Cape parrot

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Cape parrot
Poicephalus robustus -Jurong Bird Park-8a.jpg

Cape parrot ( Poicephalus robustus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Parrots (Psittaciformes)
Family : True parrots (Psittacidae)
Genre : Long-winged parrots ( Poicephalus )
Type : Cape parrot
Scientific name
Poicephalus robustus
( Gmelin , 1788)

The Cape Parrot ( Poicephalus robustus ), sometimes also Cape parrot written is a bird art from the genus of poicephalus . It is considered to be the most endangered species of African large parrots. Today it only occurs in a highly fragmented distribution area in south-east Africa. In 2004 only 1024 individuals of this species were counted.

description

Head and neck color vary from greenish to yellowish brown, the feather bases are dark brown and dull green. The feathers on the reins, chin and the lower cheeks are black-brown and sometimes interspersed with pink-red feathers. A red headband is particularly pronounced in the females, but only occasionally in the males. The dorsal feathers and wing coverts are black with a dark green edge, the under wing coverts greenish black. The thighs and the edge of the wing are orange-red. The tail feathers are black-brown, the feet gray-blue with gray-brown claws. The beak is horn-colored. The iris of the Cape parrot is brown.

Way of life

Long-winged parrots are actually food generalists that eat a wide range of fruits , leaves , seeds and flowers and also eat insects. The Cape Parrot is an exception here. It lives mainly on the seeds of the stone slices ( Podocarpus ) and, to a much lesser extent, on the seeds of the African hackberry tree ( Celtis africanus ). The high dependence on these food crops is the reason for the sharp decline in the population. Podocarpus forests have been extensively cleared in the last few decades. Larger contiguous forests only exist at inaccessible altitudes. The habitat of the Cape Parrot is accordingly heavily fragmented. Cape parrots are forced to undertake energy-consuming foraging flights from the sleeping trees to the feeding grounds, which also significantly increase the risk of predation .

Cape parrots breed mainly in the branch and stem hollows of the stone slices. The clutch consists of two to four white, round to oval eggs. Only the female breeds. The male provides food for the female during the breeding season and in the first few days after the young are hatched. The young hatch after a breeding period of around 28 to 30 days. The nestlings fledge after about 60 to 79 days.

Investigations on Cape parrots have shown that some of the parrots carry the Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) virus . This disease is incurable and often fatal. Some of the birds that are infected with the virus do not develop the disease, but they are disease vectors.

In order to preserve the species, remains of the stone beech forests have been placed under nature protection in the Republic of South Africa . One of the ornithologists who are particularly dedicated to protecting the Cape Parrot is the South African Olaf Wirminghaus, who has carried out several field studies on this species.

Systematic position within the genus Poicephalus

The following cladogram shows the genus Poicephalus with their respective degrees of relationship. The Niam-Niam parrot ( Poicephalus crassus ), whose species status is controversial, is missing . The Cape parrot is related in particular to the gray-headed parrot , the Congo parrot and the yellow-headed parrot . These four species are very similar in size, plumage, and behavior.

 Poicephalus (genus)  
  Eupsittacus (subgenus)  
  NN  

 Poicephalus gulielmi


   

 Poicephalus robustus


   

 Poicephalus fuscicollis


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 Poicepalus flavifrons



  NN  
  NN  

 Poicephalus senegalus


   

 Poicephalus rufiventris



  NN  

 Poicephalus cryptoxanthus


   

 Poicephalus meyeri


   

 Poicephalus rüppellii


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Individual evidence

  1. Hoppe and Welcke, p. 15
  2. Wirminghaus et al. Pp. 20-25
  3. Hoppe and Welcke, p. 19
  4. Hoppe and Welcke, pp. 22-23
  5. Hoppe and Welcke, p. 79

literature

  • JO Wirminghaus, CT Down, MR Perrin, CT Symes: Diet of the Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus, in Afromontane forests in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa , Ostrich, 73 (1/2), pages 20-25
  • Dieter Hoppe , Peter Welcke: Long-winged parrots , Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8001-4786-6
  • Susanne and Werner Lantermann (1986): The parrots of Central and South America: Species, keeping a. Zucht , Verlag M. & M. Schaper, ISBN 3-7944-0149-2

Web links