Bird Behaviour

Question 1

What kind of bird is a crow

Answer 1

Passerine (perching bird)

Question 2

Why are crows so interesting (proof that they’re smart)

Answer 2

Intelligent, count to 3-4, puzzles, memory, mimic voices, associate noises/symbols with food

Question 3

Describe a crows diet

Answer 3

Eat almost anything (600+ items), 1/3 animal matter

Question 4

Describe the crows scavenging behaviour

Answer 4

Usually frequent sites inhabited by people, occasional hunt cooperatively

Pirate food
Sentinels while feeding

Question 5

Describe a crows nesting behaviour

Answer 5

Near in early spring
Usually placed in tall tree
4-6 blue eggs incubate for 17-19 days by female (fed by male)
Fledge (leave nest) at 32-36 days

Question 6

Describe the crows social system

Answer 6

Extended families
Assist each other in feeding chicks, cleaning best, defending territory

Question 7

What are the reasons for brood loss

Answer 7

Predation by raccoons, great horned owls, starvation, weather

Question 8

What is the crows average lifespan

Answer 8

Wild = 4-6 years (up to 14)
Captivity = up to 20 years

Question 9

How long do crows stay with their parents? Why?

Answer 9

Around 5 years
Cognitive development, social learning
Learn to eat a variety of food items

Question 10

What is caching

Answer 10

Agile thinking when storing food
Start at 5 months

Question 11

What are some examples of play. Why is it helpful

Answer 11

Cannonball rolls and loop d loops (learn to evade hawks or attract mates)
Play helps animals encounter unexpected things

Question 12

What kind of birds are parrots

Answer 12

Psittacines

Question 13

Parrots are not sexually dimorphic, what is this

Answer 13

Males and females look alike

Question 14

What is the crest in a bird

Answer 14

Head, used for display then retracted

Question 15

Examples of parrots kept as pets

Answer 15

Macaws, cockatoos, budgies/parakeets, cockatiels

Question 16

What is the challenge of keeping parrots as companion animals

Answer 16

Require enormous amount of attention, care and intellectual stimulation

Question 17

What is the cockatoo/Amazon/macaw life span

Answer 17

80-100 years

Question 18

Lifespan of lovebirds and budgies (smaller birds)

Answer 18

15-20 years

Question 19

How do parrots spend most of their days

Answer 19

Grooming (allo as well), foraging

Question 20

What is the parrots main form of communication

Answer 20

Eye contact and body language (visual)
“Evil eye”

Question 21

Do parrots display social referencing?

Answer 21

Somewhat? Empathetic, their behaviour/mood may reflect their owners

Question 22

How do parrots stay in contact in the wild

Answer 22

Social, use contact calls

Question 23

Parrot main diet?

Answer 23

Seeds, nuts, fruits, buds, nectar, pollen, plants
Sometimes insects
Some eat small prey animals

Question 24

Is a parrot a seed disperser or predator

Answer 24

Predator, only eat fruit to get seed

Question 25

How do parrots avoid seed poisons

Answer 25

Remove the seed coat, consume clay to absorb compounds from gut

Question 26

Describe parrot skull morphology

Answer 26

Prominent upper mandible, bill not fused to skull

Sideways eyes (limited binocular vision, good peripheral)

Question 27

How does the bill not being fused aid birds

Answer 27

Increased biting pressure (crack seeds)

Question 28

What is special about birds tongues

Answer 28

Strong, manipulate seeds/nuts into positions

Question 29

What kind of nesters are most parrots

Answer 29

cavity nesters (in tree holes)

Question 30

Where are parrots most common

Answer 30

Australasian and South American regions

Question 31

Are parrots sedentary or migratory?

Answer 31

Some are either other, most are a mixture

Question 32

What kind of breeders are parrots

Answer 32

Monogamous

Question 33

What kind of territories do parrots hold

Answer 33

Only their nesting sites

Question 34

Describe parrot/cockatoo pair bonds

Answer 34

Strong (even during non breeding season/they join larger flock)

Courtship bonds to find pair
Make “parades” “eye blaze” to reveal edge of iris

Question 35

What kind of allo behaviour do parrots display

Answer 35

Allopreening

Question 36

Parrot young are helpless at birth, what is the word for this?

Answer 36

Altricial

Question 37

How long do young parrots spend in the nest

Answer 37

3 weeks to 4 months

Question 38

How does learning occur in young parrots

Answer 38

Learn in early life (social learning)
Practice with siblings
Foraging behaviour from parents

Question 39

How does play benefit parrots

Answer 39

Motor skills, social abilities
Play fight or predator evasion

Question 40

How does an absence of stimuli affect parrots

Answer 40

Slow development
Stereotypic/harmful behaviours (self plucking)

Question 41

How does parrot cerebral cortex compare to humans

Answer 41

Smaller
Birds use medio-rostral neostriatum/hyperstriatum ventrale as their seat of intelligence

Question 42

How are human and parrot brains similar

Answer 42

Corvines brain/body ratio similar
Lower part of brain functionally similar (puzzles/tools)

Question 43

How do parrots speak

Answer 43

No vocal cords
Expel air across mouth of bifurcated trachea
Change depth/shape of trachea

Question 44

How long do parrot young spend in the nest

Answer 44

3 weeks to 4 months