Your Parrot’s Body:

A bird’s body contains skin, respiratory system, sensory organs, cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, and excretory systems.

Skin:

The skin of a bird is seemingly translucent and thin, it is covered by their feathers.  Their skin cells help make up the beak,cere,scales of the legs and feet and claws.

Parrots cannot sweat because they do not have sweat glands. For this reason they must find a way to keep themselves cool.  If you notice that you parrot is holding its wings away from its body with its mouth open, curling its tongue, this is a normal behavior to help keep cool.  Make sure that if you live in a warm climate or it is a warm day your bird is cool. If not, heatstroke may take place.

Musculoskeletal System:

Birds have pneumatic bones. These particular bones contain air sacs and in certain cavities of the body. Pneumatic bones help lighten the body and cool them more proficiently. You must always handle a bird carefully because some bones in the bird are hollow.  These hollow bones are much lighter making it easier for flight but because they are hollow it makes them more vulnerable to break. The wings are also extensions that assist with flight.  The wings are compounded for strength.  Wings act as the arm and hand bones of a human, if you will.

Parrots have ten neck vertebrae; this makes a parrot’s neck more mobile. A parrot can turn its head almost 180 degrees, looking over its shoulder. In the wild this gives the bird an advantage in spotting food and/or predators.

A female parrot’s bones become denser during breeding time. This is to enable her to store the calcium needed to create eggshells. A female’s skeleton can weigh up to 20 percent more during breeding season due to calcium storage, then the rest of the time.

Respiratory System:

Your bird’s respiratory system is extremely efficient and sensitive.  Although it is capable at exchanging gases in the system, two complete breaths are required to do the same work that a single breath does in people; because of this you may observe your parrot breathing quickly, this is normal behavior.

Nervous System:

Your parrot’s nervous system is made up of the brain, the spinal cord, and innumerable nerves throughout the body.

Cardiovascular System:

The birds cardiovascular system keeps oxygen and other nutrients moving throughout their body. The parrot has a four-chambered heart, with two atria and two ventricles. The average heart rate for a parrot is 340 to 600 beats per minute.

Digestive System:

Fuel is needed for energy. Your bird produces fuel by food.  This is how the digestive system works. Not only does the digestive system provide energy from food, it also assist in maintaining your bird’s body temperature. Birds need to eat often and regularly in order to maintain their high body temperatures.  Your parrot’s digestive system starts at the beak, traveling down the esophagus. Parrots do not have saliva glands to help break down their food. The food then travels to the crop, where it is moistened, then passed in small segments to the bird’s gizzard. Next, the food moves to the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. Anything that’s left over travels through the large intestine and then leaves the body as waste.  A bird does not have a bladder or a urethra.

Feathers:

A parrot has between 2000 to 3000 feathers. Feathers assist in flight, keep your parrot warm, attract potential mates and scare away predators.  Small, subtle contour feathers cover the body. These help to insulate your parrot. Your parrot will fluff up its body feathers to intensify insulation and smooth them down to cool off.  They will also lift and lower patches of their feathers to show off.

Muscles:

A parrots muscles are attached at the skeleton and its flight muscles are the bird’s most vital means of force. While the wings themselves only have small muscles used to make changes during flight, the large pectoral muscles located in the chest region are the main powerhouse that is use to thrust the bird in flight. The pectoral muscles are attached to the sternum and have tendons attaching them to the wings. This set of flight muscles can account for around 30 percent of a parrot’s weight. Muscles at the bottom of the spine move the tail in all directions while helping to steer and stop when the bird comes in to land.

There are certain types of parrots, such as the Cockatoo, that have large neck ridges, muscles attached to the forehead behind the nostrils power these – this causes the crest to be upright and stiff in appearance.

The other major muscle of your parrot is the heart. This muscle is located within the left hand side of the ribcage. A bird’s heartbeats around 140 times a minute at rest and when it is flight it beats at a rapid pace of 1,000 a minute.

The Beak:

Parrots have a very strong crushing power in their bills, which is needed for breaking into hard seeds and nuts and for excavating their nesting holes in trees and soft rocks. Though rarely used in serious fighting, the beak can be a formidable weapon if a bird feels threatened, and parrots are capable of killing other birds.