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This order contains all 380 species of Cockatoos and Parrots, mainly found in South America, tropical Africa, Australia and South-east Asia.
They have a unique bill structure. The bill is broad-based and short. The upper mandible is deeply decurved, fitting over the shorter, upward-curved lower mandible. This allows an extensive movement of both mandibles. The tongue and jaw muscle structure is complex, diverse and highly developed. It allows great power and control in handling and investigating food items.
The legs are short, the head always proportionately broad and large but the neck short. The feet are zygodactyl with granular scales.
Many species have been trapped and used as cage-birds world-wide. Some species are heavily endangered as the trapping of wild birds still goes on in many regions.
The oldest parrot fossils are 40 million years old and have been found in southern Britain.
Psittaciformes is an order in the class Aves.
The three families are sometimes merged in one, Psittacidae
The closest relatives of Parrots are the Sparrows and other perching birds (Passeriformes) according to a recent study1.
Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1997. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334221
Hackett et al. (2008) A phylogenetic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history. Science 320:1763-1768.
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