Parrots are some of the most fascinating birds on our planet.
They’re deeply intelligent animals and can use tools, sing, talk, adopt one another and even kill each other!
Sorry, yeah, parrots sometimes literally murder each other and even more disturbingly, this often happens to young parrots, known as parrotlets.
Once again proving that the Animal Kingdom is nothing short of a beautiful horror show, a new study has revealed that while many parrot species are known to kill the babies of their rivals to secure sexual or social advantage, some parrots other animals have been observed caring for the young of dead or missing comrades.
I’m still recovering from the news that they kill each other’s young but I guess it’s cute that adult parrots sometimes adopt parrotlets, too?!
Why do parrots kill parrotlets?
Study senior author Steven Beissinger, a professor of environmental science, policy, and management at the University of California, Berkeley explained to Futurity exactly why all of this happens.
He said: “In parrotlets, infanticide and adoption revolve around real estate and love. Most of the infanticide attacks happened when a breeding pair was attacked by another pair that was trying to take over a coveted nest site.
“It also occurred when males wanted to breed with a widow who already had offspring—but we were surprised to find that these new males were just as likely to adopt the offspring as attack them.”
The study also found that males who adopted unrelated offspring went on to nest with widowed females and started breeding at younger ages than their competitors.
“Stepfathers scored love—a new mate—and real estate—a nest site!” said Beissinger.
Okay. Well. That’s very cute, I guess.
Basically, in the world of parrots, you’re murdered or you’re loved when you’re at your most vulnerable.
Which is surreal considering that they could simply not kill each other’s young, y’know?