The Poicephalus are usually green birds with different colored heads; the larger Psittacus are light grey with red tails.

[2] The African parrots, unlike their Neotropical cousins, are polyphyletic: Agapornis of Africa and Madagascar was found to be the sister group to Loriculus of Australasia and Indo-Malayasia and together they clustered with the Australasian Loriinae, Cyclopsittacini and Melopsittacus.

Poicephalus and Psittacus from mainland Africa formed the sister group of the Neotropical Arinae and Coracopsis from Madagascar and adjacent islands may be the closest relative of Psittrichas from New Guinea.

[3] This subfamily, together with its sister subfamily Arinae of Neotropical parrots, constitutes the family Psittacidae, one of three families of true parrots.

An extinct prehistoric monotypic genus Bavaripsitta has been described.