Poicephalus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Poicephalus parrots

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittacidae
Subfamily:	Psittacinae
Tribe:	Psittacini
Genus:	Poicephalus Swainson, 1837

The ranges of individual species are various regions within the Afrotropic ecozone (shown in green).

The genus Poicephalus comprises nine species of parrots native to various regions of the Afrotropic ecozone, including Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Senegal in the west, Ethiopia in the east, and to Cape Horn in the south. Several of the species exist in slightly different forms (or subspecies).

They are stocky birds with short broad tails and relatively large heads and beaks for their size. (Poicephalus, from the Greek, literally means made of head). Several of the species show marked sexual dimorphism, where the adult male and female birds can be easily identified from variations in feather colouration, but in other species there is no sexual dimorphism or the differences are not so marked. They feed primarily on seeds, fruits, nuts, and leafy matter.

The Senegal Parrot, Meyer's Parrot, Jardine's Parrot and the Brown-headed Parrot are popular as pets because they are easier to keep in apartments, being generally quieter and smaller, than most other companion parrots. Some Poicephalus parrot species are rare and not known or rare in captivity.

1 Classification
2 Species photographs
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Classification

Senegal Parrot, P. senegalus
Meyer's Parrot, P. meyeri
Red-bellied Parrot, P. rufiventris
Brown-headed Parrot, P. cryptoxanthus
Jardine's Parrot, P. gulielmi
Cape Parrot, P. robustus (The two subspecies, commonly called the Brown-necked Parrot and the Grey-headed Parrot, have been classified as a separate species, the Un-cape Parrot (P. fuscicollis), but this is not widely accepted.)
Rüppell's Parrot, P. rueppellii
Yellow-fronted Parrot, P. flavifrons
Niam-niam Parrot, P. crassus