Senegal Parrot

Identificazione

Senegal parrots are about 23 centimetres (9.1 inches) long, weigh about 120 to 170 grams (4.2 to 6.0 ounces). They have a relatively large head and beak for their overall size, and feathers form a short broad tail. Adults have a charcoal grey head, grey beak, bright yellow irises, green back and throat, and yellow underparts and rump. The yellow and green areas on a Senegal parrot's front form a V-shape resembling a yellow vest worn over green. Young Juveniles have dark grey, almost black, irises, which change to light grey.<p>Senegal parrots are not sexually dimorphic, but there are some hypotheses which sometimes might help to determine the gender of adult birds:<p>Senegal parrots are birds of open woodland and savanna. They flock most commonly in countries in West Africa. 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, and have been known to live for 50 years in captivity.<p>Research by Texas State University conducted in southeastern Senegal found that the parrots ate a diet of about 77% fruit, with figs (Ficus sp.), African grapes (Lannea microcarpa), and shea fruits (Vitellaria paradoxa) being the most commonly eaten. Seeds made up about 22% of the diet, and the remaining 1% consisted of flowers.

Tassonomia

In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Senegal parrot in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name La petite perruche du Sénégal and the Latin name Psittacula senegalensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the Senegal parrot. Linnaeus included a terse description, coined the binomial name Psittacus senegalus and cited Brisson's work. This species is now placed in the genus Poicephalus which was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1837.<p>There are two subspecies. <p>They do not differ in behaviour, but only in the colour of the "vest". In the pet trade, the nominate subspecies is the most common though both are raised and sold as pets.

Nome scientifico

Poicephalus senegalus

Autorità

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Ordine

Psittaciformi

Famiglia

Psittaculidae

Genere

Poicephalus

Areale e habitat

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: in diminuzione.

Tendenza della popolazione

in diminuzione