Orange head
| Orange head | ||||||||||||
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Orange-headed ( Agapornis pullarius ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Agapornis pullarius | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The orange head ( -Agapornis pullarius ) is a kind of the genus of Unzertrennlichen . Together with the other species of this genus, as well as the gray parrot , the long wing parrots , the Rose-ringed Parakeet and Madagascar endemic Vasa Parrots this type is a typical parrot species of Afrotropical .
description
Orange heads are around 14 to 15 centimeters long and weigh 38 to 43 grams. The basic color of the body plumage is a light green, which is a little darker on the upper side of the body. The forehead and face are feathered orange-red. The rump is cobalt blue in color. The upper tail and the under tail-coverts are yellow. The lateral tail feathers are banded red at the base and the tips black and yellow. The sexes can be differentiated by the fact that the males have black under wing covers, while these are green in the females. Basically, the orange-red facial coloring is less pronounced in the female than in the male.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the orange-headed stretches across West and Central Africa from Guinea to southern Sudan and Uganda to Ethiopia and Angola . There are also populations on the island of São Tomé .
Their habitat are very sparse forests and savannahs rich in bushes and trees in the lowlands. They are found at altitudes of up to 1500 m, sometimes up to 2000 m.
Lifestyle and diet
They live together predominantly as pairs or in groups of fifteen to thirty birds.
They find their food mainly on the ground. Grass seeds as well as fruits, berries and buds. Sometimes insect larvae are also taken.
Reproduction
The females build the nest, which they lay out with leaves, grass and seed coats. They build their breeding caves mainly in termite burrows on trees. The use of termite burrows as breeding grounds is unusual within the lovebirds. Several species, such as the black-headed and the strawberry-head, build cobbled nests with a side entrance. The mountain parrot and the gray-headed only build a simple nest pad. The rose- head, on the other hand, breeds in a cup-shaped nest.
In the rainy season up to 5 eggs are laid, which are then incubated for about 24 days. After 7 weeks the young are fully fledged and leave the nest.
Utterance
The calls are weak and high and alternate between chirping and trilling.
Subspecies
- Agapornis pullarius pullarius Linnaeus , 1758
- Agapornis pullarius ugandae ( Neumann , 1908) - mainly inhabits Tanzania and Kenya. This subspecies is pale blue along the lower back and waist.
attitude
Until the 1960s, orange heads were repeatedly imported to Europe as ornamental birds. However, they are basically difficult to keep birds that are difficult to get used to. As a rule, only experienced breeders succeed in breeding.
Sources and References
literature
- Rosemary Low: Das Parrotienbuch , Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-8001-7191-0
- Werner Lantermann : Parrot Studies , Parey Buchverlag, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-8263-3174-5
- Georg A. Radtke : Inseparable (Agaporniden): keeping, breeding and color variations , Franckh, Stuttgart 1981, pp. 47–50, ISBN 3-440-04947-7
Web links
- Agapornis pullarius inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Agapornis pullarius in the Internet Bird Collection
- The orange head on a 17th century still life
- agapornis.ch , accessed on May 3, 2010
- World Parrot Trust , accessed May 3, 2010
Individual evidence
- ^ Low, p. 167
- ↑ Lantermann, p. 461
- ^ ITIS Report , English, accessed on May 3, 2010