Parrots: Psittaciformes

Parrot behavior varies by species. A group of birds may form a flock. Birds in the flock often pair up. Some parrots are active in the day and sleep in trees at night. Other birds are nocturnal, active at night.

Most parrots are monogamous (muh-NAH-guh-mus) and pair up for life. Birds often breed in cavities, nests located in the hollow part of trees. Usually, only the female broods, staying with the eggs until they hatch. Females of most species lay four to eight white eggs. They hatch in eighteen to twenty days.

Parrots are thought to be intelligent. In the wild, they screech or scream to warn the flock of danger from predators like eagles and falcons.

Cage birds (birds in captivity) often imitate the words of the people they live with, and some tamed parrots live to age of eighty or longer.