Not many parrots can do THIS! Quito (KEE-to) is a double yellow-headed Amazon who throws out an excellent rendition of "Old MacDonald," charming tens of thousands of Dallas Zoo guests every year. (She's particularly fun with the E-I-E-I-O part.)
She's one of the stars of the "SOAR, A Festival of Flight" show at the Dallas Zoo. She's been able to sing phrases from the song for a while, but her trainers now have taught her to put them together in the correct order. She's shown off her pipes on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." And she's a huge fan fave at the Zoo.
Bobby Brett, Quito's trainer, knows how to get the best out of her: her favorite treats of sunflower seeds and peanuts.
One important thing to note if you're thinking about getting your own parrot -- they are one of the most challenging pets. They bite hard, they scream incredibly loud, they chew on furniture and they can live a very long time, even 50 to 60 years. Most, like Quito, prove to be too challenging; the average parrot will go through seven households in its lifetime. So while parrots are fun to see at the zoo, they aren't an ideal family pet.
