Poicephalus

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Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus


The genus Poicephalus comprises 10 species of parrots native to Sub-Saharian Africa, ranging from Senegal to Ethiopia in the east and Cape Horn in the south. Some of the species exist is slightly different forms (or subspecies).

They are stocky birds with short broad tails and relatively large heads and beaks. They feed primarily on seeds and grains, supplemented by nuts, fruits and leafy matter.

Several Poicephalus species are commonly kept as pets, including the Senegal Parrot, Meyer's Parrot, Jardine's Parrot and the Brown-headed Parrot. Some are rare and not known in captivity.

Classification
Senegal Parrot, P. senegalus
Meyer's Parrot, P. meyeri
Red-bellied Parrot, P. rufiventris
Brown-headed Parrot, P. cryptoxanthus
Jardine's Parrot, P. gulielmi
Cape Parrot, P. robustus
Un-cape Parrot P fuscicollis (comprises the subspecies - Brown-necked Parrot and Grey-headed Parrot)
Rueppell's Parrot, P. rueppellii
Yellow-fronted Parrot, P. flavifrons
Niam-niam Parrot, P. crassus

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Senegal

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Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: P. senegalus

Binomial name
Poicephalus senegalus

Subspecies
P. s. senegalus
P. s. mesotypus
P. s. versteri



The Senegal Parrot (Poicephalus senegalus) is a parrot which is a resident breeder in west Africa. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit and blossoms which make up its diet. It is considered a farm pest, often feeding on crops.

The Senegal Parrot is a bird of open woodland and savannah. It is a gregarious species, continuously chattering with a range of whistling and squawking calls. Senegal Parrots live an average of approximately 25-30 years in the wild, but have been known to live for 50 years in captivity.

The Senegal Parrot is about 23 cm long and weighs about 125 to 170 gm. They are stocky and have a relatively large head and beak. Males are generally larger and heavier than female birds. Adults have a charcoal grey head, yellow eyes, green back and throat, and yellow underparts and rump. The yellow and green areas on a Senegal Parrot's front form a V-shape and resemble a yellow vest worn over green. Immature birds are duller, with a lighter grey head and grey eyes. Senegals are not sexually dimorphic, but there are some hypotheses on how to tell the genders apart; it is thought that a female's beak and head are smaller and narrower than the male's and also, the V-shape of the vest is usually longer in females, so that the green area extends down over the chest to between the legs whereas in males it ends midway down the chest.


Nesting
The Senegal Parrot nests in holes in trees, often Oil Palms, usually laying 2-3 white eggs. The eggs are about 3cm long x 2.5cm wide and are incubated for about 27 to 28 days. Newly hatched chicks have a sparse white down and they do not open their eyes until about about 2 wks from hatching. They are dependant on the hen for warmth who remains in the nest almost all of the time until about 4 wks from hatching when the chicks have enough feathers for heat insulation. During this time the male brings food for the hen and for the chicks.


Subspecies
There are three generally recognized subspecies. They do not differ in behaviour, but only in the color of the "vest". In the pet trade, the nominate subspecies is the most common though all three are raised and sold as pets.

1. Poicephalus senegalus senegalus (the nominate subspecies): The vest is yellow. Its native range includes southern Mauritania, southern Mali to Guinea and the Island of Los.
2. P. s. mesotypus: This subspecies has an orange vest. It comes from eastern and northeastern Nigeria and Cameroon into southwest Chad.
3. P. s. versteri: The vest of this subspecies is red. Its native range is the Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana east to western Nigeria.

Pet parrots
The Senegal Parrot has recently begun to be bred in captivity and is the most popular Poicephalus parrot in aviculture, with the Meyer's Parrot being the second most popular. They can live up to 40 or 50 years in a safe clean home.

Hand reared Senegal Parrots make excellent pets, and, like all Poicephalus parrots, they are curious, fun-loving animals that are much "mellower" compared with many other parrots. They are acrobatic, amusing, and generally sweet. They are able to speak in a limited fashion, often with a high squeaky voice, and can learn to mimic many sounds such as whistling, kisses, microwave beeps, and smoke alarms. Their noises usually do not get as loud as many other parrot species, and because of this they tend to make better apartment pets than some parrots. They are known for their jealousy of other family members and pets. They can develop a bond with only one human and refuse to interact with other people, even attacking them in some cases.

Although a Senegal is a small bird it does not seem to believe so, and will attack larger birds and even dogs if it feels it or its human is threatened. Owners should be cautious in multiple-pet homes. Continuing to socialize the hand reared pet bird from a young age and letting many people handle and interact with it can prevent single-person bonding and allow it to become an excellent family pet.

Wild-caught Senegal Parrots do not make good pets, because they do not become tame and will always be frightened of humans. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has made the trade of wild caught parrots illegal.

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Meyer's Parrot

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Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: P. meyeri

Binomial name
Poicephalus meyeri



The Meyer's Parrot (Poicephalus meyeri) is a small (about 21 cm), stocky African parrot. Meyer's parrots display a dull brown head, back, and tail, green abdomen, blue rump, and yellow thighs. Forshaw (1989) recognizes six subspecies of P. meyeri, which vary in home range, in size, and in markings, including extent of yellow markings on the head and wings and intensity of turquoise markings on the abdomen or rump.

Meyer's parrots are native to central and eastern sub-Saharan Africa. They have adapted to many woodland habitats, including savannah woodlands, wooded grasslands, and forests bordering watercourses or agricultural land. Though they normally travel in pairs or small flocks, wild Meyer's parrots may gather in larger numbers when food is plentiful. Their wild diet includes fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, and cultivated crops.

The name commemorates the German ornithologist Bernhard Meyer.

Conservation status
Meyer's parrots are common in the wild. The IUCN Red List classifies the Meyer's parrot as Low Risk/Least Concern. The large population, limited pressure from trade and hunting, and 6,000,000 km² home range of the species make these birds unlikely to face extinction in the near future. The trade in Meyer's parrots that have been bred in aviculture is legal. Nevertheless, Meyer's parrots are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which makes the export, import and trade in wild-caught parrots illegal.


Pet parrots
Meyer's Parrots are commonly bred for the pet trade.

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Brown-headed Parrot

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Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: P. cryptoxanthus

Binomial name
Poicephalus cryptoxanthus



The Brown-headed Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus) is a mostly green African parrot with a greyish-brown head and yellow under its wings. The adult birds have yellow eyes and juvenile birds have brown eyes.

The yellow under its wings explains its name cryptoxanthus, which means hidden yellow; from Greek xanthos or ξανθος means "yellow", and Crypto, from the Greek kryptos, is an English prefix that means "hidden" or "secret".

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Jardine's Parrot

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Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Subfamily: Psittacinae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: P. gulielmi

Binomial name
Poicephalus gulielmi

Subspecies
P. g. gulielmi
P. g. fantiensis
P. g. massaicus



Jardine's Parrot (Poicephalus gulielmi) is also known as the Red-fronted Parrot. It is an African parrot. It is predominantly green with orange on the top of its head, top of its legs, and angle of its wings.


There are three subspecies:

P. g. gulielmi, black wings
P. g. fantiensis, smaller size
P. g. massaicus, less orange

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Cape Parrot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: P. robustus

Binomial name
Poicephalus robustus



The Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) is the largest of the Poicephalus parrots.


Classification
The Cape Parrot is now classified as a distinct species separate from the closely related Poicephalus fuscicollis, which is beginning to be called the Un-cape Parrot. The Un-cape Parrot species has two subspecies, the Brown-necked Parrot (P. f. fuscicollis) and the Grey-headed Parrot (P. f. suahelicus). Prior to clarification from recent DNA studies these two parrot subspecies of the Un-cape Parrot were grouped together as being conspecific with the nominate Poicephalus robustus robustus, the former name for the Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus).


Conservation status
The Cape parrot is a endangered species. Hundreds of volunteers do an annual count in May which they have called the "Cape Parrot Big Birding Day". Although, the population is difficult to count because the birds' habitats have become fragmented and because they fly long distances for food, the population in the wild seems to have increased from about 500 specimens in May 2000 to over 1000 in May 2006. Their habitat is being eroded mostly due to logging of African Yellowwood trees, and they have suffered from the fatal Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) viral infection. The Cape Parrot is now World Conservation Union (IUCN) classified as an endangered species. The IUCN former least concern status, dating from the time when the Cape parrot was considered conspecific to the far more common Brown-necked Parrot, has been superseded. Over one hundred Cape Parrots are found in aviculture and its survival may depend on captive breeding programs. It is unusual as a pet parrot. Trade and export of wild-caught Cape Parrots has been made illegal by the international CITES agreement (appendix list II) and by South African law.

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A great link with more info the Cape Parrot:
http://bigfive.jl.co.za/cape%20parrot.htm

Un-cape Parrot

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Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: P. fuscicollis

Binomial name
Poicephalus fuscicollis

Subspecies
P.f.fuscicollis
P.f.suahelicus



The Un-cape Parrot is starting to be used as the common name for Poicephalus fuscicollis, which is an African parrot and comprises of the two supspecies the Brown-necked Parrot and the Grey-headed Parrot.

Classification
Prior to clarification from recent DNA studies the two subspecies of the Un-cape Parrot were grouped together as subspecies of the nominate Poicephalus robustus robustus, now called the Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus). The Cape Parrot and the Un-cape Parrot are now classified as separate species.

Poicephalus fuscicollis (species also known as the Un-cape Parrot)

The Poicephalus fuscicollis fuscicollis (subspecies also known as the Brown-necked Parrot)
The Poicephalus fuscicollis suahelicus (subspecies also known as the Grey-headed Parrot)

Description
The two subspecies differ in the colour of their head and neck; the Grey-headed Parrot has a grey head and the Brown-headed Parrot has a grey/brown neck. The two subspecies have dark green upper parks, light green lower parts and have orange on their shoulders. Juvenile birds have orange foreheads, which is retained on adult female parrots and is lost from the male parrots on maturity.

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