Niam-Niam parrot | |
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A Niam-Niam parrot in its natural habitat. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Psittacidae |
Genus: | Poicephalus |
Species: | P. crassus |
Binomial name | |
Poicephalus crassus (Sharpe, 1884) | |
The Niam-Niam parrot (Poicephalus crassus) is a parrot nearly endemic to the Central African Republic, of the genus Poicephalus . It is a mostly green parrot with a grey-brown head and orange irises. The Niam Niam is one of the world's most poorly-known parrots, with little known of its conservation status, and was one of the last unphotographed birds in Africa until 2017. [2]
Niam-Niam parrots are not known to be sexually dimorphic. This bird can be identified by a grey-brown head and breast, green belly and upper parts, green underwings, pale lower beak and orange eyes. Unlike other parrots in the genus Poicephalus, Niam-Niam parrots lack yellow under their wings. [2]
P. crassus has a large range extending across northern-central western Africa, from eastern Cameroon and southwestern Chad across the Central African Republic and extreme northern DRC into the southwestern edge of Sudan. [3] Distribution and population of this parrot are currently unknown, and the conservation status of this bird is of least concern because it is not known to be globally threatened and does not approach a small enough range for a higher conservation status. [4]
Most of the range of the Niam-Niam parrot is located in the Central African Republic and thus the species enjoys both plateau savannah and highly diverse forests.
Poicephalus parrots tend to be arboreal, resting and nesting in trees located within their territory.
Though the average lifespan of a wild Niam-Niam Parrot is currently unknown, related parrots in Poicephalus, such as the Senegal parrot and Meyer's parrot, live on average for 20–30 years in the wild and up to 50 years or more in captivity.
Poicephalus parrots feed on a wide range of food. Seeds, fruit, leaves of a variety of trees and shrubs, nectar, insects, maize, and millet have all been observed to be part of their diet. Farmers may consider these parrots as pests for destruction of orchards and crops.
The purple heron is a wide-ranging heron species. It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Palearctic. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whereas the African and tropical-Asian populations are primarily sedentary, except for occasional dispersive movements. It is similar in appearance to the more common grey heron but is slightly smaller, more slender and has darker plumage. It is also a more evasive bird, favouring densely vegetated habitats near water, particularly reed beds. It hunts for a range of prey including fish, rodents, frogs and insects, either stalking them or standing waiting in ambush.
The Caspian tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek hudros, "water", and Latin progne, "swallow". The specific caspia is from Latin and, like the English name, refers to the Caspian Sea.
The Senegal parrot is a parrot which is a resident breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which make up its diet. It is considered a farm pest in Africa, often feeding on maize or millet. It is popular in aviculture.
The genus Poicephalus belongs to the subfamily Psittacinae of the true parrots (Psittacidae) and comprises ten species of parrots native to various regions of the Afrotropical realm, which encompasses Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Senegal in the west, Ethiopia in the east, and to South Africa in the south. Like lovebirds (Agapornis) and vasa parrots (Coracopsis), the latter being endemic to Madagascar, the Poicephalus parrots are typical specimens of Afrotropical zoogeography. Several of the species exist in slightly different forms, or subspecies.
Rüppell's parrot or Rueppell's parrot, is a bird that is endemic to southwestern Africa from central Namibia to southwest Angola. It lives in savanna where there are trees or in dry woodland. It is more common near streams or rivers. The name commemorates the German naturalist and explorer Eduard Rüppell.
The yellow-faced parrot, formerly also known as the yellow-faced amazon, is the only species of the genus Alipiopsitta. It is a Neotropical parrot, and was classified in the genus Amazona for many years. It is a predominantly green and yellow-plumaged bird with a yellow head. It is a semi-nomadic species found in the cerrado region of Brazil and adjacent Bolivia. As the yellow-faced parrot has disappeared from parts of its former range due to habitat destruction and generally occurs in low densities, it was considered vulnerable by the IUCN, but it remains locally fairly common, occurs in several protected areas and can survive in fragmented habitats, leading to its downlisting to near-threatened.
Meyer's parrot, also known as the brown parrot, is a species of parrot native to Africa. A Meyer's parrot has grey feathers, turquoise belly, blue rump, and bright yellow markings on the carpal joint of the wings. Most subspecies have some yellow on the top of the head as well. Forshaw (1989) recognizes six subspecies of P. meyeri which vary in home range, size and in markings, including the extent of yellow markings to the head and wings, and the intensity of turquoise markings on the belly and rump.
The red-fronted parrot, also known as Jardine's parrot, is a medium-sized mainly green parrot distributed across wide areas of Africa. It has three subspecies. The extent and shade of the red or orange plumage on its head, thighs, and bend of wings vary depending on the subspecies.
The brown-headed parrot is a south-eastern African parrot.
The Cape parrot or Levaillant's parrot is a large, temperate forest dwelling parrot of the genus Poicephalus endemic to South Africa. It was formerly grouped as a subspecies along with the savanna-dwelling brown-necked parrot and grey-headed parrot, but is now considered a distinct species.
The red-bellied parrot is a small African parrot about 23 cm (9 in) long of the genus Poicephalus. The genus Poicephalus has the greatest quantity of species and is widely spread in Africa. It is a mostly greenish and grey parrot. Males have a bright orange belly and females have a greenish belly.
The yellow-fronted parrot is a parrot endemic to the Ethiopian Highlands. It is a mostly green with a yellow head. Relatively little is known about this bird.
The brown-necked parrot, sometimes known in aviculture as the uncape parrot, is a large Poicephalus parrot species endemic to Africa.
The black-collared lovebird also known as Swindern's lovebird is a small, 13.5cm (5in) long, African parrot in the genus Agapornis and belongs to the Agapornithinae family. The black-collared lovebird is commonly found in areas of Africa such as Cameroon; Central African Republic; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Ghana; Liberia, and Uganda. They are most commonly found in forests with large trees and canopies where there is tropical and moist land. It is a mostly green parrot with black band on the back of its neck, and a dark greyish-black bill. Both sexes are similar. It is rarely kept in captivity because of its dietary requirement for a native fig.
The buff-spotted flufftail is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae. It is found in forested areas of Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The little spotted woodpecker or green-backed woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is native to large parts of tropical central Africa. It has an extensive range and is an uncommon species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Bates's paradise flycatcher is a passerine bird belonging to the monarch-flycatcher family, Monarchidae. The sexes are similar in appearance with the upper parts being rufous and the head and underparts being bluish-grey. It is native to central Africa where it is found in the understorey of forests.
Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines, are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genera, found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The four families are the Psittaculidae, Psittacidae, Cacatuoidea (cockatoos), and Strigopidae. One-third of all parrot species are threatened by extinction, with a higher aggregate extinction risk than any other comparable bird group. Parrots have a generally pantropical distribution with several species inhabiting temperate regions as well. The greatest diversity of parrots is in South America and Australasia.
The grey parrot, also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an African parrot in the family Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.
The diademed amazon is a parrot in the family Psittacidae formerly considered conspecific with the red-lored amazon. Amazona diadema is restricted to the state of Amazonas in north-western Brazil.