Parrot

Parrots (Order Psittaciformes) are a type of bird           Parrots
(342 species) that have a characteristic curved    Scientific classification
beak shape and generally an erect stance. Several
of them can imitate speech, and at least one,      Kingdom: Animalia
Irene Pepperberg's African Grey Parrot Alex, can   Phylum:  Chordata
use words meaningfully. Other kinds of parrot are
the macaw, characterized by lines around the eyes, Class:   Aves
and the kea.                                       Order:   Psittaciformes

The Psittaciformes are made up of two Families,            Families
the Cacatuidae or cockatoos, and the Psittacidae,  Psittacidae
the parrots. The term parrot can be used to        Cacatuidae
indicate either the Psittacidae alone or the
entire order. Some authorities do not list the cockatoos as a separate
family, the majority view, however, is that the Cacatuidae are quite
distinct, having a movable headcrest, different arrangement of the carotid
arteries, a gall bladder, different skull bones, and not having the Dyck
texture feather composition which, in the Psittacidae, scatters light in
such a way as to produce the vibrant colours of so many parrots.

Birds of the parrot families can be found in most of the warmer parts of the
world, including India, South East Asia and West Africa, with one species,
now extinct, in the United States (the Carolina Parakeet). By far the
greatest number of Psittaciforme species, however, come from Australasia,
South America and Central America.

Many parrot species have become endangered due to habitat loss. Since many
are also kept as companion animals, this necessitates that parrot owners are
cognizant of the origin of their pets to avoid unwarily trafficking in the
illegal trade of wild birds. Also, this means that owners of the most
endangered parrots should consider entering their birds in breeding programs.

Origins

In general, an area which has, relative to other areas, a great
concentration of different species within a particular family is likely to
be the original ancestral home of that family. The diversity of
Psittaciformes in South America and Australasia suggests that the order has
a Gondwanian origin. The parrot family's fossil record, however, is sparse
and their origin remains a matter of informed speculation rather than fact.

The earliest known record of parrot-like birds dates to the late Cretaceous
about 70 million years ago. A single 15 mm fragment from a lower bill found
in Wyoming is similar to that of a modern lorikeet. It is not clear if this
find should be classified as a parrot or not.

Europe is the site of more extensive records from the Eocene (58 to 36
million years ago). Several fairly complete skeletons of parrot-like birds
have been found in England and Germany. Some uncertainty remains, but on the
whole it seems more likely that these are not true ancestors of the modern
parrots, but are a related group which evolved in the Northern Hemisphere
but have since died out.

The Southern Hemisphere does not have nearly as rich a fossil record for the
period of interest as the Northern, and contains no known parrot-like
remains earlier than the early to middle Miocene, around 20 million year
ago. At this point, however, is found the first unambiguous parrot fossil
(as opposed to a parrot-like one), an upper jaw which is indistinguishable
from that of a modern white cockatoo .