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| Parrots and Cockatoos
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Scaly-breasted Lorikeet | ||||||||
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Cacatuidae Psittacidae |
Some authorities regard the lorikeets as a third family rather than part of the Psittacidae, or lump the cockatoos into one giant family. The majority view, however, is that the Cacatuidae are quite distinct, having a movable headcrest, different arrangement of the carotid arteries, a gall bladder, different skull bones, and not having the Dyck texture feather composition which, in the Psittacidae, scatters light in such a way as to produce the vibrant colours of so many parrots.
Birds of the parrot families can be found in most of the warmer parts of the world, including India, South East Asia and West Africa, with one species, now extinct, in the United States (the Carolina Parakeet). By far the greatest number of Psittaciforme species, however, come from Australasia, South America and Central AmericaCentral America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. Some geographers classify Central America as a large isthmus, and in this geographic sense it sometimes in.
In general, an area which has, relative to other areas, a great concentration of different species 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 GondwanianThis article is about the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. For the region of India called Gondwana, see Gondwana (India). The southern supercontinent Gondwana (originally Gondwanaland included most of the landmasses which make up today's continents of origin. The parrot family's fossil record, however, is sparse and their origin remains a matter of informed speculation rather than fact.
The earliest known record of parrot-like birds dates to the late CretaceousThe Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period (about 135 mya) to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65 mya). The end of the Cretaceous also defines the about 70 million years ago. A single 15 mm fragment from a lower bill found in Wyoming is similar to that of a modern lorikeet. It is not clear if this find should be classified as a parrot or not.
EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se is the site of more extensive records from the EoceneThe Eocene epoch (55-37 mya) is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Tertiary period in the Cenozoic era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene epoch. The start of (58 to 36 million years ago). Several fairly complete skeletons of parrot-like birds have been found in EnglandEngland is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four " Home Nations" which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, 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 are a related group which evolved in the Northern Hemisphere but have since died out.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 million year ago. 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 a modern white cockatoo .