The Georgia Aviary

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The Georgia Aviary A nonprofit dedicated to parrot rescue, rehabilitation, lifelong care, education and advocacy. https://thegeorgiaaviary.org/donations/

10/22/2026

On October 21, Western Australia announced new research funding to help protect black cockatoos.

According to the WA Government, more than A$670,000 will support two Murdoch University projects. A three-year study will use movement, health and habitat data to identify conservation priorities for all three threatened south-west black cockatoo species. A separate two-year project will identify opportunities to better connect wildlife habitat across Perth and Peel.

Source: Western Australia Government, October 21, 2026

What happens when a reward disappears from view?Researchers use hidden-object tasks to investigate object permanence: re...
10/22/2026

What happens when a reward disappears from view?

Researchers use hidden-object tasks to investigate object permanence: recognizing that something still exists when it can no longer be seen.

In a study of eight Goffin’s cockatoos, the birds succeeded in many tasks involving hidden rewards, including tests where containers changed places. Some arrangements were harder than others.

That variation matters. Carefully designed experiments help us understand particular cognitive abilities without assigning every parrot the same “intelligence score.”

This continues the cognition theme in Georgia Aviary’s white paper, What Makes a Parrot a Parrot?

Research: Auersperg, Szabo, von Bayern and Bugnyar (2014), Journal of Comparative Psychology, 128(1), 88–98.

A local way to call. 🦜Yellow-naped Amazons have regional vocal dialects: the structure of their contact calls differs be...
10/21/2026

A local way to call. 🦜

Yellow-naped Amazons have regional vocal dialects: the structure of their contact calls differs between areas.

In a study published in 2023, researchers recorded these parrots at 47 sites across five countries in Mesoamerica. Their findings supported a pattern of regional dialects across the species’ range.

Listening to wild parrots can reveal a social world that human speech mimicry only hints at.

Vocal communication is one of the connections explored in our paper, What Makes a Parrot a Parrot? Its adaptive-loop framework proposes how anatomy, behavior, cognition and ecology fit together. The framework has not been experimentally proven.

Source: Genes, Araya-Salas, Dahlin & Wright (2023), Frontiers in Bird Science.

The supplies get used. The care continues.Food, enrichment materials and everyday care supplies need replenishing. A vol...
10/21/2026

The supplies get used. The care continues.

Food, enrichment materials and everyday care supplies need replenishing. A voluntary $5 monthly gift can help support those ongoing needs for parrots at The Georgia Aviary.

If monthly giving fits your plans, visit the website printed on this graphic and use the Donate link.

Thank you for helping keep everyday care going.

Small bird. Cockatoo family. 🦜The cockatiel belongs to Cacatuidae, the cockatoo family. Its familiar crest sits above a ...
10/20/2026

Small bird. Cockatoo family. 🦜

The cockatiel belongs to Cacatuidae, the cockatoo family. Its familiar crest sits above a much smaller body than many of its relatives, but size alone does not tell the whole family story.

In a 2011 study, researchers compared six DNA regions across 16 cockatoo species, including the cockatiel. The resulting evolutionary tree helped clarify relationships within this diverse family.

The study also found that features such as body size and plumage color have evolved in similar ways in different cockatoo lineages. Looking alike does not always mean being each other's closest relative.

This is part of the family-structure story in What Makes a Parrot a Parrot? The paper's adaptive-loop framework is proposed, not experimentally proven.

Did you know the cockatiel is a cockatoo?

Source: White et al. (2011), Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59:615–622.

AI-generated cockatiel illustration.

Community makes everyday care possible. 💚Food bowls need filling, enrichment needs refreshing, and parrots need ongoing ...
10/19/2026

Community makes everyday care possible. 💚

Food bowls need filling, enrichment needs refreshing, and parrots need ongoing care. A voluntary gift of $5 a month can help support that daily work at The Georgia Aviary.

If recurring giving is right for you, visit thegeorgiaaviary.org and choose Donate. On the donation form, choose $5 and make sure “Recurring monthly donation” is selected.

Thank you for being part of a caring community. 🦜

A helping beak. 🦜What happens when one parrot has the tokens, but only its neighbor can trade them for food?In a 2020 ex...
10/19/2026

A helping beak. 🦜

What happens when one parrot has the tokens, but only its neighbor can trade them for food?

In a 2020 experiment, African grey parrots voluntarily passed tokens to a partner who could exchange them with a researcher for a food reward. The bird passing the tokens received no immediate food reward for helping.

The researchers also changed whether a partner was present and whether exchanging tokens was possible. African greys transferred fewer tokens in these control conditions. Blue-headed macaws tested in the same study transferred hardly any.

That is evidence of helping in a particular task, not proof that every parrot behaves this way or experiences human-like empathy.

Social cognition is one part of the wider picture explored in What Makes a Parrot a Parrot? The paper’s adaptive-loop framework is proposed, not experimentally proven.

Source: Brucks & von Bayern (2020), Current Biology 30:292–297.e5.

AI-generated African grey illustration, not a photograph of the experiment.

The upper beak moves, too. 🦜A parrot’s upper beak is not fixed rigidly to the rest of its skull. It can move at a specia...
10/18/2026

The upper beak moves, too. 🦜

A parrot’s upper beak is not fixed rigidly to the rest of its skull. It can move at a specialized connection called the craniofacial hinge.

In a 2003 study, Masayoshi Tokita examined how the budgerigar skull develops, including the formation of this distinctive hinge. Other birds also have movable upper beaks; parrots have their own specialized construction.

This is one of the anatomical connections explored in our paper, What Makes a Parrot a Parrot? Beak movement is part of the broader story of how a bird’s body supports its behavior. The paper’s adaptive-loop framework is proposed, not experimentally proven.

Source: Tokita (2003), Zoological Science 20:749–758.

AI-generated budgerigar illustration.

Choosing the better odds. 🦜In a 2020 study, six kea watched an experimenter draw hidden tokens from jars. Some tokens co...
10/17/2026

Choosing the better odds. 🦜

In a 2020 study, six kea watched an experimenter draw hidden tokens from jars. Some tokens could be exchanged for food; others could not.

Their choices provided evidence that proportions mattered, beyond simply choosing the jar with the most rewarding tokens.

This was a small, carefully structured experiment, not proof that every parrot thinks alike. A later addendum addressed potentially visible tokens through reanalysis and added controls; the authors retained their conclusions.

Our paper, What Makes a Parrot a Parrot?, explores this broader theme of flexible cognition. Its adaptive-loop framework remains a proposal, not an experimentally proven explanation.

Source: Bastos & Taylor (2020), Nature Communications 11:828, and addendum 11:2906.

AI-generated kea illustration.

Make kindness a monthly habit. 💚A voluntary gift of $5 a month can help support food, enrichment and ongoing care for pa...
10/16/2026

Make kindness a monthly habit. 💚

A voluntary gift of $5 a month can help support food, enrichment and ongoing care for parrots at The Georgia Aviary.

If monthly giving is right for you, visit the website address on the graphic and choose Donate. Thank you for being part of a community that cares about parrots in need. 🦜

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