Malherbe's parakeet
| Malherbe's parakeet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| At Isaac Peacock Springs wildlife refuge, New Zealand | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Superfamily: | Psittacoidea |
| Family: | Psittaculidae |
| Subfamily: | Platycercinae |
| Tribe: | Platycercini |
| Genus: | Cyanoramphus |
| Species: | C. malherbi |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyanoramphus malherbi Souancé, 1857 | |
The Malherbe's parakeet or orange-fronted parakeet (Cyanoramphus malherbi) is a small parrot endemic to New Zealand. In New Zealand it is commonly known as the orange-fronted parakeet, a name it shares with a species from Central America, while in the rest of the world it's known as Malherbe's parakeet. The species is critically endangered with 50–249 individuals left in the wild.[2]
For many years the Malherbe's parakeet was considered a subspecies or as colour variant [3] of the commoner yellow-crowned parakeet. More recent research has shown that it is a valid species.[4] They live in Nothofagus forest in the South Island of New Zealand, although they may have had a wider range of habitats prior to the arrival of humans. They have been threatened by the felling of old growth forest, which provided the older trees which they nested in, by overgrazing of the low bushes which they fed in, and by predation by introduced rats, stoats and cats.
The species name honours the French ornithologist Alfred Malherbe.[5]
To aid in the bird's conservation, breeding populations have been translocated to predator-free islands around New Zealand, these include Chalky Island, Blumine Island, Maud Island and Tuhua Island. 130 birds have been sent to Tuhua Island since 2009.[6]
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2013). "Cyanoramphus malherbi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ BirdLife International (2007) Species factsheet: Cyanoramphus malherbi. Downloaded from www.birdlife.org on 18/6/2007
- ↑ Arndt, T.: Lexicon of Parrots
- ↑ Boon, W.M.; Kearvell, J.; Daugherty, C. H.; Chambers, G. K. (2001): Molecular systematics and conservation of kakariki (Cyanoramphus spp.). Science for Conservation 176 PDF fulltext
- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael (2003). Whose Bird? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds. London: Christopher Helm. p. 219.
- ↑ "Helping hand for endangered parakeets". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
External links
Save NZ's orange-fronted parakeet on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OFPteam