Red-capped parrot
The red-capped parrot is a species of broad-tailed parrot native to southwest Western Australia. It has a bright crimson crown, green-yellow cheeks, and a distinctive long bill. The population is growing and the species is considered of least-concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
About Red-capped parrot in brief
The red-capped parrot is a species of broad-tailed parrot native to southwest Western Australia. It has a bright crimson crown, green-yellow cheeks, and a distinctive long bill. The wings, back, and long tail are dark green, and the underparts are purple-blue. The adult female is very similar though sometimes slightly duller than the male; her key distinguishing feature is a white stripe on the wing under-surface. It is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, particularly of eucalypts, as well as flowers and berries. The population is growing and the species is considered of least-concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICN) It is difficult to breed in captivity and has a reputation of being anxious. No subspecies are recognised currently. It was first described in 1820 by German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl as Psittacus spurius, from an immature specimen collected in Albany, Western Australia on the Baudin expedition. The species name pileatus was generally used until German naturalists Otto Finsch followed Kuhl in using the specific name spurius in 1868. The generic name is an amalgam of the Latin purpureus and the Ancient Greek kephalé \”head\”. In this generic combination, the current name is translated as “bastard red-head” It has long been classified in its own genus owing to its distinctive elongated beak, though genetic analysis shows that it lies within the lineage of the Psephotellus parrots and that its closest relative is the mulga parrot.
There is no known geographical variation; five birds from Esperance had smaller bills and tarsi than individuals from elsewhere in its range, but the sample was too small to draw any conclusions. In 1955, British biologist Arthur Cain proposed that the rosella lineage had vanished after being outcompeted by the crimson parrot. The combined lineage itself diverging from the hooded parrot gave rise to the golden parrot and golden-shouldered parrot, which he said should be given the name “Redcapped Parrot” A 2011 genetic study found that the redcappedParrot was closely related to the mulGA parrot, the two lineages having diverged in the Miocene and Miopterocene. The red- capped parrots are the sole survivor of a lineage with no close living relatives, Australian ornithologist Dominic Serventy said. The bird is shot as a pest and has been affected by land clearing, but it is growing in numbers and is considered to be of least concern by the ICN. It can be found in woodland and open savanna country, and nesting takes place in tree hollows, generally of older large trees. There are no known subspecies, but a subspecies carteri was tentatively described in 1915 on the basis of darker upperparts and greener cheeks; it was not considered distinct by later authors.
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This page is based on the article Red-capped parrot published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
