Parrots, members of the order Psittaciformes, encompass over 360 species of vibrant, noisy birds. These primarily tropical birds have a chunky build, short necks and wings, and a distinctive, strong, hooked bill where the upper part extends over the lower part. Parrot families include Psittacidae, containing parakeets, lovebirds, macaws, and more, and Cacatuidae, the cockatoos, native to Australia and New Guinea. Parrots are known for their ability to mimic sounds and human speech due to advanced vocal learning capabilities and complex vocal apparatuses. They are highly social creatures using vocalizations to communicate and bond.

What do parrots look like?

Parrots, members of the family Psittacidae, are recognizable by their stout bodies, short necks, and sturdy, hooked bills. Most are brightly colored with hard textured feathers, often green with patches of red, orange, yellow, blue, or white, though some are brown or all green. Their feet are also distinctive, with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, which enables them to climb and manipulate objects. The wings are broad and often pointed, and while some parrots have short, rounded tails, others have long, pointed tails. Sexual dimorphism can occur where sexes are alike or nearly so. For example, the male eclectus parrot is predominantly green, while the female is wine-red.

Where do parrots live in the world?

Parrots live primarily in the tropics and southern temperate regions, including the West Indies, many Pacific Islands, and Madagascar. Across Asia, they are common throughout India, but only extend as far north as the Himalayas and southern China; they are not found in Europe. In the Southern Hemisphere, parrot habitats extend to New Zealand and Tasmania, and in South America, they live as far south as Tierra del Fuego. However, they are not found in extreme southern parts of Africa. Most parrots live in forests, though some inhabit grasslands, and some species live in mountains, such as in the Andes and Himalayas.

Parrots primarily eat plant material, with their diet varying from species to species. Smaller parrots consume grass seeds, berries, fruits, and blossom juices, while larger parrots eat fruits and nuts from trees, as well as bulbs, tubers, and roots from the ground. While foraging, parrots may also eat larval and adult insects. Raven cockatoos, for example, chew through bark to find wood-boring beetles. Some parrots, like brush-tongued lorikeets, feed on nectar by crushing flowers and licking the juices, while others eat arboreal termites and fungi. The New Zealand kea will even feed on dead sheep and carrion.

How do parrots communicate?

Parrots, being highly social birds, communicate in various ways. They are known for their advanced vocal learning abilities, which allow them to mimic a wide range of sounds, including human speech. In the wild, parrots use vocalizations to communicate, establish territory, and engage in social bonding. Typically, parrots are gregarious and noisy, often forming small groups or large flocks, flying high overhead while screeching. The vocalizations of most parrots are loud, raucous screeches; generally, the larger the species, the more earsplitting the calls. About a dozen different calls, each announcing a different mood, have been identified for the greater sulfur-crested cockatoo.

Why are some parrot species endangered?

Several parrot species face endangerment due to factors like the pet trade and habitat destruction. Poaching for commercial profit significantly threatens many wild species, especially parrots, leading to population depletion. Macaws, a type of parrot, are exported, often illegally, to supply the worldwide pet trade. This, along with land clearing and logging, contributes to their increasing rarity in the wild. Several macaw species are listed as endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. From 1680 to the early 1960s, at least 16 parrot species became extinct, and another 14 became endangered. Parrots on small islands are especially vulnerable.

parrot

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

A scarlet macaw with bright red, yellow, and blue feathers perches on a branch surrounded by green leaves.

Two green and yellow budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) perched side by side on a branch, facing each other.

Illustration of a rock parakeet (Pyrrhura rupicola) perched on a branch, showing green plumage with scalloped markings, a patch of red on the wing, and a dark beak.

A brightly colored Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus) with green wings, blue head, and orange breast is perched on a branch.

Sulfur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita).

Flock of galahs, or roseate cockatoos (Eolophus roseicapillus).

At a Glance

parrot summary

Quick Facts

Related Topics:: macaw; Strigopinae; Loriinae; Nestorinae; pygmy parrot

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parrot

bird family

Also known as: Psittacidae

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Top Questions

What is a parrot?
Parrots, members of the order Psittaciformes, encompass over 360 species of vibrant, noisy birds. These primarily tropical birds have a chunky build, short necks and wings, and a distinctive, strong, hooked bill where the upper part extends over the lower part.

Parrot families include Psittacidae, containing parakeets, lovebirds, macaws, and more, and Cacatuidae, the cockatoos, native to Australia and New Guinea.

Parrots are known for their ability to mimic sounds and human speech due to advanced vocal learning capabilities and complex vocal apparatuses. They are highly social creatures using vocalizations to communicate and bond.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do parrots look like?
Parrots, members of the family Psittacidae, are recognizable by their stout bodies, short necks, and sturdy, hooked bills. Most are brightly colored with hard textured feathers, often green with patches of red, orange, yellow, blue, or white, though some are brown or all green.

Their feet are also distinctive, with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, which enables them to climb and manipulate objects. The wings are broad and often pointed, and while some parrots have short, rounded tails, others have long, pointed tails.

Sexual dimorphism can occur where sexes are alike or nearly so. For example, the male eclectus parrot is predominantly green, while the female is wine-red.
7 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Where do parrots live in the world?
Parrots live primarily in the tropics and southern temperate regions, including the West Indies, many Pacific Islands, and Madagascar. Across Asia, they are common throughout India, but only extend as far north as the Himalayas and southern China; they are not found in Europe. In the Southern Hemisphere, parrot habitats extend to New Zealand and Tasmania, and in South America, they live as far south as Tierra del Fuego. However, they are not found in extreme southern parts of Africa.

Most parrots live in forests, though some inhabit grasslands, and some species live in mountains, such as in the Andes and Himalayas.
2 Britannica Sources
1. psittaciform
2. parrot
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do parrots eat?
Parrots primarily eat plant material, with their diet varying from species to species. Smaller parrots consume grass seeds, berries, fruits, and blossom juices, while larger parrots eat fruits and nuts from trees, as well as bulbs, tubers, and roots from the ground.

While foraging, parrots may also eat larval and adult insects. Raven cockatoos, for example, chew through bark to find wood-boring beetles. Some parrots, like brush-tongued lorikeets, feed on nectar by crushing flowers and licking the juices, while others eat arboreal termites and fungi. The New Zealand kea will even feed on dead sheep and carrion.
2 Britannica Sources
1. psittaciform: Habitat and food choice
2. bird: Feeding habits
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do parrots communicate?
Parrots, being highly social birds, communicate in various ways. They are known for their advanced vocal learning abilities, which allow them to mimic a wide range of sounds, including human speech. In the wild, parrots use vocalizations to communicate, establish territory, and engage in social bonding.

Typically, parrots are gregarious and noisy, often forming small groups or large flocks, flying high overhead while screeching. The vocalizations of most parrots are loud, raucous screeches; generally, the larger the species, the more earsplitting the calls. About a dozen different calls, each announcing a different mood, have been identified for the greater sulfur-crested cockatoo.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why are some parrot species endangered?
Several parrot species face endangerment due to factors like the pet trade and habitat destruction. Poaching for commercial profit significantly threatens many wild species, especially parrots, leading to population depletion.

Macaws, a type of parrot, are exported, often illegally, to supply the worldwide pet trade. This, along with land clearing and logging, contributes to their increasing rarity in the wild. Several macaw species are listed as endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

From 1680 to the early 1960s, at least 16 parrot species became extinct, and another 14 became endangered. Parrots on small islands are especially vulnerable.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

parrot, term applied to a large group of gaudy, raucous birds of the family Psittacidae. Parrot also is used in reference to any member of a larger bird group, order Psittaciformes, which includes cockatoos (family Cacatuidae) as well. Parrots have been kept as cage birds since ancient times, and they have always been popular because they are amusing, intelligent, and often affectionate. Several are astonishingly imitative of many sounds, including human speech.

The family Psittacidae numbers 333 species. The subfamily Psittacinae, the “true” parrots, is by far the largest subfamily, with members found in warm regions worldwide. These birds have a blunt tongue and eat seeds, buds, and some fruits and insects. Many members of the subfamily are known simply as parrots, but various subgroups have more specific names such as macaw, parakeet, conure, and lovebird.

The African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is unsurpassed as a talker; the male can precisely echo human speech. Captive birds are alert and, compared with other parrots, relatively good-tempered. Some are said to have lived 80 years. The bird is about 33 cm (13 inches) long and is light gray except for its squared, red tail and bare, whitish face; the sexes look alike. Gray parrots are common in the rainforest, where they eat fruits and seeds; they damage crops but are important propagators of the oil palm.

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Among other proficient mimics are the Amazon parrots (Amazona). The 31 species of Amazons are chunky birds, mostly 25 to 40 cm (10 to 16 inches) long, with slightly erectile crown feathers and a rather short, squared tail. Their predominantly green plumage is marked with other bright colours, chiefly on the upper head; the sexes look alike. Amazon parrots live in tropical forests of the West Indies and Mexico to northern South America. They are difficult to breed and may be aggressive as well as squawky. Common in aviaries is the blue-fronted Amazon (A. aestiva) of Brazil; it has a blue forehead, a yellow or blue crown, a yellow face, and red shoulders. The yellow-crowned parrot (A. ochrocephala) of Mexico, Central America, and from Ecuador to Brazil has some yellow on the head and neck, a red wing patch, and a yellow tail tip.

The monk, or green, parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is one of the hardiest parrot species. It is native to South America, but some have escaped from captivity in the United States and now nest in several states. Its large stick nest is unique among psittaciforms. Other remarkable parrots of this subfamily include the hanging parrots (Loriculus), which sleep upside-down like bats. Caiques (Pionites) are small, short-tailed South American birds similar to conures in build and habits.

For decades the night parrot, or night parakeet (Geopsittacus occidentalis), of Australia was thought to be extinct, until a dead one was found in 1990. It feeds at night on spinifex grass seeds and dozes under a tussock by day. Its nest is a twig platform in a bush and is entered by way of a tunnel. Equally unusual is the ground parrot, or ground parakeet (Pezoporus wallicus). Rare local populations exist in the wastelands of coastal southern Australia and western Tasmania. It runs in the grass, flushes like a quail, and makes a sudden deceptive pitch, and it was formerly hunted with dogs. It eats seeds and insects; its nest is a leaf-lined depression under a bush.

The lories (with short tails) and lorikeets (with longer, pointed tails) make up the Psittacidae subfamily Loriinae. The 53 species in 12 genera are found in Australia, New Guinea, and some Pacific islands. All have a slender, wavy-edged beak and a brush-tipped tongue for extracting nectar from flowers and juices from fruits.

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The pygmy parrots of the subfamily Micropsittinae all belong to the genus Micropsitta. The six species are endemic to New Guinea and nearby islands. These are the smallest members of the family. They live in forests, where they eat insects and fungi.

The subfamily Nestorinae is found only in New Zealand. The kea (Nestor notabilis) occasionally tears into sheep carcasses (rarely, weakened sheep) to get at the fat around the kidneys. The kaka, N. meridionalis, a gentler forest bird, is often kept as a pet. The owl parrot, or kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), also lives only in New Zealand. It is the sole member of the subfamily Strigopinae. Rare and once thought extinct, it survives as a scant population on Stewart Island.

The cockatoo family (Cacatuidae) numbers 21 species from Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands. The group includes the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), a smaller bird. All are crested and have heavy beaks for cracking nuts and seeds. The so-called sea parrot is unrelated to the psittaciforms (see puffin).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

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