The sounds of children, some excited and some squirming in their parents’ arms, are common in the children’s theater at the Rome-Floyd County Library, but couple that with the call of exotic birds and an unusual symphony is created.

David, Elle and Rachael Mott of The Parrott Education Project brought a few of their 70 birds to the library from their aviary in Lyerly on Monday afternoon so that the children could see (and hear) the unusual birds, some of which may be extinct in the future.

The children were able to see birds ranging from the cockatoo to the military macaw.

David Mott began with Katie, an African gray parrot that quietly sat perched on him as he told the children about the more colorful birds.

Along the way the children had a chance to see a white cockatoo up close, hear stories about how to handle the birds and were warned that the birds were not housebroken.

They saw a pair of red and green macaws — the red being female and the green the male, which is rare because in most birds you cannot tell the sex.

He ended with Duston, a military macaw who should be called “Dustina.”

Because it is difficult to tell the sex of birds, Mott was not aware Duston was a girl until the bird laid an egg on him.

The children’s hands shot into the air when it was time for questions.

“How long does it teach a parrot to talk?”

“How hard do they bite?”

“Where are the ears on the bird?”

Meanwhile, the birds squawked in their cages in the background, as if trying to answer the children.