Parrot Emoji

A colorful parrot, typically shown in greens, reds, and yellows with a curved beak. The parrot is the only animal that became both a verb and a meme. "Parroting" means mindlessly repeating what someone else said, while the Party Parrot is one of the most beloved custom emojis in Slack history. The real irony? Parrots are among the smartest non-human communicators on Earth.

In texting, 🦜 covers three lanes: the literal bird (pet parrots, tropical wildlife), the pirate cliche (thanks to Treasure Island), and the figurative callout for someone repeating themselves. It got approved in Unicode 11.0 (2018) alongside 🦚 Peacock and 🦢 Swan.

There are roughly 402 parrot species in the order Psittaciformes, found across tropical and subtropical regions. About a third are threatened with extinction, making parrots one of the most at-risk bird groups on the planet.

🦜 lives in several distinct corners of the internet. Pet owners post it constantly, especially budgie, cockatiel, and African grey communities on TikTok and Instagram. Pirate-themed content uses it reflexively (🦜🏴‍☠️ is practically a single unit). And in workplace Slack channels, the animated Party Parrot has become the universal reaction for celebrations, deployments, and Friday energy.

The "parroting" meaning shows up in debate and politics, where accusing someone of 🦜-ing a talking point is a common dig. On Reddit and X, posting just 🦜 under a comment that copies someone else's take is a low-effort but effective callout.

Monty Python fans also keep 🦜 in rotation. The Dead Parrot sketch (1969) remains one of the most quoted comedy bits in English, and the emoji serves as its shorthand.

The parrot emoji was approved in June 2018 as part of Unicode 11.0 / Emoji 11.0, the same batch that brought 🦚 Peacock, 🦢 Swan, and 🦞 Lobster. It first appeared on iPhones with iOS 12.1 in October 2018.

The emoji depicts a generic parrot rather than a specific species, though most vendor designs lean toward a macaw or lovebird shape with green, red, and yellow plumage. The curved beak and bold colors make it instantly recognizable across all platforms.

Parrots had a strong case for inclusion. They're the third most popular pet after dogs and cats in many countries, they span 402 species across every tropical continent, and the word "parrot" itself has been in English since at least the 1520s.

1. 2018Approved in Unicode 11.0 / Emoji 11.0. First appears on Apple iOS 12.1 and Google Android 9.0
2. 2019Samsung and Facebook add their own parrot designs with the E11.0 rollout
3. 2020Google updates the parrot design for Noto Color Emoji in Android 11

• •There are roughly 402 parrot species in the order Psittaciformes, making them one of the most diverse bird groups. About one-third are threatened with extinction.
• •Alex the African grey parrot knew 150 words, could categorize objects by color, shape, and material, and understood the concept of zero. He was studied by Dr. Irene Pepperberg at Harvard for 30 years.
• •The pirate-parrot trope traces back to Treasure Island (1883). Before Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Long John Silver with a parrot named Captain Flint, pirates were not associated with parrots in popular culture at all.
• •The Party Parrot Slack emoji is based on Sirocco, a real kakapo). There are only about 235 kakapos alive, making them one of the rarest birds on Earth.
• •Large parrots can live 50-80+ years. The oldest verified parrot was Cookie), a Major Mitchell's cockatoo who lived to 82 years and 88 days at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.
• •Between 1975 and 2016, more than 16 million live parrots were traded internationally. In Mexico alone, trappers capture an estimated 65,000-78,000 parrots annually, and over 75% die before reaching a buyer.
• •Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch (1969) was voted the top alternative comedy sketch in a Radio Times poll. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher quoted it in a 1990 speech, though she reportedly didn't actually understand the joke.
• •In Hinduism, the parrot is the vehicle of Kamadeva, the god of love. In South Indian wedding traditions, parrots are painted on the bride's feet as a symbol of fertility and romance.
• •A single parrot could fetch a common sailor's annual wages in 17th-century European markets. That's why real sailors brought them home: they were portable, low-maintenance investments, not just pretty pets.

• •Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch (1969) is one of the most quoted comedy bits in English. John Cleese later helped with parrot conservation efforts, telling the world "how important it is to preserve parrots in the wild."
• •Long John Silver's parrot Captain Flint in Treasure Island (1883) single-handedly created the pirate-parrot stereotype. Before Stevenson, no pirate art or literature featured shoulder parrots.
• •The Party Parrot meme, based on kakapo Sirocco's viral BBC appearance in 2009, became one of the most used custom Slack emojis in tech culture. The "Cult of the Party Parrot" website has hundreds of animated variations.
• •Dr. Irene Pepperberg's 30-year study of Alex the African grey parrot at Harvard changed how scientists think about bird cognition. Alex's last words to Pepperberg were reportedly "You be good. I love you."