Parrot
Preschool · 3–5A handsome parrot perched on a branch with a curved beak, a crest on its head, and long layered tail feathers. Parrots are the natural home for every bright crayon in the box, and the feathers are drawn in bands, so a child can work through them one color at a time. Coloring a parrot is a natural way to talk about rainforest birds, about why parrots are so colorful, and about how some of them learn to copy the words we say. Print it on A4 or US Letter, or color it online with the paint bucket.
A bird with no wrong colours
Parrots come in almost every colour there is, which makes this one of the freest pages in the animal category — bright red, green, blue and yellow on one bird is accurate rather than fanciful. For a child who has become cautious about getting colours right, this is the page to hand them.
The curved beak and the long tail feathers are the two identifying features, and both are drawn clearly.
Why parrots talk
They are copying rather than understanding, and they do it because they are intensely social — in the wild, matching the calls of the flock is how a parrot belongs. A pet parrot treats its household as the flock, which is why it copies the sounds it hears most.
Frequently asked questions
- Do parrots understand what they say?
- Generally they are imitating rather than understanding, though some individuals have been shown to use words meaningfully. Copying is a social behaviour — it is how a parrot fits into its flock.
- What age is this page for?
- Four to eight. Clear regions, and an excuse to use every colour available.
