The characteristics of parrots feature a strong, curved bill, an upright stance and clawed zygodactyl (arrangement of digits on a bird with two toes facing forward and two facing backwards) feet. A majority of parrots are distinctly colored and many are multicolored. Sexual dimorphism (the coloring being different between sexes) notable characteristic between parrots are not found in many though there are some. Eclectus is one of the most distinguishable in the parrot family, the males are green and the females are red. Eclectus are from the Solomon Islands, Sumba to New Guinea, Northeastern Australia and also the Maluku Islands.

Lories and Lorikeets feed on nectar from flowers and soft fruits. They are range from Sulawesi to the Philippines in the north to Australia, across the Pacific and as far as the French Polynesia. The greatest variety found in and around New Guinea. Parrots diet constist of nuts, seed, fruit, buds and and other plant foliage.

Macaws that are one of most colorful of the parrot world live in the low lands and savannahs and swamplands of Bolivia, Guianas, Brazil and parts of Peru. They also are found in other parts of South America. The Clay licks in Peru is a magnificent sight to experience with the many colors of Amazon parrots, Ciaques, Macaws and other known species of parrots.

Amazon parrots are extremely intelligent. They are many shades of green with splashes of color. They come from parts of Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil where there are evergreen and semi-deciduous (seasonal) forest.

African Grey Parrots are grey with red tipped tails. They are the Einstein of the parrot world. African Greys are from large parts of African lowlands forest.The visable population of African Greys are in forest of Camaroon, Congo, Uganda, Ghana; these are just to name a few of the countries that they come from.

Cockatoos are from Australia, the Philippines and Indonesian islands of Wallecea, Solomon Island and New Guinea. They are mainly white though some are black and others are pink. Most distinguishable characteristic of a Cockatoo is there crest (the feathers on top of their head that can flare up into what looks like a crown). They have adapted well to the influence of human interaction. Cockatoos stay in large flocks. They are considered quite pesky, especially to agriculture farms.

These are just to name a few of the parrot species as there are roughly 372 species in which there are 86 genera that make up the order of Psittaciformes family. Parrots are found in tropical and subtropical areas in the world. The order of Psittaciformes are broken up into three families; the Psittacidae (true parrot), the Cacatuidae (cockatoos) and the Strigopidae (New Zealand parrots).

Modern parrots go back to 20-23 million years ago with fossils found in Europe. The Southern Hemisphere where many parrots are found does not have as much history with fossils as Europe. The relationship between parrots and humans is very complex. Humans have diminished the parrot family by trade, habitat loss, with the introduction of predatory animals, hunted for food and feathers. Parrots can also be an agricultural nuisance such as the cockatoo who eat fruit, grain and other such crops. Then on the other hand they are great for the economy through ecotourism. Also having a domestic parrot as a part of the family is very enriching.

As for our beloved threesome, away from domestication, their normal wilds would generally prevent them from meeting. The Hahn’s Macaw (often termed as the ‘red shouldered macaw’), is a native of the savannah, tropical lowlands and swamplands of Latin America, particularly Venezuela, Bolivia, the Guianas, Brazil and the far south-eastern area of Peru. They create a magnificent sight in their thousands together on the Clay licks. Our beautiful multi colored Red-Lored Amazon is another native of South America, however they can be located in the humid evergreen forests of up to 1,100 m altitude. They range from eastern Mexico to as far south as Ecuador, with a disjunct population in central Brazil, however they are absent from the Pacific side of Central America north of Costa Rica. Naturally our African Grey is old world, from the African continent. They spread across many borders, from Guinea-Bissau east to the lowland forests of West Africa to Cameroon. They are renowned in the Congo forests to east of Albertine Rift up to Lake Victoria, to include Uganda and Kenya. They tend to inhabit the dense, low-lying forest regions, they are often found at forest edges and clearings in large flocks finding food on the ground that other animals have dropped such as nuts, fruits, and berries.