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Description:
The extinct parakeet of paradise (Psephotus pulcherrimus) was a small parrot (27-30 cm long) and rather distinctive, with scapulars red and long tail.
The male had one forecrown of bright red and a crown black; eye rings yellowish; ear-coverts and throat emerald green. The nape black merged with the dark brown on the neck and then into paler, earthy brown the mantle and back. The scapulars were bright red; the rump was turquoise; and tail top green-bronze and blue, merging into bluish-black. The under body comprised an chest and upper abdomen emerald green, merging into turquoise on the sides of neck and in the part inferior of the abdomen; the belly, the vent and flanks were bright red; and the under tail was bluish white. The upperwing was earthy brown, concolorous with the mantle and back; and the underwing was deep blue.
The female was less colorful, differing from the male by forecrown and face yellowish; a crown duller blackish-brown; throat and chest with brownish-orange suffusion; belly pale blue and coverts the lower abdomen, vent and under tail red on the fringes of some feathers. In both sexes bill was grayish; the eyes brown; and legs and feet were grayish brown.
The juveniles they looked like females.
taxonomy:
This taxon is considered a subspecies of Psephotellus [pulcherrimus or dissimilis] (sensu lato) by some authors
Habitat:
The parakeet of paradise lived mainly in rolling river valleys were lightly wooded with eucalyptus forests, or open forests often dominated by ironbarks and bloodwoods, with an understory of annual and perennial native grasses; these areas were often dotted with termite mounds.
Reproduction:
the details of the distribution areas or territories unknown parakeet of paradise, although it is believed that adults have remained in the same places nesting for many years.
Little is known of sexual maturity or life expectancy of this species. The reproduction It was recorded between September and March. Sunsets are placed three to five white eggs, with a pink tinge, in a nest chamber at the end of a tunnel dug into termite mounds.
Food:
There is little information on diet parakeet of paradise, however it was known to feed on the seeds of native grasses.
Distribution:
The parakeet of paradise He was present in eastern Australia, only he reported with certainty from southeast Queensland. Is likely to records in upstate been wrong. The species is also often said to have been found in New South Wales, but there has been no confirmed records (Olsen 2007). Era locally common although generally scarce in the nineteenth century (Forshaw and Cooper 1989), but then it declined rapidly and was thought to have become extinct as a result of the drought of 1902 until it was rediscovered in 1918 (Chisholm 1922). The last observation was confirmed in 1928. Some credible reports continued into the years 30 and 40 (Olsen 2007), but although Kiernan (1993) He claims to have seen five birds 1990, the species is now considered extinct (Necklace et to the. 1994).
Conservation:
• Current category of the Red List of the UICN: Extinct.
Its extinction was probably marked by reduced food supply due to drought and overgrazing (Olsen 2007). Also contributed frequency altered fires and propagation tunas (Joseph 1988), the disease, the trampeo and harvest of eggs (Garnett 1992), the predation of nests by introduced and native species (Chisholm 1922) and removal of eucalyptus by ringbarking (Kiernan 1993). After a significant reduction in the size of the population of the species, It seems that endogamia inhibited fertility of birds (Gerrard 2008).
Alternative names:
–
Anthill Parrot, Beautiful Parakeet, Beautiful Parrot, Elegant Parrot, Grass Parrot, Ground Parrot, Ground Rosella, paradise parakeet, Paradise Parrot, Red-shouldered Parakeet, Red-shouldered Parrot, Red-winged Parrot, Scarlet-shouldered Parakeet, Scarlet-shouldered Parrot, Soldier Grass-Parrot, Soldier Parrot (English).
– Perruche de paradis (French).
– Paradiessittich (German).
– Periquito-do-paraíso (Portuguese).
– Perico del Paraíso (español).
scientific classification:
– Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Psittaculidae
– Gender: Psephotellus
– Scientific name: Psephotellus pulcherrimus
– Subpoena: (Gould, 1845)
– Protonimo: platycercus beautiful
Sources:
• Avibase
• Parrots of the World – Forshaw Joseph M
• Parrots A Guide to the Parrots of the World – Tony Juniper & Mike Parr
• Birdlife
Photos:
(1) – Preserved specimen by Naturalis [CC BY-SA 3.0]
(2) – Parrots in captivity /. London :George Bell and Sons in Biodiversity Heritage Library by Flickr
