Pirates, where did the idea come from that a parrot would sit on a pirates shoulder?

Question

that they would display a flag declaring they were pirates and wear a uniform - is there any truth in any of this.

Answer 1

Only pirates in movies wear a 'pirate' uniform, and dress alike. They would have dressed like any other people of the times, excepts the captains who wanted attention. Parrots, monkeys and probably pangolins were prized as pets and curiosities in those days so it's no suprise it was picked up on by some.

Answer 2

Pirates don't wear a uniform. Heck, Navy sailors didn't wear uniforms back then. As for the flag, the black flag meant that they were going to attack, and a red flag meant no quarter. Not just pirates, but all ships used this form of communication. The whole parrot thing is bs. Trust me, you don't want a bird that close to your face, they will go for your eyes at some point. Then again, maybe that's why pirates always have an eyepatch?

Answer 3

Pirates did not wear uniforms but some privateers might
as they were acting on behalf of a nation.

as a previous poster said
Ships that traveled to the tropics often aquired exotic animals
Parrots made it to the movies more often than monkeys becasue of their tecnicolor feathers.

often a pirate would fly a well known flag of a friendly country like the american flag until it got close enough to attack then the pirate would lower that flag and raise the black flag.
they would raise their Black flag
as a warning signal to the merchant they wanted to rob to weigh anchor. the merchants choice was to stop and be boarded, robbed & released or be attacked & fired upon with cannon. an attack that could sink , burn etc the merchant ship killing all aboard.

Answer 4

Pirates acquired exotic birds and animals for their curiosity value and for trade at home. Probably the some parrots were taken when young and became tame. Parrots like to sit on the shoulder because they like to be up high and near the face, they are facinated with the sounds from the mouth.

Answer 5

The parrot was from Long John Silver, the parrot kept saying pieces of eight, referring to gold coins. All the pirates had their own flags, usually black with some other design on it, ie skull and cross bones.

Answer 6

Arrgh me bucko!! It was originally from 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson. Long John Silver, a pirate with a peg leg, had a parrot on his shoulder which said 'pieces of eight'. I can't remember the parrot's name it was 'Cap'n' somebody.

I think it may have been Cap'n Flint

Answer 7

maybe it just describes that pirates are lonely and the only friends they can talk to are thier trusty old parrot friends. Pirates searched the treasure one tropical islands which is where most parrots lived.

i don't really know

Answer 8

Indeed the parrot's name was Cap'n Flint- best summed up by Long John himself.....

"Now, that bird," he would say, "is, may be, two hundred years old, Hawkins-they lives for ever mostly; and if anyone's seen more wickedness, it must be the devil himself. "

Answer 9

The only reason the parrot was sitting on his shoulder was cos it was nailed there.

Answer 10

Arrr. I didn't tell 'er to sit on me shoulder, that's where she land. She stay where'n she git a cracker arrrgg.

The flag be a picture of me mum--course she be deed now.