Small vasa parrot

Small vasa parrot
	Little Vasa Parrot ( Coracopsis nigra )
Systematics
without rank:	Sauropsida
Class :	Birds (aves)
Order :	Parrots (Psittaciformes)
Family :	True parrots (Psittacidae)
Genre :	Vasa Parrots ( Coracopsis )
Type :	Small vasa parrot
Scientific name
	Coracopsis nigra
	( Linnaeus , 1758)

The Little Vasa Parrot ( Coracopsis nigra ), also called Black Parrot , lives with four subspecies in Madagascar , the Comoros and the Seychelles island of Praslin .

features

Close up of the head

The birds grow up to 35 centimeters long and thus remain smaller than the similar-looking Great Vasa Parrots ( Coracopsis vasa ). The nominate form is differ with the exception of light gray coverts of mostly brown-black color that subspecies only slightly. C. n. Libs is a little lighter, the underside is more brownish, the brown is a little lighter in C. n. Sibilans and C. n. Barklyi . The outer webs of the primaries of C. n. Nigra are gray in C. n. Sibilans the gray missing, wherein n C.. Barklyi the coloration is bluish gray. The skull of C. n. Barklyi is inconspicuously dashed.

The beak is light ( darker in the breeding season , the plumage then shows a greenish tinge), the iris dark brown. Around the eyes there is a narrow, bare, pinkish-brown eye ring that does not extend to the base of the beak. The feet are pinkish-brown.

Males and females are similar to one another, there is no noticeable sexual dimorphism . Young birds are browner and have dull plumage. The bare ring around the eyes is smaller or missing, the beak is pinkish-gray.

habitat

The Little Vasa Parrot lives on the coastal plain up to heights of 2000 meters, in primary lowland and mountain rainforests , dry forests , secondary forests , tree-lined savannas and mangroves . It is more dependent on intact habitats than the Great Vasa Parrot ( Coracopsis vasa ).

Way of life

Small vasa parrots are diurnal and live socially in groups of 3 to 15 animals. Where there is plenty of food, up to 50 animals can gather. They are most active in the early morning, late afternoon and on full moon nights.

nutrition

The Little Vasa Parrot eats seeds and fruits, including those of the travelers ' tree , the tamarind tree , Didiereaceaen , figs , acacias , umbrella acacias , crotons , guavas and mangoes . In agricultural areas, the birds eat large amounts of corn , rice and cassava .

The species prefers small, unscented fruits. Occasionally the Little Vasa Parrot drops fruit on the ground under the parent plants or the fruit is carried away intact and the parrot thus contributes to the spread of the plants, but mostly the fruit is destroyed. Because of the biting with the beak and the eating of unripe fruits, the species is considered a seed predator.

Reproduction

Small vasa parrots are cave breeders. They breed in Madagascar during the hot rainy season from December to March or April. The clutch is at a great height (at least 15 m above the ground) and consists of 2-3 white eggs.

Subspecies

Small vasa parrot ( Coracopsis nigra nigra ( Linnaeus , 1758)), east of Madagascar, to the west the subspecies intergradates with C. n. Libs

Bangs Vasa Parrot ( Coracopsis nigra libs Bangs , 1927), west and south of Madagascar

Small Comoros Vasa Parrot ( Coracopsis nigra sibilans Milne-Edwards & Oustalet , 1885), Grande Comore , Anjouan (Comoros)
Seychelles Vasa Parrot ( Coracopsis nigra barklyi Newton , 1867), Praslin (Seychelles), is often seen as a separate species.

literature

JM Ekstrom: Coracopsis spp. , Parrots, in Steven M. Goodman, Jonathan P. Benstead, Harald Schütz: The Natural History of Madagascar , University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-30307-1

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Olivier Langrand: Birds of Madagascar. Yale University Press 1991, ISBN 978-0300043105 , pp. 209-210.
^ ^A ^b ^c Joseph M. Forshaw: Parrots of the World. Princeton University Press 2010, ISBN 978-0691142852 , p. 146.
↑ To Bollen: Fruit Characteristics: Fruit Selection, Animal Seed Dispersal and Conservation Matters in the Sainte Luce Forests. Madagascar Revisions 2008, SI / MAB Series 11, pp. 127-146.

Web links

Commons : Little Vasa Parrot - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coracopsis nigra in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 30 of 2009.
Videos, photos and sound recordings on Coracopsis nigra in the Internet Bird Collection

[Langrand-1] Olivier Langrand: Birds of Madagascar. Yale University Press 1991, ISBN 978-0300043105 , pp. 209-210.

[Forshaw-2] A ^b ^c Joseph M. Forshaw: Parrots of the World. Princeton University Press 2010, ISBN 978-0691142852 , p. 146.

[Bollen-3] To Bollen: Fruit Characteristics: Fruit Selection, Animal Seed Dispersal and Conservation Matters in the Sainte Luce Forests. Madagascar Revisions 2008, SI / MAB Series 11, pp. 127-146.