Personalities Parrots are among the most intelligent of animals. Alex, the famous African grey, can grasp concepts such as size, color and numbers. His intelligence level has been compared to that of a four to five year old child. Most parrot owners think of their birds as permanent two year old children. Their intelligence allows them to understand much about their owners and to get into a lot of trouble exploring things.
Many parrots enjoy puzzles and mechanical toys.
They are also great lock pickers and escape artists. Since parrots usually live in flocks, they are very social animals and have well developed communication skills. These may be the reasons why they interact so well with humans, need attention and affection, want to cuddle and become part of the family. The humans in the home become its flock which is very necessary for the bird's well being. Parrots which are ignored and left alone in their cages can begin plucking out their feathers, mutilating themselves and even go insane.