Antipodes parakeet

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Antipodes parakeet
Antipodes Island Parakeet.jpg
A parakeet at Ringdove Bay on Antipodes Island.
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittaculidae
Genus: Cyanoramphus
Species:
C. unicolor
Binomial name
Cyanoramphus unicolor
(Lear, 1831)

The Antipodes parakeet or Antipodes Island parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor) is a parrot in the family Psittaculidae that is endemic to the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand. It is one of two parrot species found on the islands, and one of only five ground-dwelling parrots in the world. They are long-living birds that may live up to 10 years of age, but the introduction of mice that compete with them for food was a threat to their survival on the Antipodes Islands until the mice were successfully eradicated from the Islands in 2016 (confirmed 2018). [3] Unusually for parrots, they sometimes prey upon other birds, a trait shared by another New Zealand parrot, the kea.

Contents

Taxonomy

The Antipodes parakeet was depicted in 1831 by the English artist Edward Lear in his Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots . Lear used the common name "Uniform parakeet" and coined the binomial name Platycercus unicolor. [4] The species is now placed in the genus Cyanoramphus that was introduced in 1854 by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. [5] [6]

Its closest relative is Reischek's parakeet, which also lives on the Antipodes Islands. Other relatives include the Norfolk parakeet, Society parakeet and Chatham parakeet.

Description

It is the largest species in the genus Cyanoramphus at 30 cm (12 in) long. [7] and makes a penetrating kok-kok-kok-kok noise.

Illustration of Antipodes Parakeet by Edward Lear (1812-1888). Cyanoramphus unicolor -Platycercus unicolor Uniform Parrakeet -by Edward Lear 1812-1888.jpg
Illustration of Antipodes Parakeet by Edward Lear (1812–1888).

Distribution and habitat

The Antipodes parakeet is endemic to the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand. They are common on the main Antipodes Island, but are less common on smaller islands in the group such as Bollons Island. They live in very small numbers on Leeward Island, where they only live in a 0.1 square kilometres (0.039 sq mi) region of the island. The Antipodes parakeet also live on the 0.1 square kilometres (0.039 sq mi) Archway Island as well.

Behaviour and ecology

These parakeets eat leaves, buds, grass, and tussock stalks, as well as sometimes feeding on seeds and flowers, and will scavenge dead seabirds. The Antipodes parakeet also preys on grey-backed storm petrels, entering burrows to kill incubating adults, even digging at the entrance if it is too small. [8]

Antipodes parakeets spend much of their time on the ground and in very small groups, in pairs or solitary.

They are quite inquisitive, territorial, probing and mischievous. [9]

Their nest is in a tunnel 2 metres beneath the fibrous peat away from the wind. [10]

Status

The population is stable but conservation status is Vulnerable. The population is 2,000-3,000. [1] Originally entirely restricted to the islands that bear their name there is now a small captive population, founded with less than 20 individuals, on the mainland.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platycercinae</span> Subfamily of birds

Platycercinae is a subfamily of birds belonging to the family Psittaculidae that inhabit Oceania. It consists of two tribes, the ground parrots and allies (Pezoporini) and the many species of broad-tailed parrot (Platycercini).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad-tailed parrot</span> Tribe of birds

A broad-tailed parrot is any of about 35–40 species belonging to the tribe Platycercini. The members of the tribe are small to medium in size, and all are native to Australasia, Australia in particular, but also New Zealand, New Caledonia, and nearby islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kākāriki</span> Common name for three species of parakeets

The three species of kākāriki, or New Zealand parakeets, are the most common species of parakeets in the genus Cyanoramphus, family Psittaculidae. The birds' Māori name, which is the most commonly used, means "small parrot". The etymology is: from kākā, parrot + riki, small. The word is also used to refer to the colour green because of the birds' predominantly green plumage. The patches of red on the birds' rumps are, according to legend, the blood of the demigod Tāwhaki.

<i>Cyanoramphus</i> Genus of birds

Cyanoramphus is a genus of parakeets native to New Zealand and islands of the southern Pacific Ocean. The New Zealand species are often called kākāriki. They are small to medium-sized parakeets with long tails and predominantly green plumage. Most species are forest dwellers, although several of the subantarctic species live in open grassland. The genus formerly had a widely disjunct distribution: while most of the genus ranged from New Caledonia to Macquarie Island, two species were found in the Society Islands, 4,100 km (2,500 mi) away from the rest. Although the islands between these two areas have yielded many bird fossils, undescribed extinct Cyanoramphus have not yet been found on any of them.

<i>Anodorhynchus</i> Genus of birds

Anodorhynchus is a genus of large blue macaws from open and semi-open habitats in central and eastern South America. It includes two extant species, the hyacinth macaw and Lear's macaw also known as the indigo macaw, and one probably extinct species, the glaucous macaw. At about 100 centimetres (39 in) in length the hyacinth macaw is the longest parrot in the world. Glaucous and Lear's macaws are exclusively cliff nesters; hyacinth macaws are mostly tree nesters. The three species mainly feed on the nuts from a few species of palms.

<i>Cyanoramphus malherbi</i> Species of New Zealand bird

Malherbe's parakeet is a small parrot endemic to New Zealand, where it is known as the orange-fronted parakeet or orange-fronted kākāriki. In the rest of the world it is called Malherbe's parakeet, as when it was recognised as a species, the name "orange-fronted parakeet" was already used for Eupsittula canicularis, a Central American species. Restricted to a few valleys in the South Island and four offshore islands, its population declined to around 200 in the 1990s, and it is considered critically endangered by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra</span> Ecoregion

The Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion, within the tundra biome, includes five remote island groups in the Pacific Ocean south of New Zealand: the Bounty Islands, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands and Campbell Island groups of New Zealand, and Macquarie Island of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bollons Island</span> Island in Antipodes Islands group

Bollons Island is a small island in New Zealand's subantarctic Antipodes Islands group. It is the second largest island in the group behind Antipodes Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-crowned parakeet</span> Species of bird

The yellow-crowned parakeet also known as the yellow-fronted parakeet is a species of parakeet endemic to the islands of New Zealand. The species is found across the main three islands of New Zealand, North Island, South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura, as well as on the subantarctic Auckland Islands. It has declined due to predation from introduced species such as stoats, although unlike the red-crowned parakeet, it has not been extirpated from the mainland of New Zealand. Its Māori name is kākāriki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-crowned parakeet</span> Species of bird

The red-crowned parakeet, also known as red-fronted parakeet and by its Māori name of kākāriki, is a small parrot from New Zealand. It is characterised by its bright green plumage and the red pattern on its head. This versatile bird can feed on a variety food items and can be found in many habitat types. It used to be classified as near threatened as invasive predators had pushed it out of its historical range but it is now at least concern. This species used to occupy the entire island, but is now confined to only a few areas on the mainland and some offshore islands.

<i>Pyrrhura</i> Genus of birds

Pyrrhura is a genus of parrots in the Arini tribe. They occur in tropical and subtropical South America and southern Central America. Most are restricted to humid forest and adjacent habitats, but one species, the blaze-winged parakeet, prefers deciduous or gallery woodland, and another, the Pfrimer's parakeet, is restricted to dry regions. Some species are highly endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatham Islands parakeet</span> Species of bird

The Chatham Islands parakeet, also known as Forbes' parakeet, is a rare parakeet endemic to the Chatham Islands group, New Zealand. This parakeet is one of New Zealand's rarest birds and is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as a result of a range of threats to the species survival, including habitat loss, predation, and hybridization. A number of conservation methods have been employed to assist the recovery of this species, and currently the population trend is considered stable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk parakeet</span> Species of bird

The Norfolk parakeet, also called Tasman parakeet, Norfolk Island green parrot or Norfolk Island red-crowned parakeet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varied lorikeet</span> Species of bird

The varied lorikeet, is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that is endemic to the northern coastal regions of Australia. It is the only species in the genus Psitteuteles.

The Macquarie parakeet, also known as the Macquarie Island parakeet, is an extinct subspecies of the red-crowned parakeet from the subantarctic Macquarie Island, an outlying part of Tasmania, Australia, in the Southern Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reischek's parakeet</span> Species of bird

Reischek's parakeet is a small green parrot confined to 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi) Antipodes Island, one of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, which it shares with a congener, the larger Antipodes parakeet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kermadec red-crowned parakeet</span> Subspecies of bird

The Kermadec red-crowned parakeet, also known as the Kermadec red-fronted parakeet or Kermadec parakeet, is a parrot endemic to New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It is a subspecies of the red-fronted parakeet, and sometimes considered a full species. It is also the first documented example of a parrot recolonising an island after the removal of invasive predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parrots of New Zealand</span>

New Zealand is geographically isolated, and originally lacked any mammalian predators, hence parrots evolved to fill habitats from the ground dwelling kākāpō to the alpine dwelling kea as well as a variety of forest species. The arrival of Māori, then European settlers with their attendant animals, habitat destruction and even deliberate targeting, has resulted in their numbers plummeting. Today one species is on the brink of extinction and three other species range from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered, all impacted by invasive species. Further parrot species were not introduced by acclimatisation societies, but occasional releases, both deliberate and accidental, have resulted in self-sustaining populations of some Australian species. New Zealand was identified among the highest priority countries for parrot conservation in the world, due to its parrot diversity, endemism, threats, and having more threatened parrot species than expected.

<i>Eupsittula</i> Genus of birds

Eupsittula is a genus of South and Middle American parakeets in the tribe Arini. Until 2013, all the species were believed to belong to the genus Aratinga. Some of the Eupsittula species are kept in aviculture or as companion parrots, where they are commonly known as conures.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International. (2022). "Cyanoramphus unicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T22685162A213655486. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T22685162A213655486.en . Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. S. Horn; T. Greene; G. Elliott. "Eradication of mice from Antipodes Island, New Zealand" (PDF). NZ Department of Conservation.
  4. Lear, Edward (1831). Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots. London: Published by the author. Plate 25.
  5. Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1854). "Tableau des perroquets". Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée. 2nd series. 6: 145–158 [153].
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  7. Forshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide . Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. Plate 59. ISBN   0-691-09251-6.
  8. Greene, Terry C. (1999). "Aspects of the ecology of Antipodes Parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor) and Reischek's Parakeet (C. novaezelandiae hochstetteri) on Antipodes Island, October - November 1995" (PDF). Notornis. 46: 301–310.
  9. "Captive Management Plan Antipodes Island Parakeet" (PDF). Department of Conservation . 1995.
  10. "New Zealand ecology - Antipodes Island parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor)". TerraNature.