Red-breasted Parakeet

Identificazione

The red-breasted parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) is a parrot native to Southeast Asia. It is among the more widespread species of the genus and is the species which has the most geographical variations. It is easily identified by the large red patch on its breast. An alternative name is the moustached parakeet depending on subspecies. Most of the subspecies are confined to minuscule islands or a cluster of islands in Indonesia. One subspecies occurs in the Andaman Islands, and one subspecies occurs in continental Southeast Asia and partly extending to northeastern parts of South Asia along the foothills of the Himalayas. Some of the island races may be threatened by the wild bird trade. The nominate race, which occurs in Java, is close to extinction. Feral populations of this species have now established themselves in cities like Mumbai and Singapore. Small numbers occur in other cities such as Chennai and Bangalore in India.

Tassonomia

The red-breasted parakeet was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus alexandri. The type locality is the island of Java. The red-breasted parakeet is now placed in the genus Psittacula that was introduced in 1800 by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin word psittacus for a "parrot". The specific epithet alexandri is from Alexander the Great whose soldiers introduced parakeets to Greece.<p>Eight subspecies are recognised:

Nome scientifico

Psittacula alexandri

Autorità

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Ordine

Psittaciformi

Famiglia

Psittaculidae

Genere

Psittacula

Areale e habitat

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: in diminuzione.

Tendenza della popolazione

in diminuzione