Parrots: Look Who's Talking, bbc/pbs 1995 Rating Options

[stoner]

"Look what you've done!" "Hello, what's your name?" "To be or not to be, that is the question." "Well, talk to me!" All these are quotes from some of the talkative birds featured on the NATURE show PARROTS: LOOK WHO'S TALKING. These birds are living, breathing "recordings" of the phrases people say to them. From Flo the Yellow-naped Amazon, who sings opera, to Candy the budgie, who wants to cuddle, parrots are flamboyant both inside and out. With about 340 species to choose from, parrots make up more than 16 percent of the 50 million pet birds worldwide. Parrots, along with lorikeets, cockatoos and parakeets, fall under the class Aves and the order psittaciformes. Their habitat ranges worldwide, but most species prefer the warm, tropical climates of Australia, South America, and southeast Asia. In general, wild parrots mate for life, nesting in large cavities either underground or in hollow trees. Some species, such as macaws, lay two eggs from which only one youngster will survive.

But they are not the only birds that can "talk." For example, mockingbirds can imitate house cats and human sounds, as well as the songs of other birds. And while some of the bigger parrots have voices that are closer to human ranges, the world record holder for the most human phrases is a tiny budgie. Among parrots, the most human-sounding are African Greys and Yellow-headed Amazons...

(IMG:http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/od79/Parrot_Macaw_frontpicture.jpg)

Parrots: Look Who's Talking