How Do Parrots Help The Environment? + How Do Parrots Help The Humans

Parrots and other birds are vital for a thriving ecosystem. They bring so much to benefit other creatures and plant life as a whole.

Their impact on the environment is enormous, and we will cover some of it here today. So, let’s understand how do parrots help the environment?

Parrots help the environment by eating seeds and spreading them with organic matter to promote growth. Parrots also spread seeds with their beaks and feet.

It is called as stomatochory. They also help the environment by controlling worms and bugs. After death, parrots provide food for scavengers.

It’s easy to see how the parrot and other birds can create a densely populated forest with rich soil and many plant varieties.

This is a setting where not only the parrots thrive, but all other animals benefit as well. But how else does the environment benefit from parrots?

Why Are Parrots Important To The Ecosystem?

Parrots have a mutualistic relationship with plants. The plants are not solely dependent on the parrots.

However, they are highly beneficial to each other. Parrots require plants and trees for food source and safety, while the trees need the parrots to assist with growth rates, control worms/bugs, and fertilize seeds.

Let’s now gain more insights into how parrots are essential to the ecosystem.

Parrots speed up plant growth.

Firstly, parrots help endangered plants to reproduce quickly. This is a game-changer for the ecosystem as parrots have the potential to save a plant from extinction status. Parrots also increase the growth potential of the plant by creating well-fertilized soil after processing the seeds.

Parrots help the environment mostly by transporting seeds around. Sometimes they hold onto big seeds with their beaks or feet and drop them off in another area where they can grow.

The seeds that they swallow and process are now nourished and fertilized (with biomass) and will have a greater chance of sprouting and having healthier growth.

With more seeds that have a higher potential to grow into enormous trees comes new seeds and more opportunity for the parrot to assist with seed dispersal and “seed droppings.”

The parrot’s physiology makes it possible to climb and access seeds that other birds might not. With its sizeable muscular tongue and powerful beak, it gains access to a great number of different seeds.

This is also very important when facing an extinct plant drastically needs reproduction, as the parrot is one of the most effective birds at assisting with seed dispersion.

The impact that parrots have on the growth rate of trees and other plants is exponential because as they spread seeds, those seeds can become enormous trees that produce hundreds of seeds again.

Because parrots eat a large variety of different seeds, they promote the growth of a large variety of plants. This factor also assists with the pollination of so many plants and trees.

Parrots expand forests and jungles.

Parrots are a kind of landscaping architect of the wild. This makes them an essential part of shaping the entire ecosystem containing many plants and trees.

Some parrots even help create new forests and jungles when they defecate large distances away from where they ate the seeds.

Parrots keep their prey under control.

Parrots also help the plants they eat from by removing parasites. This helps in healing the plant and promoting the wellbeing of the plant. They eat worms and bugs that would have otherwise consumed the entire tree.

Parrots help feed ground animals.

Other animals also benefit when parrots eat from the trees. They are messy eaters and drop a good portion of their food that feeds all sorts of ground critters. We refer to this as secondary seed drops. (When an animal causes the seed to drop to the ground).

Parrots’ mere presence should be a call for small critters, insects, and other land-living birds as they will have a food supply from the tree where they cannot reach.

The parrots’ eating habits are messy, be it seed to fruit, consider it a buffet for those who wait below.

Besides feeding ground animals with plant matter, parrots are also a source of food for carnivores.

Even if they die of natural causes, they are still eaten by predators in the end. If the body rots before being consumed, it adds compost to the area and increases plant growth.

Alright! That was all about how parrots are essential to the ecosystem. But, do parrots are beneficial to humans as well? Let’s understand it as well.

Interesting Further Reading:

• Can Parrots Be Domesticated? (Why Are Parrots Domesticated)
• Do Parrots Have Teeth? ( Role Of A Beak In Parrots Existence )
• Do Parrots Build Nests? + Do Pet Parrots Need Nest?
• Why Do Parrots Live So Long? + How To Make A Parrot Live Longer In Captivity?

How Do Parrots Help The Humans?

Many parrots are kept as pets because of their intelligence and charisma. The relationship between parrots and humans has been for ages.

Parrots are often looked upon as calming influence over those people suffering from anxiety bouts. Apart from anxiety, parrots help humans in numerous ways.

Let’s understand in detail how do parrots help humans.

Parrots can increase mental health.

Of course, with parrots being beneficial to the environment, they are already helping humans immensely. But did you know that parrots also help some people on an emotional level?

The use of parrots as an emotional support animal (ESA) is becoming more popular.

They can assist people with mental disorders and have even helped individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

With their ability to mimic the human voice, the parrot has become one of our best companions. When people say that a dog is a man’s best friend, many parrot owners disagree.

Parrots can assist with disorders of anxiety, bipolar, and autism.

You can even have your parrot registered as an ESA parrot and have it trained. ESA refers to Emotional Support Animals.

These ESA-trained parrots are intuitively aware of human emotions and can sense when they become angry, stressed, or tense.

These are when the trained parrot would use a phrase to assist with keeping you calm or soothe an angry person.

“You’ll get through this,” “Don’t give up,” or “You’re an exceptional person” are some motivational phrases parrots may use.

Some have even received doctor’s approval to venture out with their feathered companion into public places to assist with their emotional problems like social anxiety.

However, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has not yet made provision for this, and the decision is ultimately up to the property owner if you’re on private grounds.

Jim Eggers, who the New York Times Magazine interviewed, said that his parrot helped him to control his bipolar disorder. His ESA parrot helped him cope when he would get rages or psychotic episodes.

Parrots increase food and oxygen supply.

Parrots also help humans by increasing oxygen, wood, and food supply by means of their effective seed dispersion. They ensure that we have an ongoing reserve of plants to eat and make medicines with.

Rumors of when Polynesia fell into decline in the 15th century could have been a cause of the Kakapo parrots being eaten by rats and hunted by the locals leading to them not having enough Palm tree reproduction for them to build their fishing canoes.

Parrots help humankind with pest control by eating insects close to a farmer’s crop. Insects that otherwise may have destroyed or eaten the food. So, parrots can increase the harvest for a farmer leading to lower prices for the consumer.

Recommended Further Reading:

• Do Parrots Have Tongue? + Use Of Parrot’s Tongue
• Can Parrots Live Alone? (What Are The Consequences?)

Parting Thoughts

The human population vastly underestimates the parrot and other bird species, and we should consider the beneficial impact they have on the ecosystem as a whole.

The parrot is a natural fertilization machine. They help with the regrowth of large plantations, which is beneficial for other animals and humans alike.

This is done by seed dispersal by stomachory and by defecating. They can create new plantation sites with a vast amount of plant and tree species.

Parrots supply a fresh food source for different ground-living animals with the fruit and seeds they drop. Animals that wouldn’t have had the opportunity to reach these fruits before can now feast on the ground.

This is better than when the fruit drops off by itself, as the fruit often begins to perish before falling.

A vast amount of different plant life is spread by parrots to promote new growth in other locations.

This is mostly beneficial to the human population as these plants are required for medicines, food, raw materials, and more.

Parrots also become food for predators that hunt them, and if they aren’t fully consumed, they become compost for more plant life to grow.

Besides, parrots also help people with mental disorders, calming them down and granting them a greater standard of living.

This includes anxiety, bipolar, and autism. Parrots even help angered people to calm down by repeating soothing phrases of motivation or empathy.