PLANET PARROT | The Most Intelligent Birds On Earth? | 4K

Some unusual sights and sounds are taking over our neighbourhoods. Parrots. Raucous, colourful and often thousands of miles from home are conquering urban areas around the world. The rise of the city parrot is a modern day phenomenon. In recent years parrots have popped up in all sorts of unexpected places. But the beautiful birds appearing in our backyards only tell half the story. An increasingly human world has left many parrots in need of a helping hand. These scarlet macaws are part of an effort to save the species in Mexico. So how and why are parrots thriving in our human habitat while at the same time struggling in the wild? And what role might these city slickers play in the future of our planet's parrots? Stuttgart in Germany. It's minus seven degrees and most people are snug in their homes. Above the empty streets some of the trees look decorated for Christmas. But these beauties aren't baubles. They're wild Amazon parrots. As their name suggests they're not from around these parts. How they got here is a bit of a mystery. In winter the trees offer a set menu of twigs and buds with just snow to wash it all down. About 50 Amazon parrots live rough on Stuttgart's streets. They're not built for the German winter. Surviving here takes extraordinary adaptability. They've had to learn all about city life including the daily commute. Each night Stuttgart's parrots gather together on the same central street. The traffic and tall buildings keep this spot a touch warmer than other parts of town. They've been roosting here for the last 25 years. As they settle down for the night you'd be right to think this is all a little odd. But Stuttgart's Amazons are far from unique. Parrots are appearing in cities all over the world. And they're doing it in big numbers. More than 70,000 parrots live wild in our cities. And urban California is where they've hit the big time. 13 different species have marked their turf here. From the Amazons of Orange County to the conures of Long Beach. This place really is a parrot melting pot. The Californian sunshine is much more suited to parrots than the German snow. So it may be a surprise to know they aren't native here either. They were first seen here just 50 years ago. The all-new City Parrot Show has gone worldwide. But this spectacle has a dark side. Strange things are happening on Planet Parrot. While some have swapped the simple life for the city lights, parrot populations in the wild have reached an all-time low. They've become one of the most endangered families of birds. At this breeding center on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, work is being done to put that right. This is not the normal start in life for a baby parrot. Hatching into a bizarre human world, this chick is a subspecies of scarlet macaw. One so endangered it's going to be hand-raised by experts. In Mexico, scarlet macaws have vanished from 98% of their natural range. These chicks are all part of a reintroduction effort. So why have parrots ended up in this tin pan alley? The reason is because of the unique nature of these birds. Being family, parrots have lots in common. They all have a large curved beak. It never stops growing, and the upper jaw has a special joint, giving it power and precision. Parrots also have paired forward and back-facing toes. Unusually for birds, they can lift food up to their mouths. Like us, each individual has a preferred foot. For parrots, it's often the left one. As well as physical similarities, parrots are highly intelligent and lead very active social lives. But what really stands out is they are very pretty. Their colour is for camouflage and communication. But bright parrot feathers are also uniquely resistant to bacteria. Perfect for the steamy jungles where many parrots live. And being both beautiful and smart birds, they're irresistible to mankind, which isn't always a good thing. In the last half century, the demand for pet parrots has really taken off. A soaring international trade has seen millions of parrots removed from the wild and transported to nearly every corner of the planet. Which brings us all the way to northern England. This is the land of cricket, warm beer, and more recently, a colourful flock of ex-pets that have taken over a small town. The home team is called the Macaws. The name owes itself to the legacy left behind by a late gentleman farmer. The farmer was an extremely wealthy man with a passion for both conservation and the exotic. Parrots in particular held a special place in his heart. The parrots he collected were all once other people's unwanted pets. But he longed to see them fly free. So he tried an experiment involving some walnuts. He released the birds and put his walnuts out at the same time, in the same place, every day. It worked, and helped by a £3,000 annual walnut bill, these are now the world's most northern parrots. Theirs is one of many stories behind the city parrot phenomenon. Travelling the world as pets, some have escaped and others have been released. The problem is, the pet trade from which the farmer saved these birds has devastated wild parrot numbers, and that's just not cricket. Scarlet Macaws are so popular as pets that they've almost run out of them in the wild in Mexico. That's why they're breeding them in captivity. But what do you feed a room full of hungry parrot chicks? Over the years, the staff have refined a special recipe. It includes dog food, a dash of peanut butter, and a dollop of baby food. All blended into a runny treat. Yummy. The nestlings need feeding every few hours, requiring someone on duty, day and night, all year round. Bringing up Polly is exhausting work. A baby macaw's feet and beak grow fastest. They put on lots of weight until they reach two months old, and then begin to slim down as the amount of feeding slowly tails off. In the wild, this is how their parents encourage them to leave home. At three months old, they're ready to fly the nest, or, in this case, to join the adults outside. The first Scarlet Macaw hatched here in 1994. Today, there are more than 1,000 of them. The program even holds a world record for the largest number of an endangered species bred in captivity. It's been so successful that, very soon, a select group will begin training for life in the wild. While many parrots are struggling in the wild, it's not all doom and gloom. For some native species, the big city is full of opportunity. A century ago, there were no recorded sightings of these white birds anywhere near downtown Sydney. It turns out they're city migrants flocking in from out of town. They are sulphur-crested cockatoos, and, believe it or not, these Australian icons are totally wild. In Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens, people love playing with these wild parrots. Some have been given special yellow wing tags as part of a scientific study. But most people just want to grab a selfie with a cocky. So why are they here? It can't just be for the photobombing. It's all down to food. Cities are full of it. Sulphur-crested cockatoos are generalists. They eat all sorts. And as Sydney grows ever larger, the cockatoos are copying their human neighbours, taking advantage of the parks, gardens and the fast food on offer. So for some parrots, change is a good thing. Thousands of kilometres away, in Argentina, there's another native parrot enjoying the convenience of big city life. Introducing the monk parakeet. They're generalists as well, but they have a special trick that sets them apart from other city parrots. Buenos Aires is built on what used to be a flat area of grassland called the pampas. For monk parakeets, the pampas was out of bounds. There weren't any trees to nest in. Then along came people. We filled the wild pampas with cafes, laughter and dancing. We also planted one or two trees where there were no trees before. That is where monk parakeets come in. Unlike other parrots, they build their own nests from scratch, high up in trees. Some couples nest alone, but more often than not, these are communal structures. Each pair has its own private entrance and nest chamber. Right now, love is in the air, so preparations are in full swing. As the breeding season begins, stick gathering reaches fever pitch. Both adults work on the nest, but it's usually the male who takes the lead. This South American parrot is a master of its craft, and its fancy featherwork can now be found across the globe. It's become one of Argentina's lesser-known exports. Since 1981, over 700,000 wild monk parakeets have been captured and exported worldwide. And they've taken their architectural skills with them. The palm trees opposite Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, are a central location with city views, prime real estate for avian developers. True to the location, construction is never complete. Maintenance and careful stick selection continues year-round. Only sticks with enough ridges hold the nest together. These high-rise condominiums have given monk parakeets an edge over other city parrots. They can build pretty much anywhere, and this hasn't gone unnoticed by local thieves. Magpies target parakeet nests, but these are so well-constructed, it's hard to break in. Monk parakeet nests can survive for generations. They are architectural wonders in their own right. Other city parrots take a different approach. They find temporary squats to nest in. Which brings us back to Stuttgart, where the long German winter has come to an end. This park runs through the heart of the city. Spring is well and truly underway, and there's a lot of activity. The city's yellow-headed Amazon parrots are busy too. This is nesting season, and at almost 40 centimetres tall, the parrots need a large nest hole. And they've found just what they need in this avenue of plane trees. There is new life inside. Yellow-headed Amazons usually lay up to three eggs. In this nest, just one of those has hatched. Many parrots have low reproductive success in the wild. Every chick counts. The female has spent most of the last month inside the dark nest cavity. Blind and featherless, her chick is just ten days old and needs her there to keep it warm. It's up to the male to find food. When he returns, he gives his partner the all-clear. For the first two weeks, only the mother will feed the chick. She relies on her partner to bring in food supplies. Today, it's a meal of regurgitated cherries. In their native habitat, only one in four wild yellow-headed Amazon pears breed successfully. In Stuttgart, a lack of poachers and predators gives the adults a chance to focus more on their parenting skills. Parrots live in complex societies, so young birds have a lot to learn. At the breeding centre in Mexico, it's up to their human carers to teach the macaws all about parrot life. Twenty scarlet macaws, aged six to 18 months, have been moved to a special aviary. Their beaks have been marked to identify the individuals. The Mexican jungle is a deadly place. They'll face attack from above and below. To survive in the wild, the macaws will have to work as a flock. Today is training day. The response so far is a good one. With the aerial threat over, it's time to meet the big, bad poacher. In this case, a man in a yellow coat with a big stick. Fear of man is their most important lesson. They've been raised by people, but a man in a raincoat waving a towel should put them off human beings for life. The flock is central to parrot life. It's where they find a mate, learn about feeding sites, and are safest from predators. In the wild, parrots are taught all they need to know by their parents. This is a rare glimpse inside a burrowing parrot nest. The chicks spend over 60 days in the burrow and follow their parents for months afterwards. To prepare them for family life beyond the nest, they must learn to communicate. For burrowing parrots, communication is key, because they live in the biggest parrot colony on Earth. On the remote Patagonian coastline, 70,000 burrowing parrots nest along 12 kilometres of sandstone cliff. It's a parrot metropolis. But lots of parrots in one place is bound to attract trouble. Like any city, it has its villains. Chimango caracaras patrol these cliffs looking for an easy meal of egg and chicks. They can take down unwary adults as well. For the parrots, this is where safety in numbers comes into its own. They don't want to end up a dead parrot. The adults run the gauntlet of predators every time they head out to feed. But food is becoming harder to find. They sometimes travel over 100 kilometres to get enough to eat. In many places, their feeding grounds are being cleared for farmland. Their native Patagonian habitat could be destroyed in just a few decades. With so many parrots travelling so far in big flocks, how do they stay together? And once the chicks fledge, how do their parents keep track of them? It all begins in the nest. Lots of animals have what is known as a signature contact call or name. But parrots are special. They can address any other parrot they meet by its name. Even more remarkably, parrots' names aren't genetically hardwired. They learn their names from their parents while in the nest. Just like us, using names makes staying together in the crowd much easier. Studies in parrot communications are still in their early stages, but their systems could prove to be as complex as our own. Parrots are among the most intelligent of all animals, and it seems their intelligence helps many of them adapt to the challenges of modern life. Three hundred kilometres north of the sea cliffs, an enterprising group of burrowing parrots have set up home in the middle of town. Studies show birds with relatively bigger brains are more likely to adapt to urban environments. Parrots have a brain-to-body mass ratio equal to dolphins and great apes. They're very smart, which is why so many can adapt to the hustle and bustle of city living. As our human world grows ever larger, parrot intelligence may be the key to their long-term survival. People love parrots for their brains as well as their beauty. In Sydney, it's paved the way for a revolution in wildlife research. Despite their abundance, surprisingly little is known about sulphur-crested cockatoos. In an effort to learn more about them, the world's first parrot social network has been set up. Seventy cockatoos from Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens have been fitted with harmless plastic wing tags, each with its own number. The tags are easily visible, so people can spot them. It turns out the botanical gardens are just one of many cocky retreats in urban Sydney. Whether it's breakfast at Bondi Beach or dinner at the harbour, the clever cockatoos have got this city all figured out. They're quite clearly exploiting our love of parrots. Pigeons rarely make the guest list at these exclusive al fresco eateries. When people began to notice tagged birds on their balconies, they were quick to find out what was going on. The wing tags project has been an instant hit. It even has its own Facebook page, with more friends than most. There are also novel ways to report sightings. The most enterprising is the Cockatoo Wing Tags app, which lets people photograph and instantly report the whereabouts of any individual. To those who know them, each cockatoo is more than just a number. The people of Sydney have chosen names for them. Everyone has their favourites. Ole Miss lets herself into Mark and Laura's apartment most afternoons. The regularity of her visits will help the project work out how faithful cockatoos are to certain areas. She's a willing participant, always happy to pose for a photo. By using social media, the Cockatoo Wing Tag project is a unique way to engage the public in scientific research. In the short term, the project will help scientists establish exactly what self-accrested cockatoos are getting up to around the city. In the long term, its findings will help work out how we can share urban areas with wildlife, something very important in a world increasingly dominated by people. As the cockies move in, back in Mexico, it's time for the Scarlet Macaws to move out. It looks like their training has worked. Catching them is proving a bit tricky. For 20 macaws, their journey to the wild is truly about to begin. The release site is 800 kilometres away. It's all hands on deck to prepare the company coach for its colourful passengers. Despite the 30 degree heat, everyone works quickly. They don't want to keep the parrots boxed up any longer than necessary. Today is the result of years of hard work. It was two decades ago the first chick hatched here. Since then, the programme has had unrivalled success in breeding these endangered parrots. It's not easy for their human parents to see them go, but the future of the species in Mexico hangs on the success or failure of efforts like this. To reach the jungle in daylight, the macaws board at 1am. It's way past their normal bedtime, but they seem to be coping well with the nocturnal manoeuvres. In the wild, they normally roost for the night as a flock, hidden beneath the dense jungle canopy. So this will be a night they'll never forget. There's no better rite of passage than a good road trip. The journey will take over 12 hours. To keep the birds calm and quiet, their carers distract them with offerings of fruit. They make steady progress. In Mexico, just 200 scarlet macaws live in the wild. The young birds on this coach would increase that number by 10%. It's a precious cargo. They finally reach the jungle of the Palenque National Park, where wild macaws were last seen 70 years ago. This area of evergreen tropical rainforest is a bit different to the Yucatan Peninsula, where the macaws were raised. The jungle is a hot and sticky place. The parrots will spend two months acclimatising before their release, which gives them a chance to get to know their more hairy neighbours. Scarlet macaws inhabit just 2% of their former range in Mexico. A successful reintroduction here could open the way for many more. But after being hand-raised and growing up in a cage, can they really adapt to life in the wild? The answer can be found across the border in the United States, where a captive-bred bird has taken very well to living in the Wild West. Meet the rosy-faced lovebirds of Phoenix, Arizona. Lovebirds are very popular pets. It's easy to see why. In Phoenix, they've escaped captivity and found a wonderful world with everything a lovebird could ever dream of. Life here is so good, it's taken these little parrots just 25 years to colonise almost all of the greater Phoenix area. Mind you, they've had a little help from the locals, both human and the feathered kind. In the deserts of Arizona, it's not always easy to find tree holes in which to nest. The famous saguaro cactus is the next best thing. But digging a hole in a cactus is hard work. That's where the keeler woodpecker lends a hand, or more accurately, a beak. Keeler woodpeckers excavate a new nest cavity every year. The result is plenty of unused real estate for the lovebirds to move into. Rosy-faced lovebirds originally come from dry parts of southern Africa. With an ideal climate and lots of nest sites, Phoenix is a little slice of lovebird heaven. So what do they eat? The saguaro provides for the native woodpeckers, but not for the lovebirds. Well, a parrot's popularity goes beyond the birdcage. The people of Phoenix love these colourful garden visitors, and love to feed them. Some of the yellow birds here are a clue to their captive past. Breeding different colours like this is a popular hobby. Despite growing up in captivity, these little parrots prove it is possible to return to a life of freedom. The trick now is to avoid being caught again. There is one last element behind the lovebirds' success here. Back in Africa, they are always found near water. These garden lawns wouldn't be here without plenty of the wet stuff. In the 40 degree heat, a sprinkler becomes a lovebird magnet. It's a chance for a drink and a cold shower. So what impact has this sudden abundance of parrots had? So far, none. Nest sites, food and water mean the lovebirds stay in the city and don't threaten the native desert ecosystem. But with so many species travelling the world, is there such a thing as a problem parrot? That is the million dollar question. This orchard is full of delicious apples, irresistible to monk parakeets. They make local government shake in their boots. Outlawed as pets in some towns, exterminated in others, monk parakeets have the potential to cause havoc. In Spain's Lobregat Delta, they do just that. But there's something unusual about the farmland here. It's surrounded by city. The orchards are 5 kilometers from Barcelona, and some 700,000 people live in the surrounding towns. It's not far for these city parrots to fly. In their native range, monk parakeets are considered agricultural pests. They've conquered cities worldwide, but apart from rare instances like this, have largely failed to live up to their reputation. There's also growing evidence that they prefer street food over crops. In the 1990s, Barcelona's parakeets mostly ate food growing naturally around the city. Today, handouts account for 40% of their diet. One study has even found that wherever there are more senior citizens, there are more monk parakeets. And there's another reason why parrots don't stray far from the city. Our human habitats couldn't suit some parrots any better. Southern California is a perfect example. There are trees to nest in, exotic foods untouched by local birds, and few predators. This is parrot paradise. The first parrots to escape here quickly worked out what to eat, and began to see the city as home. Since then, generations of parrots have been born and raised in urban California. For them, street life is the only life they know. With such a great place to live, why go elsewhere? It's us people who really threaten native plants and animals. We change and destroy habitats to suit our every whim. This can suit city parrots, but their success hides a bigger issue of parrot decline worldwide. Amazingly, there are now thought to be more of these red-crowned amazons living in U.S. cities than in their natural home. Nearly a third of the 370 or so parrot species are threatened with extinction. There's a real chance many will soon be lost forever. But it's not too late. It's release day in Palenque. This is the scarlet macaw's natural home, but most people here are too young to have ever seen one flying free. Some of the macaws have been fitted with a number. It doesn't bother them, but it's useful for researchers to tell them apart when their beak markings rub off. The jungle's most colorful and noisy inhabitant is about to make a comeback. And that's good enough reason for a celebration. Free at last. They're on their own now. The hope is that the first wild pairs will reproduce in the next few years. The future of their species in Mexico flies with them. There's every chance they'll make it. After all, resilient, adaptable parrots have shown us they can survive in places we wouldn't think possible. Such as Stuttgart, where summer has come to an end. The yellow-headed amazons have left the park and are hanging around their roost site in the middle of town. There are a few new faces among the flock. Unlike adults, the fledglings only have a small patch of yellow on their forehead. They'll stick close to mum and dad for at least the next year. So what does the future hold for city parrots? These young birds don't know it, but they could one day be the last of their kind. In the 1970s and 80s, yellow-headed amazon populations fell by 90%. It was labelled the most dramatic population decline of any bird in the Americas. As their numbers in the wild keep falling, Stuttgart's stable population offers hope. They could one day help with the genetic diversity needed to restock the wild. Or they could be moved to cities in their natural range where, like here, they might prosper. Whatever happens, parrots of all shapes and sizes are finding themselves living ever closer to people. We may think of this as our planet, but it's theirs too, and given a chance, they can thrive. Without them, our world wouldn't be so colourful. The future of our planet's parrots depends more than ever on our unique relationship with this beautiful, intelligent and charming group of birds.