#psittacine

[pazzesco]

Screw the cracker, Polly wants to ride...

Let's ROLL my  Psittacoidea Bitches!

Notice how Polly breaks and checks for traffic. That's why parrots live so long.

[sweetiesugarbird]

Strike a pose!

[rebeccathenaturalist]

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I'm a sucker for stories about species reintroductions, rediscoveries, etc. And this one might be my favorite this year.

The kākāpō is this delightfully odd bird--a nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot. Because New Zealand historically didn't have any predators apart from birds of prey, their camouflage was generally sufficient to protect them in the forest. Unfortunately, Europeans brought with them weasels, rats, and free-roaming cats, all of which hunted the kākāpō to the brink of extinction. Invasive species of deer additionally competed with the kākāpō for food.

By the 1980s, the birds had all but disappeared from the main island, and the world population bottomed out at 51 birds in 1995. Since then, breeding efforts and conservation on smaller, predator-free islands have brought the population back up to 252, but this is still a critically endangered species.

The reintroduction to the main island involved setting aside 3400 acres in which all mammalian predators had been eliminated. That would allow the kākāpō a safe place to breed and recover. Right now the four birds released into this sanctuary are all male, to allow conservationists a chance to observe them in this habitat. With time, though, we'll hopefully see females added as well, so that the population can begin expanding.

(By the way, yes--this is, in fact, the species in the infamous "shagged by a rare parrot" clip from the BBC's "Last Chance to See" series some years back. Don't worry, it's less NSFW than it sounds, and it is absolutely hilarious!)

[proton-wobbler]

Battle Royale

Family Reunion (C-1)

Some families are more popular than others, you know? It's a miracle there wasn't a submission for ever single corvid that's ever existed. Instead, we have these guys.

[fleshdyke]

losing my actual mind at this. this is BY FAR the scrunkliest cockatoo i’ve ever seen

[rottenraccoons]

what would the LI's favorite animals from our world be? much love <3

Francesco Huge soft spot for small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs and chinchillas - it's impossible for him to chose just one.

Keir He says wolves, but actually it's elephants.

Oleander Birds in general delight him (modern!AU Oleander has Merlin Bird ID on his phone for sure), but corvids and psittacines in particular.

Cirrus Probably beetles! He enjoys their delicate features and beautiful colours.

[despazito]

Do u not like parrots / parakeets?

/idrc that much just curious

i love parrots a lot! they're some of my favourite birds which is why i get sad seeing them in people's homes

psittacines may be one of the world's most endangered family of birds, "According to the 2019 IUCN Red List, 26 % of parrot species are threatened with extinction and 14 % are listed as near threatened. Moreover, 58 % of all the species are experiencing global population declines." (x). and along with deforestation, poaching for the exotic pet trade is one of the threats to wild parrot populations. for example sun parakeets aka sun conures are a very popular pet species which have now been classed as endangered.

but even if they were doing fine by conservation standards and bred in captivity, statistically their lives in home environments probably won't be great. parrots are just such intelligent and socially complex animals i don't think they should be pets beyond perhaps budgies and a few small, shorter lived species. if you want a super tame and cuddly parrot, you will essentially have to imprint it onto humans and make them emotionally dependant on you which can cause many serious behaviour issues later in life.

so many get rehomed, bounced around, and hand raised with minimal interaction from their parents i think a large chunk of the pet parrot population essentially has what we would call developmental and emotional/attachment trauma in a human. if an animal can feel enough self awareness and loneliness to self harm i think it has no business being sold in a pet store!

i respect the people who rescue parrots, behaviourists who try to mend their psychological wounds, and there's owners out there who can meet all their needs but it still just bums me out :/

[spacefinch]

Pokemon headcanons!

Combining my passion for Pokemon with my fascination for field guides!

The Pokedex entries do have some fun tidbits about the Pokemon, but are a bit lacking in biological and behavioral information. I have decided to remedy that, starting with some hc's about bird Pokemon.

Starly/Staravia/Staraptor

In the wild, Staraptors mate for life and reuse the same nesting site over several years. Every year, they add onto the nest. Abandoned Staraptor nests are sometimes taken over by Noctowl.

The young Starly stay with their Staraptor parents for up to two months. Once they leave the nest, they join a creche of juvenile Starly. Over time, the birds in a creche will form very strong bonds with one another.

Starly and Staravia both have a gregarious lifestyle. There are reports of their flocks numbering in the hundred thousands, or even millions. What's more, they can fly in almost perfect sync-- forming a mesmerizing murmuration. It is thought that this behavior evolved to confuse predators.

When Staravia are ready to evolve, they leave the flock and become solitary birds. However, they still retain some social instincts-- one of which is allopreening (preening or grooming another bird). Mated Staraptor will preen each other to strengthen their pair bond, and even non-mated Staraptor have been observed allopreening.

Staraptors will even groom other species of Pokemon, although this is more likely to happen with a trained Staraptor than a wild one. Sometimes they will even try to preen their Trainer's hair!

Since Starly and its evolutions are social species, it's reccomended that a trainer have at least one other Pokemon already in their possession before catching a Starly.

Their crests are more for show than for function. No matter what evolutionary stage, members of this line spend a lot of energy keeping their crests in tip-top shape.

Fletchling/Fletchinder/Talonflame

Female Talonflame can be up to 30 percent larger than the males (sometimes called tiercels.)

In the winter, flocks of Fletchlings huddle together for warmth. Sometimes there can be 20 or even 30 birds in one small hollow!

While the Starly family's crests are used mainly for display, Fletchinder and Talonflame use their crests for communication. A relaxed bird keeps its crest lowered, but if excited or agitated, it will raise its crest.

It is thought that Fletchinder and Talonflame evolved their fire-typing in order to give them an advantage hunting grass- and bug-type Pokemon, their main prey. Another theory is that they became fire-type to better deal with cold climates.

Fletchling and Fletchinder hunt prey in either one of two methods. The first method-- flycatching-- involves sitting on a fixed perch and flying out to snatch smaller Pokemon. The second method involves pursuing the prey on foot, often in a run-stop-run pattern.

Talonflame mostly prey upon smaller bird Pokemon, even ones that have a type advantage over them. When they spot prey, they "stoop" or make a near-vertical dive, then strike said prey with their talons. This stuns or even kills the prey upon impact.

Despite behaving much like Staraptor, Talonflame is actually more closely related to psittacine Pokemon such as Chatot and Squawkabilly. The fact that Staraptor and Talonflame are so similar is a result of convergent evolution.

[everlastiingiimmortals]

"In approximately two system hours I will be hosting a bat night for my behavioral evolution students, so they can get some better hands on experience with research techniques for gathering data such as social calls and specific echolocation calls as well as get familiar with mist nets. Did you know? Bats are one of the few animals capable of extensive vocal learning aside from humanoid lifeforms. The most famous examples of vocal learning in animals are of course those of various avian orders, specifically passerines and psittacines, but chiropterans -- that is to say, bats -- are the first order of mammal outside of humans in which vocal plasticity was discovered! Other examples include cetaceans -- your whales and dolphins -- proboscideans and even some pinnipeds!"

(Literally nobody asked.)

"Those interested to actually learn about an incredibly fascinating aspect of the natural world are more than welcome to partake in this event." And in case that's not enough of an incentive, "there will be food."

[etchif]

I think seeing a wild psittacine in its natural habitat just once would improve my quality of life immensely

[sweetiesugarbird]

snumgaling

[sophieswundergarten]

I can't stop thinking about that Wing AU and Sticky plucking his feathers...

(Weird, angsty ramblings that might require some knowledge of bird anatomy to fully understand to follow)

(Basically, when birds grow feathers they start as "blood feathers" which are basically just little sacks of blood and growing cells. After this, they are "pin feathers", and the blood is all inside where it belongs, leaving the feather all rolled up and covered in this papery stuff that rubs off and leaves a fully grown feather. Also, Primaries are the big "pointer finger" feathers at the tip of the wings, Secondaries are the medium sized ones from the "wrist" joint to the "elbow", where they get smaller and are referred to as Tertiaries. That should be it :>)

Because, in real life, it's quite common in pet psittacines (Parrots: so, macaws, cockatoos, budgies, lovebirds, etc.) especially when they are stressed. And it can get out of control really fast and take a long time to train the bird out of even though it's very obviously hurting it.

And I just keep thinking about how young he was when he started being on TV. And for a while the fluffy little baby feathers were cute but an entertainment industry seeking engagement instead of connection demanded he grow up too fast.

And so the make-up/wardrobe department for any competition he was on started pulling some of the downy feathers. There weren't that many left at this point regardless, but they assured him it would make him seem more mature and appeal to a wider audience. And it would be fine, it wouldn't really hurt him, especially since he was growing in big feathers anyway.

So it went. With Sticky being so self-conscious and anxious anyway, he probably kept his wings tucked in tight behind him no matter what people thought about them.

He had never put that much consideration into how he looked, but now he can't stop thinking about it. He doesn't know why it's so important, but apparently it matters to people. He doesn't want it to matter. He doesn't want to be seen or recognised. He just wants to be left alone.

He starts fidgeting with the pin feathers that will one day unfurl into adult primaries, and even though he knows it's counter-intuitive because removing the casings will only free the feathers sooner, he can't help it. A few times he goes too far and starts picking at blood feathers, and even though the red coats his finger tips more often than he'd like, he still can't stop his hands from scratching and pulling and yanking as he grows more and more agitated.

And then he ran away

He ran and he couldn't keep his hands off his wings for more than a few minutes. Tugging and raking his fingers through the feathers in a futile attempt to calm down. The first couple of times, it's an accident.

The first couple of times he's so caught up in soundless panic and all he can hear is his own breathing, it's only later that he notices a small cluster of secondaries, close to his body and almost never seen with how rigidly he holds himself, are missing. Small pieces of the night sky littering the alleyway ground where he'd been hiding.

His wings are so dark in colour, not to mention unkempt after a few weeks hiding and running and flitting from place to place trying to find safety, that the other kids don't even notice anything wrong.

It isn't until a few days later, when they're all in the backyard attempting to practice their Morse Code, and Kate does something that startles him that they really see what kind of a state his wings are in.

Most birds, when scared or on edge, will carefully spread their wings. Maybe not a lot, but they are preparing to fly away or make themselves look bigger in hopes to scare off the threat. (I imagine Milligan having great big owl wings that he puffs up to try and guard the children when the Recruiters come after them in the maze)

But Sticky just draws them in closer to his body. When he is scared, which Constance would note is often, he holds his wings so tightly to his back that they seem half their size. This would be considered odd and in some ways handicapping himself or keeping him from being able to react properly.

But this time, as Kate wobbles unstably out of her cartwheel and lets out a shriek of laughter, landing on the ground right next to him, Sticky jumps. He starts off the bench he had been sitting on, hunching his shoulders and reflexively spreading his wings.

And instead of the fully extended mix of fully grown flight feathers and occasionally wayward piece of down the other kids have, Sticky's wings are a mess. They have a skeletal quality, with just enough plumage that when they are folded in it's hardly noticeable, but when they are extended it's clear there are significant gaps. The remaining feathers have the dull, stunted quality of someone who has been under an incredible amount of stress without nearly enough nutrients to fuel them, and indeed Sticky looks rather like a feral cat in that moment: Spooked and curling in on himself as if expecting a fight.

He quickly realises his overreaction, and then processes that the girls are staring at his wings (Reynie's eye did dart up, but quickly returned to looking at Sticky's face), so he jerks them back into a resting position. Though there's nothing particularly restful about how stiff his posture is, back ramrod straight and muscles so tight he's beginning to shake.

However, this is something that the others know he doesn't want to share yet. And he doesn't need to. Not until he's ready.

So, Kate grabs the flashlight from where it had fallen to the ground, a sheepish grin on her face as she apologises for scaring him.

Reynie suggests they all go inside, take a break and get something to eat before they begin again.

Constance glares at Sticky suspiciously, but right as she opens her mouth she seems to think better of her questions and simply shrugs.

And Sticky is grateful for his friends, grateful that he has these people who love him enough to trust him with his secrets, even though they don't know each other very well yet. So he follows them inside, and if Kate dumps a little bit more food on his plate, and Constance doesn't try to swipe his juice glass this time, and if that night (for the first time) Reynie shyly asks if the two of them could take turns preening each others' wings, when it's just the two of them alone in the room, Sticky thinks he might be able to trust them too.

[minecraft-crack-science]

Studying and researching the "pesky bird"

1# strongly diagnosed with magpie synonym, this includes (shiney objects, buttons, doors, silver, Harry Potter related objects, parrot skulls)

2# has been recorded making avian calls when caught off guard or provided, a majority belonging to the psittacines family

3# has been recorded courting local males with shiny objects like that of a "bird of paradise" on one account a male reciprocated by giving back kippers, another courting ritual.

4# nests in large open spaces as to fly freely in and out of the building.

[fleshdyke]

Tbh i think you're tias parrot not the other way around

no this is real

[lps-heaven]

Fruits n birds n fruits n birds n fruits n birds n fr-

Green and pink fruit and psittacine stimboard for this Friday’s Featured Friend, lps #854!

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