What is the difference between the Parrot and the Pigeon?
The Parrot and the Pigeon are both species of birds.
The Parrot belongs to six families, whereas the Pigeon belongs to one family. The Parrot families are: Cacatuidae, Nestoridae, Psittacidae, Psittrichasiidae, Psittaculidae, and Strigopidea. The Pigeon is in the Columbidae family.
The Parrot is arboreal, living in trees, whereas the Pigeon can be arboreal, terrestrial (living on the ground), or semi-terrestrial.
The Parrot has a slim, upright body, whereas the Pigeon has a stout body.
The Parrot is vividly coloured, whereas the Pigeon has mostly dull and neutral-coloured feathers.
The Parrot has a strong, downward curved beak, whereas the Pigeon has a short, thin beak. The Parrot and the Pigeon both eat seeds, nuts, fruit, and plants.
The Parrot has a strong, wide, usually dark-grey tongue with a fleshy tip, whereas the Pigeon has a narrow, mostly pinkish tongue.
The Parrot has a large head with eyes postioned high and laterally, enabling it to see in front and almost all of the way behind without moving its head, whereas the Pigeon has a small head and small eyes with medium vision.
The Parrot has strong clawed zygodactyl feet (two toes facing forward and two toes facing backward) suited to living in trees, whereas the Pigeon has anisodactyl feet (three toes facing forward and one long toe facing backward).
The Parrot can be small to large, ranging from 8-100 centimetres (3-39 inches) tall, whereas the Pigeon has a more uniform size, growing to 15-75 centimetres (6-29 inches) tall.
The Parrot can mostly imitate human speech, and make singing-sounds, and loud screeches, whereas the Pigeon is a quiet, non-passerine (non-singing) bird.
The Parrot almost always nests in tree hollows, whereas the Pigeon makes a nest of sticks on the branch of a tree, on a ledge, or on the ground.
The female Parrot usually lays 2-4 eggs once a year and sometimes up to three times a year, whereas the female Pigeon lays 1-2 eggs up to 12 times a year.
The young Parrot leaves the nest after 21-120 days, whereas the young Pigeon (called a squab) leaves the nest after 25-32 days.
The Parrot is found mainly in tropical and sub-tropical regions, particularly in South America and Australasia, whereas the Pigeon is found worldwide, except in the Sahara Desert, the North Pole, and the South Pole.
The Parrot and the Pigeon are mostly non-migratory. The Parrot has only three species that are migratory, flying to warmer locations to find food.
Query from: Cyril Lambon, 14 years old, wants to know more about parrots and pigeons. I have started with information on the difference between them and I will provide more facts about both parrots and pigeons in future posts.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM