The family Psittacidae is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the rough 10 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Old World or Afrotropical parrots) and 157 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or Neotropical parrots), as well as several species that have gone extinct in recent centuries.
Some of the most iconic birds in the world are represented here, such as the blue-and-gold macaw among the New World parrots and the grey parrot among the Old World parrots.
This is a large family of some 350 species, most of which are found in the tropics.
Well known for their bright colours, they make popular pets – these inevitably escape and consequently some species have become established outside their native ranges.
Parrots vary greatly in size, from the finch sized pygmy-parrots to the Kakapo of New Zealand, which weighs around 3kg (6.61 pound)
All have strong beams capable of tearing the toughest seeds and nuts, which they can handle with deft feet.
This is facilitated by the arrangement of their toes – two point forwards, and two back (a condition called zygodactyly, which they share with the cuckoos and woodpeckers), which also provides an extremely powerful grasp.
very vocal, they are usually monogamous and usually form a pair for life.
Only one species, the Ring-necked Parakeet, is at all established in Britain (it can be found throughout the Thames Basin), but a few other species have bred, and almost any species could be encountered flying around confused having flown its cage.
