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Why do pirates always have parrots on their shoulder? |
People & Places
Have you ever noticed that pirates in stories always have a parrot on their shoulder?! Why is a parrot like a pirate’s best friend??
The truth is that even though pirate-characters often have parrot-buddies, no one knows for sure that real-life pirates had the same thing. It’s possible the idea simply came from popular stories where pirate characters had parrots. However, many people do think it was likely that pirates and parrots often came hand-in-hand. (Or, perhaps, shoulder-in-claw.)
One reason why the two go well together is that a few hundred years ago, when the pirates we now speak of in stories were at their peak, parrots were considered exotic and rare animals in many parts of the world. Therefore, pirates would be likely to steal or keep a parrot due to its value. Some resources say its unlikely that a pirate would have put up with keeping a pet, but others say this common association of today might actually have come from real instances of pirate-parrot pairs!
Sidekicks!
Characters in stories are often accompanied by pets or animals who are their friends and companions. Can you name a few examples like this from some of your favorite tales?
If you were a character in a story who had an animal-sidekick, what kind of animal would you have, and why? A few things to think about are what special features your animal has and how they could help you! What kind of animal would be best for keeping company, and what kind of animal would be best for taking on an adventure??
