All species › Parrots
Parrots | Psittaciformes
Papegaaiachtigen | Loros y cotorras
The bill is short, deep and strongly hooked, and the upper mandible is joined to the skull by a hinge so that it can move on its own; at its base lies a patch of waxy skin with the nostrils. The foot has two toes forward and two back and is used like a hand: food is picked up and carried to the bill, and husked and cracked there rather than swallowed whole. The red and yellow in the plumage come from pigments found only in this group; together with the blue reflected by the structure of the feather they produce the familiar green. They are hole nesters with white, almost round eggs and naked, helpless young; they are long lived, live in company, and have loud calls and a strong capacity for mimicry.
Families in this order
- Parrots | Psittacidae3 speciesThe parrots of the New World and Africa make up this family; in Europe it is represented only by escaped cage birds from South America. They are compactly built, with a short neck, a large head and a hooked, strongly arched bill whose upper mandible is hinged movably in the skull — with it they crack hard seeds and haul themselves through the foliage. The foot has two toes forward and two back, giving a grasping grip that carries food to the bill. Green predominates, often with red or yellow on the head and bend of the wing. They are loud, markedly social birds that feed and roost in flocks; most species nest in cavities, but the Monk parakeet alone among parrots builds a large communal stick nest.
- Old World parakeets | Psittaculidae2 speciesThis family gathers the parrots of the Old World and rests mainly on molecular data; in appearance its members differ widely. What they share is a small to medium size, largely green plumage, and in many species a long, graduated tail with narrow pointed wings, giving a fast and direct flight. They feed in the crowns on fruit, buds, blossom and seed, dropping a good deal of it as they go; outside the breeding season large numbers roost together in the same tall trees, calling loudly as they arrive and leave. In the tree hole the female incubates alone and is fed by the male.