Previously, the Cape Parrot was considered the same species as Brown-necked P. fuscicollis suahelicus and Grey-headed P. f. fuscicollis parrots and it was only declared a unique species as recently as 2017. With fewer than 1800 individuals left in the wild across three genetically distinct sub-populations, this charismatic bird has been declared Critically Endangered.
At about 30 centimetres high, the Cape Parrot is one of the largest of the Poicephalus species. This scientific name alludes to the head, and in general the heads of the various species in the genus are a different colour from the rest of the body. The olive-brown plumage on the head of the Cape Parrot identifies it, while the rest of its body is dark to paler green, a coloration that makes it fairly well camouflaged against the backdrop of its forest habitat. However, its loud, harsh call reveals its presence and you’re likely to hear it before you see it.
When they are seen, adult Cape Parrots can be identified by the red/orange coloration of their shoulders and ankles and, generally on the adult females, by the orange on their forehead. Juvenile Cape Parrots lack the red/orange on their shoulders and ankles, but display the orange patch on their forehead. As juveniles mature, the males start to lose the orange patch at about eight to 10 months old. Cape Parrots are most active early in the morning, shortly after dawn, and again in the evening before sunset, when they depart and return to their overnight roosting sites.
Bu hikaye African Birdlife dergisinin January/February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye African Birdlife dergisinin January/February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
