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Parrot
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For other uses, see Parrot (disambiguation).

Parrots

Temporal range: Eocene–

Holocene 50–0 Ma 

PreꞒ

Pg

N
 Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Clade: Psittacopasserae

Order: Psittaciformes
Wagler, 1830

Superfamilies

 Cacatuoidea (cockatoos)
 Psittacoidea (true parrots)
 Strigopoidea (New
Zealand parrots)
 Range of parrots, all species (red)

Parrots, also known as psittacines (/ˈsɪtəsaɪnz/),[1][2] are birds of the roughly

398 species[3] in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (/ˈsɪtəsɪfɔːrmiːz/), found
mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three
superfamilies: the Psittacoidea ("true" parrots), the Cacatuoidea (cockatoos), and
the Strigopoidea (New Zealand parrots). One-third of all parrot species are threatened
by extinction, with higher aggregate extinction risk (IUCN Red List Index) than any other
comparable bird group.[4] Parrots have a generally pantropical distribution with several
species inhabiting temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere, as well. The
greatest diversity of parrots is in South America and Australasia.
Characteristic features of parrots include a strong, curved bill, an upright stance, strong
legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are
multi-coloured. Most parrots exhibit little or no sexual dimorphism in the visual
spectrum. They form the most variably sized bird order in terms of length.
The most important components of most parrots' diets are seeds, nuts, fruit, buds, and
other plant material. A few species sometimes eat animals and carrion, while the lories
and lorikeets are specialised for feeding on floral nectar and soft fruits. Almost all
parrots nest in tree hollows (or nest boxes in captivity), and lay white eggs from which
hatch altricial (helpless) young.
Parrots, along with ravens, crows, jays, and magpies, are among the
most intelligent birds, and the ability of some species to imitate human
speech enhances their popularity as pets. Trapping wild parrots for the pet trade, as
well as hunting, habitat loss, and competition from invasive species, has diminished wild
populations, with parrots being subjected to more exploitation than any other group of
birds. As of 2021, about 50 million parrots (half of all parrots) live in captivity, with the
vast majority of these living as pets in people's homes. [5] Measures taken to conserve
the habitats of some high-profile charismatic species have also protected many of the
less charismatic species living in the same ecosystems.

Contents

 1Taxonomy
o 1.1Origins and evolution
o 1.2Etymology
o 1.3Phylogeny
o 1.4Systematics
  2Morphology
 3Distribution and habitat
 4Behaviour
o 4.1Diet
o 4.2Breeding
o 4.3Intelligence and learning
 4.3.1Sound imitation and speech
 4.3.2Song
 4.3.3Cooperation
 5Relationship with humans
o 5.1Pets
o 5.2Trade
o 5.3Culture
o 5.4Feral populations
o 5.5Threats and conservation
o 5.6World Parrot Day
 6See also
 7References
 8Cited sources
 9External links

Taxonomy
Origins and evolution

Fossil dentary specimen UCMP 143274 restored as a parrot (left) or an oviraptorosaur

Psittaciform diversity in South America and Australasia suggests that the order may

have evolved in Gondwana, centred in Australasia.[6] The scarcity of parrots in the fossil
record, however, presents difficulties in confirming the hypothesis. There is currently a
higher amount of fossil remains from the northern hemisphere in the early Cenozoic.
[7]
 Molecular studies suggest that parrots evolved approximately 59 million years
ago (Mya) (range 66–51 Mya) in Gondwana. The three major clades of Neotropical
parrots originated about 50 Mya (range 57–41 Mya).[8]
A single 15 mm (0.6 in) fragment from a large lower bill (UCMP 143274), found in
deposits from the Lance Creek Formation in Niobrara County, Wyoming, had been
thought to be the oldest parrot fossil and is presumed to have originated from the Late
Cretaceous period, which makes it about 70 million years old.[9] However, other studies
suggest that this fossil is not from a bird, but from a caenagnathid oviraptorosaur (a
non-avian dinosaur with a birdlike beak), as several details of the fossil used to support
its identity as a parrot are not actually exclusive to parrots, and it is dissimilar to the
earliest-known unequivocal parrot fossils.[10][11]
It is generally assumed that the Psittaciformes were present during the Cretaceous–
Paleogene extinction event (K-Pg extinction), 66 mya. They were probably
generalised arboreal birds, and did not have the specialised crushing bills of modern
species.[7][12] Genomic analysis provides strong evidence that parrots are the sister
group of passerines, forming the clade Psittacopasserae, which is the sister group of
the falcons.[13]
The first uncontroversial parrot fossils date to tropical Eocene Europe around 50 mya.
Initially, a neoavian named Mopsitta tanta, uncovered in Denmark's Early Eocene Fur
Formation and dated to 54 mya, was assigned to the Psittaciformes. However, the
rather nondescript bone is not unequivocally psittaciform, and it may rather belong to
the ibis genus Rhynchaeites, whose fossil legs were found in the same deposits. [14]

Fossil skull of a presumed parrot relative from the Eocene Green River Formation in Wyoming

Several fairly complete skeletons of parrot-like birds have been found in England and
Germany.[15] These are probably not transitional fossils between ancestral and modern
parrots, but rather lineages that evolved parallel to true parrots and cockatoos: [16]

 Psittacopes
 Serudaptus
 Halcyornithidae
o Cyrilavis
o Halcyornis
o Pulchrapollia
o Pseudasturides
 Vastanavidae
o Vastanavis
 Quercypsittidae
o Quercypsitta
 Messelasturidae[17]
o Messelastur
o Tynskya
The earliest records of modern parrots date to around 23–20 mya. [18] The fossil record—
mainly from Europe—consists of bones clearly recognisable as belonging to
anatomically modern parrots.[19] The Southern Hemisphere contains no known parrot-like
remains earlier than the Early Miocene around 20 mya.[18]
Etymology
The name 'Psittaciformes' comes from the ancient Greek for
parrot, ψιττακός ('Psittacus'), whose origin is unclear. Ctesias (5th century BCE)
recorded the name Psittacus after the Indian name for a bird, most likely a parakeet
(now placed in the genus Psittacula). Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 CE) in his Natural
History (book 10, chapter 58) noted that the Indians called the bird as "siptaces";
however, no matching Indian name has been traced. [20][21]
Phylogeny
Parrots    
     

Psittacoidea 
 
 

Cacatuoidea 
 
 

Strigopoidea 
 
Other birds
 

Phylogenetic relationship between the three parrot

superfamilies[6][22][23]

The Psittaciformes comprise three main

lineages: Strigopoidea, Psittacoidea and Cacatuoidea.[24] The Strigopoidea were
considered part of the Psittacoidea, but the former is now placed at the base of the
parrot tree next to the remaining members of the Psittacoidea, as well as all members of
the Cacatuoidea.[6][22][23] The Cacatuoidea are quite distinct, having a movable head crest,
a different arrangement of the carotid arteries, a gall bladder, differences in the skull
bones, and lack the Dyck texture feathers that—in the Psittacidae—scatter light to
produce the vibrant colours of so many parrots. Colourful feathers with high levels
of psittacofulvin resist the feather-degrading bacterium Bacillus licheniformis better than
white ones.[25] Lorikeets were previously regarded as a third family, Loriidae, [26]: 45  but are
now considered a tribe (Loriini) within the subfamily Loriinae, family Psittaculidae. The
two other tribes in the subfamily are the closely related fig parrots (two genera in the
tribe Cyclopsittini) and budgerigar (tribe Melopsittacini).[6][22][23]
   Strigopoidea   
Nestoridae 
     
 
Strigopidae 
 
   Cacatuoide
  a  Cacatuidae
 
 Psittacoide Psittacid  
a  ae Neotropical parrots
 
     
Psittacinae
 
  Psittrichasii  
dae Psittrichadinae
   
   
Coracopseinae
 
Psittaculida  
e Psittaculinae
 
     
Broad-tailed
   
     
Fig parrots
     
   
Budgerigar
   
 
Lories
 
s
   
Bolbopsittacus
   
   
Hanging parrots
   
 
Lovebirds
 
 
Psittacella
 

Phylogenetic relations between parrots[6]

Systematics
Main article: List of parrots
The order Psittaciformes consists of roughly 393 species belonging to 92 genera. [27][6][22][24]
[28][29][30][31]

Skeleton of a parrot
Superfamily Strigopoidea: New Zealand parrots

 Family Nestoridae: two genera with two living (kea and New Zealand kaka)

and several extinct species of the New Zealand region
 Family Strigopidae: the flightless, critically endangered kakapo of New
Zealand
Superfamily Cacatuoidea: cockatoos

 Family Cacatuidae
o Subfamily Nymphicinae: one genus with one species, the cockatiel.
o Subfamily Calyptorhynchinae: the black cockatoos
o Subfamily Cacatuinae
 Tribe Microglossini: one genus with one species, the
black palm cockatoo
 Tribe Cacatuini: four genera of white, pink, and grey
species
Superfamily Psittacoidea: true parrots

 Family Psittacidae
o Subfamily Psittacinae: two African
genera, Psittacus and Poicephalus
o Subfamily Arinae
 Tribe Arini: 18 genera
 Tribe Androglossini: seven genera.
 Family Psittaculidae
o Subfamily Psittrichasinae: one species, Pesquet's parrot
o Subfamily Coracopsinae: one genus with three species.
o Subfamily Platycercinae
 Tribe Pezoporini: ground parrots and allies
 Tribe Platycercini: broad-tailed parrots
o Subfamily Psittacellinae: one genus (Psittacella) with several
species
o Subfamily Loriinae
 Tribe Loriini: lories and lorikeets
 Tribe Melopsittacini: one genus with one species,
the budgerigar
 Tribe Cyclopsittini: fig parrots
 o

Blue and gold macaw (Ara ararauna) skeleton on display at the Museum of

Osteology.

Subfamily Agapornithinae: three genera

o Subfamily Psittaculinae
 Tribe Polytelini: three genera
 Tribe Psittaculini: Asian psittacines
 Tribe Micropsittini: pygmy parrots

Morphology

Glossy black cockatoo showing the parrot's strong bill, clawed feet, and sideways-positioned eyes
Living species range in size from the buff-faced pygmy parrot, at under 10 g (0.4 oz) in
weight and 8 cm (3.1 in) in length,[26]: 149  to the hyacinth macaw, at 1 m (3.3 ft) in length,
[32]
 and the kakapo, at 4.0 kg (8.8 lb) in weight.[33] Among the superfamilies, the three
extant Strigopoidea species are all large parrots, and the cockatoos tend to be large
birds, as well. The Psittacoidea parrots are far more variable, ranging the full spectrum
of sizes shown by the family.[33]
The most obvious physical characteristic is the strong, curved, broad bill. The upper
mandible is prominent, curves downward, and comes to a point. It is not fused to the
skull, which allows it to move independently, and contributes to the tremendous biting
pressure the birds are able to exert. A large macaw, for example, has a bite force of
35 kg/cm2 (500 lb/sq in), close to that of a large dog.[34] The lower mandible is shorter,
with a sharp, upward-facing cutting edge, which moves against the flat portion of the
upper mandible in an anvil-like fashion. Touch receptors occur along the inner edges of
the keratinised bill, which are collectively known as the "bill tip organ", allowing for
highly dexterous manipulations. Seed-eating parrots have a strong tongue (containing
similar touch receptors to those in the bill tip organ), which helps to manipulate seeds or
position nuts in the bill so that the mandibles can apply an appropriate cracking force.
The head is large, with eyes positioned high and laterally in the skull, so the visual field
of parrots is unlike any other birds. Without turning its head, a parrot can see from just
below its bill tip, all above its head, and quite far behind its head. Parrots also have
quite a wide frontal binocular field for a bird, although this is nowhere near as large as
primate binocular visual fields.[35] Unlike humans, the vision of parrots is also sensitive to
ultraviolet light.[36]
Parrots have strong zygodactyl feet (two toes facing forward and two back) with sharp,
elongated claws, which are used for climbing and swinging. Most species are capable of
using their feet to manipulate food and other objects with a high degree of dexterity, in a
similar manner to a human using their hands. A study conducted with Australian parrots
has demonstrated that they exhibit "handedness", a distinct preference with regards to
the foot used to pick up food, with adult parrots being almost exclusively "left-footed" or
"right-footed", and with the prevalence of each preference within the population varying
by species.[37]

Eclectus parrots, male left and female right

Cockatoo species have a mobile crest of feathers on the top of their heads, which they
can raise for display, and retract.[38] No other parrots can do so, but the Pacific lorikeets
in the genera Vini and Phigys can ruffle the feathers of the crown and nape, and
the red-fan parrot (or hawk-headed parrot) has a prominent feather neck frill that it can
raise and lower at will. The predominant colour of plumage in parrots is green, though
most species have some red or another colour in small quantities. Cockatoos, however,
are predominately black or white with some red, pink, or yellow. [39] Strong sexual
dimorphism in plumage is not typical among parrots, with some notable exceptions, the
most striking being the eclectus parrot.[26]: 202–207  However it has been shown that some
parrot species exhibit sexually dimorphic plumage in the ultraviolet spectrum, normally
invisible to humans.[40][41]

Distribution and habitat