Cover -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- PART I: The World of Parrots: Introducing the Psittaciformes -- 1 What Are the Parrots and Where Did They Come From? The Evolutionary History of the Parrots -- The Marvelous Diversity of Parrots -- Reconstructing Evolutionary History -- The Evolution of Parrots -- Some Parrot Enigmas -- PART II: The Functional Parrot: Physiology, Morphology, and Behavior -- 2 The Thriving Parrot: The Foods and Beaks of Parrots -- Introduction to the Diets of Parrots -- The Seed Eaters -- Other Diets -- 3 The Sensible Parrot: How Parrots Perceive and Use Information -- Introduction to Sensory Biology -- Visual Communication -- Vocal Communication -- 4 The Thinking Parrot: The Brains of Parrots and How They Use Them -- Introduction to the Study of Learning and Cognition -- The Brains of Birds -- Cognition in Parrots -- Mental Distress in Captive Parrots -- PART III: The Lives of Parrots: Mating, Life History, and Populations -- 5 Sex and Marriage: The Mating Systems of Parrots -- Introduction to Mating Systems and How They Evolve -- Monogamy -- Other Mating Systems -- 6 From the Cradle to the Grave: The Life Histories of Parrots -- Introduction to the Study of Life Histories -- Life in the Nest Hollow -- Life out in the World -- 7 Populations of Parrots: Conservation and Invasion Biology -- Introduction to Conservation Biology -- Parrots in Peril -- Parrots as Invasive Species -- Epilogue: Themes and Threads Uniting the Chapters of This Book -- Parrots as the Most Human of Birds -- The Future of Wild Parrots -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Y.