How Many Birds Make Up the Parrot Family? Complete Guide

There are 406 recognized parrot species in the world today, according to the IOC World Bird List, the taxonomy authority most ornithologists follow, a figure the newer AviList unified checklist independently confirms. Of those, about 392 are still living. The other 14 have gone extinct over the last few centuries.

These birds form the order Psittaciformes. Scientists split that order into four families and 93 genera, spread across the tropics and a few surprisingly cold corners of the world.

If you’ve seen other numbers floating around online, 350, 372, 393, 410, you’re not wrong, and neither are they. Parrot taxonomy is a moving target. Below, we’ll cover the current count, why it keeps shifting, and exactly how the four parrot families break down.

The Quick Answer: How Many Parrot Species Exist Today

As of the most recent IOC World Bird List update, the parrot order includes 406 described species. Fourteen of those are extinct, which leaves 392 species alive in the wild or in captivity right now. They’re spread across 93 genera and 4 families.

Total described species (living + extinct)	406
Living species today	~392
Extinct species	14
Genera	93
Families	4
Source	IOC World Bird List v15.1 / AviList v2025b

Older articles online often cite lower numbers like 350 or 372. Those weren’t wrong when they were written, they’re just outdated. Ongoing DNA research keeps reshuffling which populations count as full species, so the total climbs a little almost every year.

Order vs. Family: Why “Parrot Family” Means Two Different Things

Most people who ask “how many birds make up the parrot family” aren’t asking about one narrow biological family. They mean the whole parrot group, cockatoos, macaws, lovebirds, budgies, all of it. Technically, that entire group is an order, not a family.

Here’s the full classification chain for a parrot, using the African Grey Parrot as an example:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Aves (birds)
• Order: Psittaciformes (all parrots)
• Family: Psittacidae (one of four parrot families)
• Genus: Psittacus
• Species: Psittacus Erithacus

For most of the 20th century, textbooks lumped every parrot into a single family called Psittacidae. That habit stuck in everyday language, which is exactly why people still say “the parrot family” when they mean the entire order. Modern genetic research split that one family into four separate families in the early 2010s, and most major checklists, including the IOC list and the Clements Checklist used by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, have followed suit since.

So when someone asks how many birds are in the parrot family, the honest answer depends on which definition they mean. If they mean the order Psittaciformes, the answer is 392 living species. If they mean the specific family Psittacidae (African and New World parrots only), the answer is closer to 179. We’ll use the broad, everyday meaning for the rest of this article, since that’s what most people are actually asking about.

You’ll also see parrots referred to as “psittacine” in more technical writing, that’s simply the adjective form of Psittaciformes, and it means the exact same thing as “parrot” in everyday use. If you run across that word in a vet report or a scientific paper, it isn’t describing a separate group of birds.

What Makes a Bird a Parrot?

Across all four families, parrots share a small set of traits that set them apart from every other bird order. If a bird has these features, it belongs somewhere on the parrot family tree, regardless of size or color:

• A curved, hooked upper bill: that moves slightly at the joint with the skull, strong enough to crack seeds and nuts other birds can’t open.
• Zygodactyl feet: two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, giving parrots a firm grip on branches and the dexterity to hold food in one foot while eating.
• An upright stance: and a generally stocky, short-necked build compared to other birds of similar length.
• Above-average intelligence: parrots, along with corvids like crows and ravens, are considered among the most cognitively advanced birds, which is part of why species like the African Grey can learn to mimic speech.

Geographically, parrots are found across the tropics and subtropics of every continent except Antarctica and mainland Europe, with the greatest diversity concentrated in South America and Australasia. A handful of species, like the Kea, push into cold mountain climates most people wouldn’t associate with parrots at all.

Why the Parrot Count Keeps Changing

Three separate forces push the number up or down depending on when and where you look it up.

1. Splitting and lumping

DNA testing has let researchers compare populations that look nearly identical but are genetically distinct. When that happens, a single species can be “split” into two or more. The Red-crowned Parakeet is a recent example, island populations once treated as subspecies were split into four separate species by the IOC, instantly adding four to the count. The reverse also happens: two populations once treated as different species can be “lumped” back into one if genetic evidence shows they’re not distinct enough.

2. Different authorities – now converging

Until recently there wasn’t one single global rulebook for bird species. The IOC World Bird List, the Clements Checklist (Cornell Lab), and Birdlife International/HBW each kept their own checklist, and they didn’t always agree, a population accepted as a full species by one authority might be listed as a subspecies by another. In June 2025, a group representing all three published AviList, a single unified global checklist meant to end the disagreement. It’s already having an effect: IOC and Clements have stopped making independent taxonomic updates and are now aligning to AviList instead. For parrots specifically, that convergence is good news, AviList’s own count lands on the same 406 species, 93 genera, and 4 families as the IOC figure this article uses. Older sources written before mid-2025 won’t reflect this yet, which explains some of the lingering disagreement you’ll still see online.

3. Living vs. extinct counts

Some sources report the total number of described species, including the ones that no longer exist. Others report only the species alive today. The 406 figure includes 14 extinct species, so the living total is 392. If an article doesn’t specify which one it’s using, the numbers won’t line up.

How the Parrot Count Has Grown Over Time

It helps to see the trend rather than just one snapshot. Older ornithology references from the 1980s and 1990s commonly cited around 330 to 340 parrot species. By the early 2000s, that figure had crept up to roughly 350. When Joseph et al. published their landmark genetic study in 2012, the accepted count moved to around 372. A decade later, most checklists sat closer to 393. Today, both the IOC and AviList list 406.

That steady climb isn’t because new parrots keep appearing out of nowhere, new species are occasionally discovered, but that’s rare. It’s mostly the result of genetic tools getting better at telling closely related populations apart. Expect the number to hold fairly steady now that AviList has consolidated the major checklists, with only small annual revisions going forward.

Parrots themselves are ancient. The earliest parrot-like fossil, a small bill fragment found in Wyoming, dates back roughly 70 million years to the late Cretaceous period, though experts still debate whether it belongs to a true parrot ancestor. The high concentration of parrot diversity in South America and Australasia today points to a Gondwanan origin, meaning parrots likely began diversifying while those continents were still joined, long before the order split into the four families we recognize now.

The 4 Parrot Families, Explained

Modern taxonomy (based on Cracraft’s 2013 classification, now used by most major checklists) splits Psittaciformes into four families. Two of them, Psittacidae and Psittacidae, hold the vast majority of species. The other two are small, geographically isolated groups.

Family	Common Name	Approx. Species	Example Genera	Familiar Examples
Psittaculidae	Old World Parrots	~200	Psittacula, Agapornis, Trichoglossus, Loriculus	Ring-necked parakeets, lovebirds, rainbow lorikeets, hanging parrots
Psittacidae	African & New World Parrots	~179	Psittacus, Poicephalus, Amazona, Ara, Myiopsitta, Pyrrhura	African Grey, Senegal Parrot, macaws, Amazon parrots, Quaker Parrot, Green Cheek Conure
Cacatuidae	Cockatoos	21–22	Cacatua, Nymphicus, Calyptorhynchus	Cockatiel, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Galah
Strigopidae	New Zealand Parrots	4	Strigops, Nestor	Kākāpō, Kea, Kākā

Psittaculidae – Old World Parrots

This is the largest parrot family, with roughly 200 species across about 47 genera, per Wikipedia’s Psittaculidae overview. Despite the name, it’s not exclusive to the “Old World” — it includes Australian rosellas and Pacific parakeets too. This family covers lovebirds, ring-necked parakeets, lorikeets and lories, fig parrots, and the tiny hanging parrots of Southeast Asia.

Psittacidae – African & New World Parrots

This family holds roughly 179 species across about 36 genera, per Wikipedia’s Psittacidae overview, split between a small African group (Psittacinae, the grey parrots and Poicephalus species) and a much larger Neotropical group (Arinae) that includes macaws, Amazon parrots, conures, and parrotlets. Most of the parrots Americans keep as pets belong to this family, including the African Grey, the Senegal Parrot, the Quaker Parrot, the Green Cheek Conure, and the Blue and Gold Macaw.

Cacatuidae – Cockatoos

Cockatoos form their own distinct family of 21 to 22 species across 7 genera, found mainly in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. They’re set apart by a movable head crest and duller, mostly white, grey, or black plumage. The Cockatiel — despite its small size and slender profile — is genetically a cockatoo, not a true parrot.

Strigopidae – New Zealand Parrots

The smallest and most unusual parrot family has only 4 living species: the Kea, two Kākā species, and the Kākāpō. The Kākāpō is the world’s only flightless, nocturnal parrot, and it’s also critically endangered. A bumper rimu-fruiting season in 2026 triggered the biggest Kākāpō breeding effort New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has recorded, at least 106 chicks hatched, well past the previous record of 73, pushing the total wild population up to around 236 birds, its first increase in four years. The Kea, meanwhile, is the world’s only alpine parrot, living year-round in New Zealand’s snowy mountains.

How Many Parrot Species Are Kept as Pets?

Out of roughly 392 living parrot species, only a small fraction are commonly kept as pets in the United States. Most parrot species are wild birds that have never been domesticated, and many are protected under CITES or local wildlife law, which makes them illegal or impractical to own privately.

The species that dominate the U.S. pet trade come almost entirely from two groups:

• Cacatuidae: the Cockatiel is by far the most common pet cockatoo in American homes.
• Psittaculidae: the Budgerigar (budgie), the world’s most widely kept pet bird, plus various lovebirds and ring-necked parakeets.
• Psittacidae: the African Grey Parrot, Senegal Parrot, Quaker (Monk) Parakeet, Green Cheek Conure, and large macaws like the Blue and Gold Macaw are among the most popular companion parrots in North America.

So while the parrot family (in the broad sense) numbers close to 400 species, the realistic list of parrots suited to home life in the U.S. is closer to a few dozen, and even fewer are recommended for first-time bird owners. At BirdsJungle, we work with several of these species directly across our full parrot collection, and every bird ships with our Live Animal Guarantee and care instructions.

A few of these species come with extra rules worth knowing before you buy. Quaker Parrots, for example, are restricted or require a permit in several U.S. states because feral populations have established themselves in the wild. Large macaws and African Greys need significant daily interaction and space, which is why breeders and rescues generally steer first-time owners toward smaller, lower-maintenance species like budgies, cockatiels, or Green Cheek Conures instead. Checking your state’s regulations before buying is always worth the five minutes it takes.

How Many Parrot Species Are Endangered or Extinct?

Parrots are, unfortunately, one of the most threatened bird groups on the planet. Conservation trackers estimate that close to a third of all living parrot species now sit somewhere on the IUCN Red List’s threatened categories, a worse collective outlook than any other bird group of comparable size.

Habitat loss, the wild-caught pet trade, and small island ranges are the biggest drivers. Because so many parrot species live only on isolated islands, a single storm, disease outbreak, or introduced predator can wipe out a large share of a population almost overnight.

Several parrot species have already been lost entirely, including:

• Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis), the only parrot species native to the continental United States. Wild sightings dried up in the early 1900s, and the last known individual, a captive bird named Incas, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918.
• Cuban Macaw (Ara tricolor), last reported in 1885, driven extinct by hunting pressure.
• Norfolk Island Kākā (Nestor productus), extinct by the 1850s due to habitat destruction and hunting.
• Paradise Parrot (Psephotellus pulcherrimus), an Australian species last seen in 1927.

No parrot species now breeds in the wild anywhere in North America. That’s part of why CITES regulations and import restrictions are taken so seriously in the exotic bird trade today, the goal is to prevent any more names from being added to that list.

Almost every parrot species is covered somewhere in the CITES appendices (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which is why legitimate breeders and sellers deal almost exclusively in captive-bred birds rather than wild-caught ones. The most threatened species, including several Caribbean Amazona parrots and the Kākāpō, sit on CITES Appendix I, which bans nearly all international commercial trade. Common pet species tell a different story: budgies and cockatiels aren’t CITES-listed at all, since their global populations are considered secure, while the Quaker Parrot sits on the far more permissive Appendix II alongside most other commonly bred parrots.

Fun Facts About Parrot Diversity

• Smallest parrot: the Buff-faced Pygmy Parrot, at around 3 to 3.5 inches long, smaller than a sparrow.
• Heaviest parrot: the Kākāpō, which can weigh up to 9 pounds (about 4 kg) and is also the only flightless parrot in the world.
• Longest parrot: the Hyacinth Macaw, stretching nearly 40 inches from beak to tail tip, the largest flying parrot species by length.
• Only alpine parrot: the Kea of New Zealand, which lives year-round in snowy mountain terrain and is famous for its intelligence and curiosity.
• Most widely kept pet bird in the world: the Budgerigar, native to Australia but bred in homes on every continent.
• Best talker: the African Grey Parrot, widely regarded as the most accurate mimic of human speech among all parrot species, see BirdsJungle’s full breakdown of how and why parrots talk for the science behind it.
• Widest size range of any bird order: parrots run from about 3.5-inch pygmy parrots up to Hyacinth Macaws nearly 40 inches long, a size spread few other bird groups can match.
• Only nocturnal parrot: the Kākāpō is also the only parrot that’s both flightless and active mainly at night.

That range — from a 3-inch pygmy parrot to a 9-pound flightless Kākāpō, is part of what makes the parrot order so hard to summarize in a single sentence. It’s less a tidy family than a sprawling, 70-million-year-old branch of the bird family tree.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many types of parrots are there in total?

There are 406 described parrot species, of which about 392 are alive today. They’re grouped into 4 families: Psittaculidae, Psittacidae, Cacatuidae, and Strigopidae.

What is the biggest parrot family?

Psittaculidae, the Old World parrots, is the largest family with roughly 200 species. It includes lovebirds, ring-necked parakeets, and lorikeets.

Are cockatiels and budgies part of the parrot family?

Yes. The Cockatiel belongs to the cockatoo family, Cacatuidae. The Budgerigar belongs to Psittaculidae, the Old World parrot family. Both are part of the broader parrot order, Psittaciformes.

Is a macaw a parrot?

Yes. Macaws belong to the family Psittacidae, specifically the Neotropical subfamily Arinae, alongside Amazon parrots, conures, and parrotlets.

How many parrot species live in the United States?

None are native breeding species today — the Carolina Parakeet, the only parrot native to the continental U.S., went extinct in the early 20th century. Feral populations of introduced species, like the Monk (Quaker) Parakeet, now breed in parts of the U.S., but they aren’t native.

Why do different websites give different parrot species counts?

Because they’re pulling from different taxonomy authorities (IOC, Clements, BirdLife/HBW) or different years. Species get split or lumped as DNA evidence comes in, so the accepted total shifts over time.

What’s the difference between a parrot and a parakeet?

“Parakeet” isn’t a scientific classification — it’s a general term for smaller, long-tailed parrots from several different genera, including budgies, Quaker Parrots, and Indian Ringnecks. Every parakeet is a parrot, but not every parrot is a parakeet.

Are new parrot species still being discovered?

Brand-new discoveries are rare, but they do happen — usually in remote parts of New Guinea, the Philippines, or the Amazon basin. Far more often, the species count changes because researchers reclassify an existing population using new DNA evidence, not because a completely unknown bird turns up.

The Bottom Line

As of the current IOC World Bird List and AviList, 406 species make up the parrot order, with about 392 still alive today, spread across 4 families and 93 genera. The number should stay fairly stable now that AviList has consolidated the major checklists, though small annual revisions are still expected.

Whether you’re here out of curiosity or you’re thinking about bringing one of these birds home, understanding where a species fits in the parrot family tree is a useful starting point. It tells you a lot about temperament, size, and care needs before you even open a care guide.

Keep Reading on BirdsJungle

• How Do Parrots Talk? The Science Behind Their Amazing Mimicry
• What Do Parrots Eat? A Complete Guide to Wild and Pet Parrot Diets
• How Long Do Parrots Live? A Complete Lifespan Guide by Species

Browse the full Parrots collection at BirdsJungle