Parrots, Cockatoos and Falcons
Two galleries feature Old World Parrot (Psittaculidae), and Cockatoo (Cacatuidae) families that inhabit the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Australia. I photographed most Old World Parrot and Cockatoo species in Australia and some in Singapore. The final gallery displays photos from the Falcons (Falconinae) and Caracaras (Caracarinae), subfamilies. Falcons (Falconidae) inhabit most world regions, except the Antarctic. See Taxonomy note at the end on this page.
Parrots
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Cockatoos
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Old World Parrot and Cockatoo Notes
All featured species are ‘Red List 2019’ assessed as ‘Least Concern’ except for the ‘Vulnerable’ Long-tailed Parakeet and the ‘Near Threatened’ Red-collared Lorikeet and Little Corella.
Old World Parrots are very colourful, making then ideal subjects for photography while cockatoos are more monochrome and a little drab. Most are social birds making them a little easier to spot than individual birds. They spend a lot of time flying in search of food.
Falcons
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Falcons Notes
All featured species are ‘Red List 2019’ assessed as ‘Least Concern’. The Carunculated Caracara has a varied diet including worms, other small animal prey and vegetable matter. This induvial was feeding on the ground in a large grassy near Lake Mica in the Antisana Ecological Reserve in Ecuador. It occurs in treeless areas between 3000m-4000m.
I’ve photographed the displayed falcons in Australia, England, Ecuador and the Yellow-headed Caracara on the beach in Trinidad where it was taking advantage of turtle eggs on the sand.
Parrot and Cockatoo Taxonomy
Parrots and Cockatoos and Falcons includes Falconiformes (Falcons) and Psittaciformes (Parrots) both sister orders placed in superorder Picimorphae, part of the Australaves clade. Psittaciformes (Parrots) splits into four families: Strigopidae (New Zealand Parrots), Cacatuidae (Cockatoos), Psittaculidae (Old World Parrots) and Psittacidae (African and American parrots).