---
title: Parrots of the world: macaws, cockatoos, African greys, lorikeets an… — how Mova does on the tests · Biology
description: Lesson 303 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 5 of 11 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Parrots of the world: macaws, cockatoos, African greys, lorikeets and the cheeky kea

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**Tests:** 5 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** plain · **Understood:** 10 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 303 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/).

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### Test 1 · right ✓ {#t1}

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Count them: a parrot sits on a perch. How many of its toes point backwards?

- **1.** 4 — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** 0 — no support
- **3.** 8 — no support
- **4.** 2 — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t1/)

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### Test 2 · right ✓ {#t2}

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Count them: a macaw climbs using both feet and its beak. How many «hands» is it using?

- **1.** 3 — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** 4 — no support
- **3.** 1 — no support
- **4.** 2 — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t2/)

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### Test 3 · right ✓ {#t3}

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In the film Rio, Blu the macaw lives in a cosy home far from his forest. What is true for real macaws?

- **1.** Macaws were never caught for pets — no support
- **2.** Wild macaws belong in forests; catching them for pets made some kinds rare — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 1
- **3.** Macaws are happiest in small cages, where they feel safe from the eagles of the forest — no support
- **4.** All macaws come from snowy mountains — score -3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 1, against -3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 303, line 6: «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 l…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «forests» (+4). Against it: the same doer «macaws» (-1); a different action (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t3/)

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### Test 4 · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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In Aladdin, the parrot Iago chats with people as if he understands every word. What is true?

- **1.** Parrots cannot copy any sound — score 6
- **2.** Parrots understand and speak every language, if they hear it long enough — score 2
- **3.** Only cartoon parrots can copy sounds — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** Parrots are brilliant mimics, but they do not hold real chats like people — **✓ the right answer** · score 1

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 35, line 9: «Parrots copy sounds with a voice box deep in the chest; Alex, an African grey studied for 30 years, learned over 100 words and could name colours, shapes and n…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «copy» (+3); the same doer «parrots» (+2); the same thing acted on «sounds» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 1. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t4/)

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### Test 5 · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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«my uncle wants a parrot caught in the jungle, it's cheaper innit» What is best?

- **1.** Wild parrots love to be caught — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Wild-caught ones are better pets, because they are stronger and cleverer — no support
- **3.** Choose one bred by people; catching wild ones harms wild flocks — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** It does not matter where it comes from — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t5/)

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### Test 6 · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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What would happen if a lorikeet only had hard seeds to eat?

- **1.** It would struggle, because its tongue is built for nectar and pollen — **✓ the right answer** · score 0
- **2.** It would crack them easily like a macaw — **← Mova's choice** · score 2
- **3.** Its tongue would slowly harden and turn into a second beak — no support
- **4.** It would start eating clay only — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 2, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 222, line 14: «House mice come indoors in winter for warmth and food, and eat crumbs, seeds, grain and sweet foods, which they like better than cheese.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «crumbs» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, scored 0. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t6/)

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### Test 7 · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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A friend says the bin-opening trick spread because each cockatoo was born knowing it. What is more likely?

- **1.** Only one cockatoo opened all the bins — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **2.** Birds learned it by watching others — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** The bins were made for cockatoos — score 3
- **4.** They all read the same book — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 303, line 8: «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.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «cockatoos» (+2); the same thing acted on «open wheelie bins» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t7/)

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### Test 8 · right ✓ {#t8}

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«why's that green parrot in the snow, is it lost?» You are in the New Zealand mountains. What is it?

- **1.** A lorikeet looking for nectar — no support
- **2.** A lost pet that will freeze tonight — no support
- **3.** Probably a kea, a parrot that lives among snowy mountains — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 17
- **4.** A macaw on holiday — score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 17, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 303, line 12: «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…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «live» (+8); the same doer «few parrots» (+4); the same place «snowy mountains» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t8/)

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### Test 9 · right ✓ {#t9}

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«dad reckons the macaws at the riverbank are eating mud cos they're starving» What is best?

- **1.** They are drinking, not eating — score -1
- **2.** They are building a dam — no support
- **3.** Yes, they are starving, because every fruit tree in the forest has died — no support
- **4.** They eat clay on purpose; scientists think it may block poisons or give salt — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 2, line 16: «Scarlet macaws fly in pairs that stay together for many years, nest in tree holes and eat clay from riverbanks, which scientists think gives them scarce salt.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «think» (+3); the same doer «scientists» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t9/)

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### Test 10 · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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A parrot picks up a nut in one foot and lifts it to its beak. Which foot is it most likely to use?

- **1.** Often the left, as many parrots prefer it — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Neither, parrots never use feet for food — **← Mova's choice** · score 9
- **3.** Both feet at once, every time — no support
- **4.** Always the right, no parrot is left-footed — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 303, line 4: «Think of a parrot climbing its cage: beak, foot, beak, foot. It uses its beak like a third foot and holds its food in one foot like a hand.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «parrot» (+2); the same circumstance (+2); a different action (counts against) (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t10/)

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### Test 11 · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Why might people need a hammer for a nut a hyacinth macaw cracks with its beak?

- **1.** Macaws only eat soft nuts — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **2.** The macaw softens the nut by singing — score 2
- **3.** The macaw drops it from the sky first — no support
- **4.** The macaw's beak is extremely strong — **✓ the right answer** · score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 233, line 3: «Watch a crow at a car park: it may drop a hard nut where cars drive over it, wait, and then hop out to eat the cracked nut.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «eat» (+3); the same thing acted on «cracked nut» (+2); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/t11/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the group of parrots that includes the largest members of the parrot family.

- **1.** The ring-necked parakeets of Europe — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The keas of New Zealand — no support
- **3.** The macaws of Central and South America — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The lorikeets of eastern Australia — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the arrangement of the toes of a parrot?

- **1.** The toes are fused into a single grasping claw — no support
- **2.** Three toes are directed forward and one backward upon each foot — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **3.** All toes are directed forward upon each foot — score 5
- **4.** Two toes are directed forward and two backward upon each foot — **✓ the right answer** · score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 268, line 17: «A raptor's foot and a chicken's foot have three main toes forward and a small toe at the back, built from the same bones.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «three main toes» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3}

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Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the international trade in wild-caught African grey parrots.

- **1.** Such trade has never been subject to any regulation — no support
- **2.** Such trade is restricted solely to the continent of Africa — no support
- **3.** Such trade has been actively encouraged since the year two thousand and sixteen — no support
- **4.** Such trade has been prohibited worldwide since the year two thousand and sixteen — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score -1

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 303, line 10: «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 Afric…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «trade» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Ascertain the function of the brush-tipped tongue of the lorikeet.

- **1.** The collection of nectar and pollen from flowers — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** The cracking of hard palm nuts — no support
- **3.** The production of mimicked sounds and human speech — no support
- **4.** The capture of flying insects in the air — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/303-parrots-of-the-world-macaws-cockatoos-african-greys-lorikeets-and-the-cheeky-kea/e4/)

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- next →: [304. Ants of the world: weaver ants, bullet ants, hon…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/304-ants-of-the-world-weaver-ants-bullet-ants-honeypot-ants-and-trap-jaw-ants/)
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