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Parrot Evolution and systematics

Origins

In general, an area which has, relative to other areas, a great concentration of different lineages 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 Gondwanan origin. The parrot family's fossil record, however, is sparse and their origin remains a matter of informed speculation rather than fact.

A single 15 mm fragment from a lower bill (UCMP 143274), found in Lance Creek Formation deposits of Niobrara County, Wyoming, has been suggested as the first parrot fossil. Of Late Cretaceous date, it is about 70 million years old. But subsequent reviews have established that this fossil is almost certainly from a caenagnathid - a group of non-avian dinosaurs with a birdlike beak - and not from a bird.

It is now generally assumed that the Psittaciformes or their common ancestors with a bunch of related bird orders were present somewhere on the world around the K-Pg extinction event, some 65 mya (million years ago). If so, they probably did not have evolved their morphological autapomorphies yet, but were generalized arboreal birds, roughly similar (though not necessarily closely related) to today's potoos or frogmouths (see also Palaeopsittacus below).

Europe is the origin of the first generally accepted parrot fossils. They date from the Eocene, starting around 50 mya (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 related lineages which evolved in the Northern Hemisphere but have since died out. These are probably not "missing links" between ancestral and modern parrots, but rather psittaciform lineages that evolved parallel to true parrots and cockatoos and had their own peculiar autapomorphies:

* Psittacopes (basal?)
* Serudaptus - pseudasturid or psittacid?
* Pseudasturidae
o Pseudasturides - formerly Pseudastur
* Quercypsittidae
o Quercypsitta (Late Eocene)

The earliest records of modern parrots date to about 23-20 mya and are also from Europe. Subsequently, the fossil record - mainly from Europe, again - consists of bones clearly recognizable as belonging to modern-type parrots. 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 mya. 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 modern cockatoos. Some modern genera are tentatively dated to a Miocene origin, but their unequivocal record stretches back only some 5 million years:

* Archaeopsittacus (Late Oligocene/Early Miocene)
* Xenopsitta (Early Miocene of Czechia)
* Bavaripsitta (Middle Miocene of Steinberg, Germany)
* "Pararallus dispar" (Middle Miocene of France) - includes "Psittacus" lartetianus

Some Paleogene fossils are not unequivocally accepted to be of psittaciforms:

* Palaeopsittacus (Early - Middle Eocene of NW Europe) - caprimulgiform (podargid?) or quercypsittid?
* "Precursor" (Early Eocene of England) - psittaciform (in part - several species? pseudasturid or psittacid?)
* Pulchrapollia - includes "Primobucco" olsoni - psittaciform (pseudasturid or psittacid?)

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Parrot Food Simple healthy bird food recipes for your parrot. Order parrot food online: Beak Appetit, Roudybush, Harrisons, Goldenfeast, bulk & more... Disclaimer Disclaimer: ParrotRecipes.com does not guarantee or endorse any recipe or product listed on this site. If you have questions or concerns about the recipes, ingredients, or nutritional requirements of a pet, contact a licensed avian veterinarian. Please understand that you are solely responsible for the use of any information given on this site and use of any information will be at your own risk. Remember - parrots need a variety of foods and have specific vitamin and mineral requirements which need to be met. It is important to give them a well-rounded diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, seed, and pellets. Treats should be just that: treats. Here is a list of some non-bird-safe items to AVOID: teflon/non-stick cookware lead (in cages or toys) brass (in cages or toys) mite protectors sand perches grit/gravel tobacco and food items: canned veggies, non-organic fruits & veggies, avocados, eggplant, rhubarb, potato leaves, tomato leaves, bean plant leaves, apple seeds, alcohol, coffee, tea, chocolate, apricot seeds, cherrie seeds, peach seeds, pear seeds, plum seeds, avocado pits, peanuts