about the third limb.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-01T06:09:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-22T16:38:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Rowe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Rowe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt Rowe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573\"},\"headline\":\"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-01T06:09:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-22T16:38:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Everyday\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-01T06:09:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-22T16:38:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573\"},\"description\":\"A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn about the third limb.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Peach-faced lovebird. Photo by Javad_esmaeili\\\/Pixabay\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds\",\"description\":\"Two Generations of Veterinarians Caring & Working for the Health of Animals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573\",\"name\":\"Matt Rowe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Matt Rowe\"},\"description\":\"Matt Rowe is a writer who frequently covers various areas of interests. And while he is a lover of the arts, he is equally enamored of animals, especially birds in all of their various species. His love of pets and wildlife, and the many ways they interact with humans reveals his deep fascination for them. Matt writes for various publications that include MusicTAP, The Morton Report, and The Pontiac Daily Leader.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/matt-rowe\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/author\\\/mattr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","description":"A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn about the third limb.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","og_description":"A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn about the third limb.","og_url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/","og_site_name":"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds","article_published_time":"2022-06-01T06:09:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-22T16:38:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matt Rowe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt Rowe","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/"},"author":{"name":"Matt Rowe","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573"},"headline":"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb","datePublished":"2022-06-01T06:09:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-22T16:38:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/"},"wordCount":585,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg","articleSection":["Everyday"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/","name":"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-01T06:09:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-22T16:38:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573"},"description":"A recent study officially bestows parrots the title of the only animal with three functional limbs \u2014 two legs and their amazing beak. Learn about the third limb.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/peach-faced-lovebird-px-6902371.jpg","width":800,"height":800,"caption":"Peach-faced lovebird. Photo by Javad_esmaeili\/Pixabay"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/new-study-proves-parrots-employ-the-use-of-a-third-limb\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Study Proves Parrots Employ The Use Of A Third Limb"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/","name":"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds","description":"Two Generations of Veterinarians Caring & Working for the Health of Animals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/799abb6362f5dc29c5480bffcda27573","name":"Matt Rowe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/matt-rowe-hs-96x96.jpg","caption":"Matt Rowe"},"description":"Matt Rowe is a writer who frequently covers various areas of interests. And while he is a lover of the arts, he is equally enamored of animals, especially birds in all of their various species. His love of pets and wildlife, and the many ways they interact with humans reveals his deep fascination for them. Matt writes for various publications that include MusicTAP, The Morton Report, and The Pontiac Daily Leader.","sameAs":["http:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/matt-rowe\/"],"url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/author\/mattr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8046"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43630,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35153\/revisions\/43630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}