--- title: Parrots of the world: macaws, cockatoos, African greys, lorikeets and the cheeky kea — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Parrots of the world: macaws, cockatoos, African greys, lorikeets and the cheeky kea», a lesson of the biology course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: There are about 400 kinds of parrot, most of them in warm places, with the most kinds --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/) / Parrots of the world: macaws, cockatoo… # Parrots of the world: macaws, cockatoos, African greys, lorikeets and the cheeky kea Lesson 303 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 18 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/0/) — There are about 400 kinds of parrot, most of them in warm places, with the most kinds in Australia and South America. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/1/) — All have a hooked beak and feet with two toes forward and two back. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/2/) — The biggest are the macaws of Central and South American forests; a hyacinth macaw is about a metre long and cracks palm nuts so hard that people need a hammer. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/3/) — Parrots are among the cleverest birds. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/4/) — Cockatoos in Sydney learned to flip open wheelie bins, a cockatoo called Snowball danced in time to pop music, and in New Zealand the kea pulls rubber strips off cars just to find out what is underneath. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/5/) — Think of a parrot climbing its cage: beak, foot, beak, foot. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/6/) — It uses its beak like a third foot and holds its food in one foot like a hand. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/7/) — Sadly, more than a quarter of parrot kinds are threatened, mainly by forest loss and by people catching them as pets. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/8/) — Macaws are the biggest parrots; the hyacinth macaw is about a metre long from beak to tail and its beak cracks palm nuts so hard people need a hammer; macaws live in the forests of Central and South America. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/10/) — Cockatoos raise their crest feathers when excited or alarmed; in Sydney, cockatoos learned to flip open wheelie bins and the trick spread from suburb to suburb. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/11/) — A cockatoo called Snowball became famous for moving in time to music; keeping a beat is rare in animals, and a study reported he invented more than a dozen dance moves. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/12/) — African greys are famous mimics that can learn many words and sounds; in the wild they copy the calls of their flock, and since 2016 trade in wild-caught African greys has been banned worldwide. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/13/) — Lorikeets have brush-tipped tongues for licking nectar and pollen from flowers, and they are noisy visitors to gardens in eastern Australia. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/14/) — The kea is a big green mountain parrot of New Zealand, one of the very few parrots that live among snowy mountains; its curiosity helps it find food in a harsh place. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/15/) — Keas can solve puzzles with several steps and work as a team; a study reported they can judge chances; the kea is endangered, with only a few thousand left. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/16/) — Parrots have two toes pointing forward and two back on each foot, so they can grip branches and hold food like a hand; many parrots prefer their left foot, studies report. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/17/) — A parrot uses its beak like a third foot for climbing; its upper beak is hinged to the skull, and its thick muscular tongue helps it handle food and shape sounds. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/18/) — More than a quarter of parrot kinds are threatened, mainly by forest loss and the pet trade; escaped ring-necked parakeets now live wild in cities like London and Madrid. - ← previous: [How owls work: silent wings, turning heads, pellets and owl myths](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths/) - next →: [Ants of the world: weaver ants, bullet ants, honeypot ants and trap-jaw ants](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/304-ants-of-the-world-weaver-ants-bullet-ants-honeypot-ants-and-trap-jaw-ants/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/)