Birds of the order of the psittaciformes or psittacidae, a group to which parrots, parakeets and parrots belong, are usually considered the most frequently kept in captivity, particularly in areas of high biological diversity, such as the Colombian Amazon region. Given the high mortality derived...

The maintenance of parrots in captivity, caused by the illegal traffic and illegal ownership of these animals, makes them lose essential abilities for free-living survival, such as flight capacity and human avoidance, which hinders the success of reintroduction programs. Here, we assessed the...

This article explores the reasons (the term differentials is often used by UK behaviourists) for aggression by pet parrots directed toward caregivers and household members when they attempt to physically interact with the parrot, and consequences that lack of touch may have on the caregiver-parrot...

Previously assumed to be unintelligent animals, many species of birds display high levels of cognition and may even possess conscious awareness. In particular, both corvids and parrots have been the focus of cognitive research including studies on problem-solving, social intelligence, and...

Foraging enrichment is considered one of the most effective ways to enhance expression of species-typical behaviours and prevent the development of abnormal (repetitive) behaviours in captive animals. However, foraging enrichments for parrots have thus far not been able to approximate natural...

Reporting of outcome variables by caregivers in welfare studies is commonplace but is open to subjective bias and so requires validation. Biases can occur in either direction: familiarity with an animal allows a deeper insight into welfare problems, but also can lead to reticence in admitting that...

Human-animal interaction (HAI) can be valuable for captive animals, and many zoo-housed species benefit from interactions with their keepers. There is also an increasing body of evidence that some animal species possess personalities that are temporally consistent. However, the majority of zoo...