A standardised ethogram for the Psittaciformes

Area of Science:

• Ethology
• Ornithology
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Standardized ethograms offer practical advantages for behavioral researchers, enabling accurate descriptions of behavioral repertoires and their occurrence.
• Currently, no standardized ethogram exists for Psittaciformes (parrots) in scientific literature, hindering consistent behavioral research.
• The creation of a standardized ethogram is crucial for facilitating and standardizing the naming and description of parrot behaviors for future comparative studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a standardized ethogram for Psittaciformes by compiling and synthesizing information from scientific articles.
• To facilitate and standardize the naming and description of parrot behaviors.
• To enable future comparisons between studies on parrot behavior.

Main Methods:

• Bibliographic searches for ethograms were conducted on Scopus and Web of Science.
• Selected papers were evaluated to identify and standardize terminology for behaviors and their descriptions.
• A comprehensive ethogram was compiled based on the reviewed literature.

Main Results:

• A standardized ethogram for Psittaciformes was finalized, encompassing 102 behaviors across 11 categories.
• The 'activity' category contained the highest number of documented behaviors.
• The ethogram covers 21 species (5% of described species), primarily from the Psittacidae family, with 76% of authors creating their own ethograms rather than using existing ones.

Conclusions:

• The developed standardized ethogram is essential for advancing behavioral research on Psittaciformes.
• It provides precise definitions, promoting consistency and comparability in the study of parrot behavior.
• This resource will aid researchers in unifying and comparing behavioral research across different studies and species.