Parrotlets

Hello... this is Friday speaking now. Reba is laying on the floor chewing on a big ugly bone... EWWWW. I figured since our human slave has 2 laptops, we birds should start adding some input to these blog things. After all, dogs can't think of enough interesting things to keep up an intelligent conversation. Those of you that visit this blog often will likely remember meeting me one time before when I took the initiative and wrote on this blog.

I, and my dear lady love Miracle, are Pacific Parrotlets. Here is a bit of information you might find interesting in regards to Parrotlets.

Parrotlets, the smallest parrots in the world, are little birds with short wedge-shaped tails and large beaks for their size. Most species are less than five inches long and weigh less than 30 grams. They are relatively new to the pet trade, and a sure attention grabber. Everyone who sees one wants to know, "What kind of bird is that?"

The most popular species in the pet trade are the Pacific, Mexican and green-rumped parrotlets. Other species are rare. Some people believe green rumps are the most gentle, although all three species can make nice pets if they are handfed and properly socialized.

Most parrotlets are primarily green. Patches of yellow, gray and blue identify the species, subspecies and sex. A healthy parrotlet will be alert, have shiny feathers, a clean vent and clean feet. Parrotlets can live up to 20 years.

Parrotlets are sexually dimorphic, which means the sex of the bird can be determined by looking at it. In the commonly available species, males have a varying amount of vivid or deep blue on their rumps and also have shades of vivid blue on primary and secondary wing feathers. The females always lack the blue markings on the wings.

Parrotlets come from the same regions as larger parrots such as macaws, Amazons, conures and Pionus. Their range spreads from the arid tropical zone of western Mexico, along the West Coast just below Baja, Calif., to the southern most parts of Brazil and from the east to west coasts of South America. They inhabit Trinidad and have been introduced to the Netherlands Antilles and the West Indies.

Personality

These small parrots often have a feisty, courageous nature that belies their tiny size. They are most closely related to the Amazon species, and many people refer to them as "Amazons in pint-sized bodies" because of their often fearless nature. They are bold, playful, clownish, fearless and determined.

Parrotlets frequently learn to talk. They have limited talking ability, but with patience and practice, can learn to say several words, short phrases, and many sounds and whistles. Their voices are small in proportion to their size and sometimes it is hard to recognize words. Their natural sounds are very pleasant chirps. The lack of noise makes them ideal for apartment or condominium dwellers.

That is what they say on the internet. I do agree with most, though not all. I personally did not come from where they say. My egg was laid right here in Canada.