- 1990 First Australian edition. 239 pages
- Published by Lothian Publishing Co Pty Ltd. Australia
- Hardcover with dust jacket. Black boards. Format C
- Very good condtion. Minor shelf wear to covers.
Illustrated by Robert Gillmor. Indexed.
There is nothing subtle about parrots. They advertise themselves with vivid, saturated colours and calico-tearing shrieks. They are blessed with hideous hooked beaks, cleave the air with noisy wings and, on the ground, lurch from one foot to another as though in a drunken waddle. And yet they jostle for our affections with other 'pop' birds, like owls and penguins.
Parrots is 'a natural history' revealing how these birds are basically designed for killing seeds in the jungle canopy and how the 333 species have diversified and spread into the arid lands of Australia and even into sub-Antarctic.
Parrots have also become involved with people. For nearly 4000 years they have been valued as pets and their plumage has been worn by tribal people.
Parrots were one of the natural treasures brough back from the tropics by early navigators - a flock may have led Christopher Columbus to land in 1491. Australia and Brazil were first referred to in terms of their brilliant parrots. Alas, the discovery of many species led to their extinction.
Parrots also give pleasure as companions. At the drop of a peanut many can imitate the human voice, but is this a sign of intelligence? It has certainly led them into playing the part of a comedian, licensed to take outrageous liberties - as in the 'popinjay' of Tudor courts.
Nowadays, the trade in parrots and the destruction of rain forests is placing 73 out of the 333 kinds of parrots in peril. There are only a handful of Spix's macaws and Mauritius parakeets left, but parrots are fighting back!
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