This family likely had its origin early in the Paleogene period (66-23 mya) after the western half of Gondwana had separated into the continents of Africa and South America, before the divergence of African and New World lineages c. 30-35 mya. It is estimated that the New World parrots (Arinae) and by implication Old World parrots, last shared a c... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacidae