A Bird Which Mimics: The Parrot

Parrots are colourful birds that live in tropical regions. They lead a very social life. It is really interesting that the parrot shows the generosity of sharing its food with other parrots. In tropical forests, flocks of parrots fly screaming over the treetops. From the answer another flock gives, they find the location of fruit-bearing trees.

Parrots hold their food with their feet and bite it, as if eating a sandwich. Their favourite food is the sunflower seed, which is something we also enjoy. With the help of their curled tongues, they readily divide the seed shell in two – which is a bit troublesome to crack open – and eat the seed.

They lay two to eight eggs per year. During the incubation period (that is, when the embryos are still in the eggs) male and female parrots sit on the eggs in turn. When the young parrots hatch, they are featherless and feed on the digested foods their parents provide them.

The most important feature of parrots is their ability to imitate sounds. They can pronounce words they hear repeatedly. However, they don't comprehend these words; they only repeat the sounds they hear. They can even imitate a doorbell or the ringing of a telephone. Therefore, if you have a parrot at home, you may frequently assume that the doorbell is ringing.

If these bright coloured, talkative animals had not been created, we could not even imagine that such a creature might exist. That is, we wouldn't even be able to wish that such a colourful bird, which imitates the way we talk, existed. We cannot conceive anything that Allah has not taught us. Allah is the Originator of everything and He creates everything uniquely. This fact is related in the Qur'an as follows:

He is Allah – the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form… (Surat al-Hashr: 24)

As is the case with parrots, Allah creates many beautiful things for us. He shows us His miracles and signs everywhere at every moment. In return for all these, Allah only wants us to recognise the infinite beauties in His creation and be grateful to Him – to thank Him– and to keep ourselves occupied with His remembrance.