Newsletter / Blog
2012-02-12 Aves bird of the week – Cape Parrot – Poicephalus robustus.
The Cape Parrot
- Poicephalus robustus – is endemic
to South Africa.
These parrots have a very restricted distributional range. It occurs in
Afromontane forests at moderate altitudes in eastern South Africa from the coastal
escarpment near sea-level to the midlands at around 1000m. These forests occur
as a series of small patches around the south and east of South Africa
and they include Yellowwood trees – Podocarpus
latifolius, P. falcatus and P. henkelii – which these parrots use for
feeding and breeding.
Description
Adults have dull
olive/golden head and neck, scalloped with darker brown. The female has an orange/red
band across the crown. The wings and back are dark green. They have a green
rump and underparts, tinged with blue. Thighs are orange/red. The tail is black/brown,
the eye dark brown with a grey eye ring. They have a horn-coloured bill.
Call
Loud, very vocal,
including five distinct calls described as tzu-weee, zu-wee, zz-keek and a
nasal zeek. Piercing series of screeches emitted in flight.
Food
The diet, of
kernels from yellowwoods change seasonally as the parrots follow the fruiting
pattern of the trees. These parrots are dependent on yellowwoods, and only use
fruits of other trees when there are no yellowwood kernels.
Breeding
A solitary nester,
in a cavity of yellowwood trees. Only one nest has been found that wasn't in a
yellowwood. Breeding season year-round with a peak between August to February.
Eggs are rounded, glossy white and between 2 to 5 are laid. The female
incubates for 28 to 30 days. Both parents feed the young.
Conservation Status – Critically Endangered
Cape Parrots are
"Critically Endangered" by habitat loss [Yellowwood logging], disease
the fatal Psittacine beak and feather disease [PBFD], persecution [Shooting by
Pecan nut Farmers] and illegal capture for the lucrative wild-caught bird
trade. There are now less than 390 of these gentle, shy, beautiful parrots in
the wild. The Cape Parrot Project is actively working to
mitigate the extinction threats to this critically endangered South African
endemic parrot.
Hundreds of
volunteers participate on the first weekend each May in the "Cape Parrot
Big Birding Day" which is an annual count of the population throughout its
distribution.
Birdwatching
See these
beautiful parrots on the Aves Eastern
Cape Birding Tour/Safari/Adventure or ask Aves Birding Tours to create a custom tour for you. |