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  Poop-eating bird may need more nutrients Why is my parrot eating his own excrement when he has food in his plate? What type of parrot is he? He is about 12 inches long, green, with a yellow head; his wings have a little bit of black, red and yellow. Here is a picture. -- Sergio Sanchez, ss_music@juno.com 
ANIMALS THAT EAT their own feces (a disorder called copraphagia), soil (called pica) or other non-nutritive foreign items may lack minerals in their diet. Or, they may simply have developed a nasty habit. Whatever the reason your bird likes to munch his droppings, there are plenty of nutritionally complete pre-made pelleted diets that you can try to substitute. However, as there is some preliminary evidence that birds fed a diet that is over 80 percent pellets may develop renal disease, you should supplement with a well-balanced diet of "people food". Consult your avian veterinarian for details. He or she can also give your bird a checkup to make sure he's healthy. Although it looks like some species of Amazon, I'm sorry to say I am not able to precisely identify your bird from the picture you sent. A good source book with pictures of all the species of parrots is Forshaw's Parrots of the World. You should be able to find a copy at the library. ParrotChronicles.com ------- 
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