Superb Parrot
Encyclopedia
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
native to southeastern Australia. It is a monomorphic species and one of three species in the genus Polytelis
Polytelis
The genus Polytelis of the family Psittacidae consists of three species long-tailed parrot endemic to Australia...
.
The Superb Parrot is mostly bright green with darker flight feathers and is about 40 cm (16 in) long with a long pointed tail. Adult males have continuous yellow foreheads, and throats, with a red horizontal band across the border of the throat.
Taxonomy
First described by French naturalist DesmarestAnselme Gaëtan Desmarest
Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest was a French zoologist and author. He was the son of Nicolas Desmarest and father of Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest...
in 1826, the Superb Parrot, a monomorphic species, is one of three species in the genus Polytelis
Polytelis
The genus Polytelis of the family Psittacidae consists of three species long-tailed parrot endemic to Australia...
of long-tailed parrots. Common names include Superb Parrot and, in avicultural circles, Barraband's Parrot or Parakeet, or Green Leek (although the last is applied to several unrelated species). Its closest relative is the Regent Parrot
Regent Parrot
The Regent Parrot is a bird of the parrot family . It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as to a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia...
.
Description
The Superb Parrot is a medium-sized bright green parrotParrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
, approximately 40 cm (16 in) long, with long tail feathers, yellow-green below and yellow-orange irises. The adult male has a scarlet band upper chest, bright yellow face and throat. The adult female has a pale blue-green face, greyish-green throat, a variable tinged russet-pink fore-throat, and orange thighs. Juveniles have brown irises and otherwise resemble females. The male has adult coloured plumage at the age of about one year.
Distribution and habitat
An AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
, the Superb Parrot is restricted to the dry (sclerophyll) woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. There is estimated to be 6500 adult individuals in the wild.
Behaviour
It nests on hollow limb or a hole in a tree.During breeding season, small flocks of males often forage for food alone. Pairs may nest in a loose colonial system of as many as 6 pairs, so hens are in the neighborhood at this time. The diet consists mainly of eucalyptEucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
flowers, fruits, nectar and pollen. It consumes seeds and green heads of the Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora
Eucalyptus melliodora
Eucalyptus melliodora, commonly known as Yellow Box, is a medium sized to occasionally tall eucalypt. The bark is variable ranging from smooth with an irregular, short stocking, to covering most of the trunk, fibrous, dense or loosely held, grey, yellow or red-brown, occasionally very coarse,...
).
Conservation status
International
Due to ongoing habitat loss in Australia, small population size and limited range, the Superb Parrot is evaluated as VulnerableVulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
Australia
Superb Parrots are listed as vulnerable on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...
. Their conservation status also varies from state to state within Australia; for example, the Superb Parrot is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988). Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared.
Threatening processes
During February–June 2005, logging in the Barmah State Forest destroyed 60 per cent of the nesting colonies of the Superb Parrot (6000 tonnes of river red gums): with fewer than 150 breeding in VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
this has severely compromised their chances of survival.
In December 2008, dozens of reports were filed of Superb Parrots being hit by cars. NPWS
NPWS
NPWS may stand for:* National Parks and Wildlife Service * National Parks and Wildlife Service * National Parks and Wildlife Service...
wildlife officials speculated that the parrots had gorged on grain spilled from an uncovered truck and became unable to move, eventually being hit by automobiles.