Physical and Behavioral Factors in Sociality and Evolution of Certain Parrots (Aratinga)

Abstract

The concepts of species-specific characteristics and social releasers as developed by ethologists have intrigued animal behaviorists as much as any concept in the science of ethology. Utilizing these concepts, I have been engaged since 1959 in studies of the behavior of parakeets of the genus Aratinga, primarily A. c. canicularis, the Orange-fronted Parakeet, and also recently other forms. The acquisition, in 1960, of captive birds of A. c. eburnirostrum and, in 1962, of 12 Aratinga astec, the Aztec Parakeet, made possible experiments and observations on the function of morphological and behavioral characteristics which are involved in sociality. The results of these studies have bearing upon our understanding of psittacid evolution.