Lesser Vasa Parrot
Coracopsis nigra
Fairly large, black parrot that is found in and around all types of forest. Often seen in flight, sometimes in small, loose flocks. Incredibly loud calls consist mainly of musical whistles. Can be very hard to separate from Greater Vasa Parrot, but smaller and smaller-billed, with a curving edge to the skin at the back of the bill. Vocalizations are higher-pitched and more musical than those of Greater Vasa Parrot. Can easily be mistaken for a raptor in flight, but has all-black plumage unlike any raptor in range.
分类信息
In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the lesser vasa parrot in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "Black Parrot from Madagascar". His drawing was made from a live bird owned by the Duke of Richmond. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the lesser vasa parrot with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Psittacus niger and cited Edwards's work. The specific epithet niger is Latin meaning "black". The lesser vasa parrot is now placed in the genus Coracopsis that was introduced in 1832 by the German ornithologist Johann Georg Wagler.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:<p>The Seychelles black parrot (C. barklyi) and Comoros black parrot (C. sibilans) were formerly considered subspecies, but were later split as distinct species.<p>A 2011 genetic study found the Mascarene parrot from Réunion to be nested among the subspecies of the lesser vasa parrot from Madagascar and nearby islands, and therefore not related to the Psittacula parrots. It also found that the Mascarene parrot line diverged 4.6 to 9 million years ago, prior to the formation of Réunion, indicating this must have happened elsewhere. The cladogram accompanying the study is shown below:<p>Another group of scientists later acknowledged the finding, but pointed out that the sample might have been damaged, and that further testing was needed before the issue could be fully resolved. They also noted that if Mascarinus was confirmed to be embedded within the genus Coracopsis, the latter would become a junior synonym, since the former name is older. Hume has expressed surprise by these findings, due to the anatomical similarities between the Mascarene parrot and other parrots from the islands that are believed to be psittaculines. However, a later study found that the placement of Mascarinus within Coracopsis was likely a result of cross-contamination of genetic material from the lesser vasa parrot during the study, debunking this placement, and supporting them as being two distinct, unrelated genera within different subfamilies.
- 学名
- Coracopsis nigra
- 命名信息
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- 目
- Psittaciformes
- 科
- Psittaculidae
- 属
- Coracopsis
分布与栖息地
- 迁徙
- Resident species
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Black-headed Myzomela
Myzomela melanocephala
A distinctive myzomela with a relatively long downcurved bill and an entirely black face and throat forming a “mask.” Body yellowish and wings darker olive-green. Common in all habitats. Similar to Olive-backed Sunbird, but has a dark face and a pale throat, and is much duller yellow below. Voice is a sweet, high-pitched “chip-chip.”
Little Nightjar
Setopagis parvula
Small nightjar; streaked gray, brown, and rufous above with a white throat and buff collar. Males have a white wing band near the tip and pale central tail feathers, absent in females. Resembles Spot-tailed Nightjar, which has a well-marked buffy neck and lacks the white throat and white wing patches. Found in variety of open habitats including pastures, bushy areas, and forest edges. The song is an odd, memorable, descending “drui-dro-dro-dro-dro-dro.”
White-eared Conebill
Conirostrum leucogenys
This unmistakable warblerlike bird is fairly common in forests and edges from Panama to Colombia and Venezuela. Males are pale pearly-gray below and richer blue-gray above with a dark cap, a white cheek, and chestnut undertail coverts. Females are grayish above and pale grayish-buff below. Note the sharply pointed bill. Almost always found in pairs, usually in the canopy of forests and edges in lowlands, up to around 800 m. Sometimes joins mixed-species flocks.
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