A History of Parrots - A Timeline

by

Susan C.

• 40 million years ago: First evidence of parrot species
• 1.5 million years ago: Evidence of parrots in South America
• 1000 B.C. First written evidence of parrots appears in the Indian Rigveda
• 500 B.C.  Evidence of talking parrots in Persia
• 344-342 B.C.  Aristotle referred to parrots as psittacae in his History of Animals.
• 327 B.C.  First parrots brought to Greece by Alexander the Great’s military forces.
• 146 B.C.  Greeks introduced parrots to Rome after the Roman conquest.
• 77 A.D.  Pliny the Elder’s Natural History mentioned parrot training methods.
• 400 A.D. Fall of the Roman Empire led to a decline of interest in parrots in the area.
• 1493 Christopher Columbus returned to Spain with a pair of New World parrots for Queen Isabella, and popular interest in the colorful birds surged.
• 1800s Budgies are introduced to England.
• 1864 The Cuban red macaw becomes extinct. Unconfirmed sightings persisted until 1885.
• 1869 Hendryx brand is hatched; later becomes Prevue-Hendryx trade name for cages.
• 1904-1910 Last confirmed sightings of Carolina Parakeet; unconfirmed sightings persisted for many years afterwards.
• 1918 Last Carolina parakeet in captivity dies at the Cincinnati Zoo.
• 1930 Parrot fever scare, widely reported in the New York Times spread to the U.S. and import regulations were implemented.
• 1930s-1952 The American Radio Warblers, a troupe of singing canaries were broadcast on their own radio program.
• 1936 Franz Scherr opens Parrot Jungle on the site of a former nudist colony in Miami, Florida.
• 1940 Sarasota Jungle Gardens opens in Sarasota, FL. It’s a piece of ‘old Florida’ that remains open today.
• 1948 Debut of Oscar winning film, Bill and Coo, featuring a cast of live lovebirds and budgies
• 1959  Busch Gardens opens in Tampa, FL
• 1969 Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch airs for the first time
• 1972  Loro Parque is founded in Tenerife, Spain
• 1973  Reference to effects of exposure to pyrolysis products of coated (non-stick)frying pans on cockatiels (American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal).
• 1973 Text of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is agreed upon at a meeting of 80 countries in Washington, D.C.
• 1974 American Federation of Aviculture founded.
• 1975 Debut of Baretta TV series featuring Fred, a triton cockatoo.
• 1980 Association of Avian Veterinarians is established.
• 1982  Laboratory test results revealing the toxic effects of PTFE (polytetrafluroethylene) on budgies is published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
• 1982 First issue of Bird Talk magazine is published.
• 1985 The Long Island Parrot Society is founded.
• 1986 New York enacts a law prohibiting the trade of imported exotic birds.
• 1989  The World Parrot Trust is founded.
• 1991/1992 Dr. Branson Ritchie and research team at University of Georgia identify the virus that causes Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) and subsequently develop a diagnostic test for same.
• 1992 The Wild Bird Conservation Act, prohibiting the importation of wild birds is implemented in the United States.
• 1993 American Board of Veterinary Practitioners first offered Board certification in avian medicine and surgery. As of this writing, there are 129 active Diplomates in the United States.
• 1998 Movie Paulie featuring a blue crowned conure is released.
• 2005 Commercial release of movie, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
• 2006 The Camiguin hanging parrot of the Phillippines is recognized as a distinct species.
• 2007 Alex, the African grey subject of Dr. Irene Pepperberg’s studies passed away.
• 2100 Red crowned Amazon listed as threatened.
• 2012 Bird Talk  ceased publishing.
• 2018 Hyacinth macaw listed as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act
• 2018 Bird Talk resumed publishing under new ownership.
• 2019 Bird Talk again ceased publishing.