Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

A ‘forbidden’ body type? These parrots flout the rules

Climbing parrots put their heads to use as a third limb.
Peach-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) pair mating in nest hole in rock cliff, Waterberg Plateau Park, Namibia.

Rosy-faced lovebirds can exert as much force with their beaks while climbing as climbing humans exert with their arms. Credit: Michael & Patricia Fogden/Nature Picture Library

Parrots use their heads to propel themselves while climbing — an acrobatic feat that has not been witnessed in any other creature1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 605, 592 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01354-2

References

  1. Young, M. W., Dickinson, E., Flaim N. D. & Granatosky, M. C. Proc. R. Soc. B https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0245 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Thomson, T. J. BioEssays 41, 1900061 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Two Junior Research Group Leaders (f/d/m) for Photonics

    Friedrich Schiller University is a traditional University with a strong research profile based in the heart of Germany. As a University covering al...

    07743, Jena (DE)

    Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

  • PhD Researcher Positions (f/m/d)

    Yeast Synthetic Biology

    Germany (DE)

    Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

  • Reporter, Nature

    Reporter, Nature Location: London, UK - Hybrid office and remote working Closing date: 13th May 2024   Nature, the world’s most authoritative scien...

    London (Greater) (GB)

    Springer Nature Ltd

  • Vice-Chancellor and President

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong Vice-Chancellor and President The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is conducting a worldwide search for t...

    Hong Kong (HK)

    The Chinese University of Hong Kong

  • ERC-funded PhD and Postdoc Positions in Comparative Genomics

    We are looking for two PhD and/or PostDoc candidates for the 6 years ERC-funded grant project "BATPROTECT" in Frankfurt a.M., Germany

    Frankfurt am Main, Hessen (DE)

    Senckenberg Society for Nature Research

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links