Polytelis | |
---|---|
Regent parrots, Polytelis anthopeplus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Psittaculidae |
Tribe: | Polytelini |
Genus: | Polytelis Wagler, 1832 |
Type species | |
Psittacus barrabandi [1] Swainson, 1821 | |
Species | |
Polytelis swainsonii |
The genus Polytelis (literally translates into 'magnificent') of the family Psittaculidae consists of three species long-tailed parrot endemic to Australia. Traditionally, it was included in the Australian broad-tailed parrots (tribe Platycercini), [2] but molecular studies place the genus within the Polytelini.
A 2017 molecular study placed the regent parrot as an early offshoot to the genus Asprosmictus and not as closely related to the other two species. [3]
The genus has three species. [4]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Superb parrot | Polytelis swainsonii (Desmarest, 1826) | New South Wales and Victoria. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Regent parrot | Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear, 1831) Two subspecies
| southern Australia. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Princess parrot or Princess Of Wales (POW) parakeet | Polytelis alexandrae Gould, 1863 | Australia | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
The true parrots are about 350 species of hook-billed, mostly herbivorous birds forming the two superfamilies Psittacidae, and Psittaculidae, two of the three superfamilies in the biological order Psittaciformes (parrots). True parrots are widespread, with species in Mexico, Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and eastwards across the Pacific Ocean as far as Polynesia. The true parrots include many of the familiar parrots including macaws, conures, lorikeets, eclectus, Amazon parrots, grey parrot, and budgerigar. Most true parrots are colourful and flighted, with a few notable exceptions.
A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea and the Strigopoidea, they make up the order Psittaciformes. The family has a mainly Australasian distribution, ranging from the Philippines and the eastern Indonesian islands of Wallacea to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.
Loriini is a tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittaculidae. The group consists of the lories and lorikeets. Traditionally, they were considered a separate subfamily (Loriinae) from the other subfamily (Psittacinae) based on the specialized characteristics, but recent molecular and morphological studies show that the group is positioned in the middle of various other groups. They are widely distributed throughout the Australasian region, including south-eastern Asia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Australia, and the majority have very brightly coloured plumage.
The genus Neophema is an Australian genus with six or seven species. They are small, dull green parrots differentiated by patches of other colours, and are commonly known as grass parrots. The genus has some sexual dichromatism, with males having brighter hues.
Rosellas are in a genus that consists of six species and nineteen subspecies. These colourful parrots from Australia are in the genus Platycercus. Platycercus means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe. Their diet is mainly seeds and fruit.
The regent parrot or rock pebbler is a bird found in southern Australia. It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as in a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia. Seeds make up the bulk of its diet.
Psephotellus is a genus of medium sized Australian parrots. Four species found across the country are recognised, one is presumed to have become extinct.
The genus Prioniturus, commonly known as racket-tails, contains nine parrot species found in the Philippines and Indonesia. They are easily distinguished from all other parrots by their elongated central tail feathers with the bare shaft and spatula at the end.
The Australian ringneck is a parrot native to Australia. Except for extreme tropical and highland areas, the species has adapted to all conditions. Treatments of genus Barnardius have previously recognised two species, the Port Lincoln parrot and the mallee ringneck, but due to these readily interbreeding at the contact zone they are usually regarded as a single species B. zonarius with subspecific descriptions. Currently, four subspecies are recognised, each with a distinct range.
Described by French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in 1826, the genus Calyptorhynchus has two species of cockatoos. They are all mostly black in colour, and the taxa may be differentiated partly by size and partly by small areas of red, grey, and yellow plumage, especially in the tail feathers. Studies based on the mitochondrial DNA 12S gene fragment suggested that other sexually dichromatic species, the gang-gang cockatoo and the cockatiel may be the closest living relatives of Calyptorhynchus. However, subsequent studies, including more genes confirm the morphological taxonomy with the gang-gang cockatoo most closely related to the galah, within the white cockatoo group, and with the cockatiel as a third distinct subfamily of cockatoos.
Pezoporus is a genus of parrot endemic to Australia. It contains two species: the night parrot and the ground parrot which is divided into three subspecies. The night parrot was previously separated in a distinct genus, Geopsittacus. The genus is part of the tribe Pezoporini and subfamily Platycercinae.
The neotropical parrots or New World parrots comprise about 150 species in 32 genera found throughout South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and (formerly) the southern United States. Among them are some of the most familiar and iconic parrots, including the blue and gold macaw, sun conure, and yellow-headed amazon.
The superb parrot, also known as Barraband's parrot, Barraband's parakeet, or green leek parrot, is a parrot native to south-eastern Australia. It is a dimorphic species and one of three species in the genus Polytelis.
Alisterus is a genus of medium-sized Australasian parrots, comprising the Australian king parrot, the Papuan king parrot and the Moluccan king parrot. The three species are respectively found in eastern Australia, Papua, the Moluccas and other Indonesian islands. Predominantly of red and green plumage, the long-tailed parrots are related to the genera Aprosmictus and Polytelis.
The brown lory, also called Duyvenbode's lory, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae native to northern New Guinea.
Charmosyna is a genus of parrots in the family Psittaculidae. The three currently recognized species inhabit moist forests on the island of New Guinea.
The collared lory is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to the islands of Fiji. It is the only Fijian rainforest bird to adapt to urban landscapes and can be found in urban Suva. Measuring 20 cm (7.9 in), it has bright red underparts and face with a purple crown and greenish upperparts. Males and females are similar in plumage, although the latter have a paler crown.
Trichoglossus is a genus of lorikeet in the Psittaculidae or true parrot superfamily. The genus is distributed widely through Australia, Wallacea and Melanesia, with outliers in the Philippines and Micronesia. Members of the genus are characterised by barring, sometimes prominently, on the upper breast.
Fig parrots (Cyclopsittini) are a small tribe of Australasian parrots in the family Psittaculidae, made up of seven species in two genera. Fig parrots are found on and around the island of New Guinea, within the territories of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and tropical Australia.
The parrot subfamily Psittaculinae consists of three tribes: the Polytelini with three genera, the Psittaculini or Asian psittacines, and the pygmy parrots of the Micropsittini tribe.