Singing Parakeets
| Singing Parakeets | ||||||||||||
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Hooded parakeet , female |
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| Psephotus | ||||||||||||
| Gould , 1845 |
Red-tailed parakeets are a genus of the flat-tailed parakeets . All species of this genus occur exclusively in Australia. They are classified by some taxonomists as a link between the flat-tailed parakeet in the narrower sense and the blood-bellied parakeet .
Appearance
The species of the Red Parakeet genus are medium-sized parrots, which are characterized by a uniform back color and long and stepped tails. The height of the parrots is between 26 and 30 centimeters. The beaks are small. All species show a sexual dimorphism. It is characteristic of all species that the cheek patches are not clearly demarcated from the rest of the head plumage.
The genus is divided into two sub-genera. The subgenus Psephotus includes the ringed parakeet and the multi-colored parakeet . Both types are characterized by a green upper body of the male. Both species have in common that they care for each other's plumage. Their courtship behavior is reminiscent of that of the flat-tailed parakeets . The sexual dimorphism is very pronounced in both species and can also be clearly seen in young birds.
The subgenus Psephotellus , which was first described by Gregory Mathews in 1913 , includes the golden- shouldered parakeet , the hooded parakeet and the paradise parakeet , which became extinct in 1927 . All species have in common that the male has brown areas on the upper side of the body and a yellow or red shoulder mark. Mutual plumage care does not occur in the two recent species. Their courtship behavior lacks the swinging back and forth of the fanned control feathers, as shown by the species of the subgenus Psephotus and which also occur in the flat-tailed parakeets. Golden-shouldered and hooded parakeets show a pronounced sexual dimorphism. The females of the two species are very similar, so that they can hardly be distinguished when observing in the field. They have a green plumage and a brownish faded forehead as well as a bronze-green crown and back of the head. These sex differences were less pronounced in the extinct Parakeet. The female had plumage features such as a dark crown and a red shoulder patch, which was also characteristic of the male bird. The young birds of the subgenus Psephotellus resemble the females. A gender difference cannot be determined with them on the basis of the plumage.
Distribution and existence
The representatives of the singing parakeets occur exclusively in Australia. The ringed parakeet is native to the south-east of Australia and prefers to inhabit the interior. The very large distribution area of the multi-colored parakeet extends over central and southwest Australia. The golden-shouldered parakeet and hooded parakeet, on the other hand, only have very small distribution areas in northern Australia. Both birds are parrot species of the tropics and have lost large parts of their range in the course of the 20th century. Only 1,600 breeding pairs of the golden-shouldered parakeet are found in two isolated breeding areas in the wild. The species is therefore considered threatened. Similar to the golden-shouldered parakeet, the hooded parakeet is listed in Appendix I of the CITES agreement. Its range has steadily decreased over the course of the 20th century. In many places the occurrence is only patchy, so that a genetic exchange between the individual breeding populations no longer takes place.
The Paradise Parakeet is considered extinct. The last confirmed sighting of this bird species was on September 14, 1927. Paradise parakeets were unusually brightly plumed parakeets that were common in the grasslands on the border between Queensland and New South Wales in Australia . It used to be quite common within its small area of distribution. There is no ultimate clarity about the causes of its sudden population decline. However, it is attributed to overgrazing, clearing of land, hunting by bird trappers as well as to a higher hunting pressure from introduced higher mammals such as cats . By the end of the 19th century, the Paradise Parakeet was already considered a very rare bird and was considered extinct by 1915. With a specific search for individuals of this species, however, some birds could still be observed.
species
The birds parakeets are counted as species:
- Golden-shouldered Parakeet ( Psephotus chrysopterygius )
- Collett Parakeet ( Psephotus dissimilis )
- Sing parakeet ( Psephotus haematonotus )
- Paradise Parakeet ( Psephotus pulcherrimus ) - extinct
- Multicolored Parakeet ( Psephotus varius )
Individual evidence
literature
- Joseph M. Forshaw : Australian Parrots. 1st German-language edition. Volume 2, Arndt-Verlag, Bretten 2003, ISBN 3-9808245-2-7 .
