Psittacula
Thirteen extant species, twelve of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.
The genus Psittacula, and which species are contained within it, has been considered pretty solid since the 19th Century. However a genetic study published in 2019 suggests that the genus is actually paraphyletic, in part because three other dissimilar genera (Mascarinus, Psittinus, and Tanygnathus) fall well within the Psittacula species genetically. See here for the paper: https://www.researchgate.net/public...nathus_Mascarinus_with_taxonomic_implications
The paper recommends splitting Psittacula into six different genera and having Mascarinus, Psittinus, and Tanygnathus remain as they are, but it has also been suggested that all should be combined as Psittacula (which wouldn't actually make much sense).
Here I have kept all the species within Psittacula as traditionally accepted, but in the 2019 paper the genus was split as follows:
Alexandrinus for eques (echo), the extinct exsul, and krameri.
Belocercus for longicaudata.
Himalayapsitta for cyanocephala, himalayana, finschii and roseata.
Nicopsitta for calthropae and columboides.
Palaeornis for eupatria and the extinct wardi.
Psittacula for alexandri, caniceps and derbiana.
However the type species of Palaeornis (originally erected in the 1800s) is P. alexandri which makes the above generic usage impossible.
In the above treatment the species themselves largely remain the same - simply moved to different genera - although the authors do recommend splitting P. krameri and P. alexandri into two species each. Belocercus, Palaeornis, and of course Psittacula are generic names originally erected in the 1800s, while the other three are recent creations.
All but one of the species are represented in the Zoochat galleries. That the Nicobar Parakeet is not depicted is not at all unexpected - it is barely known in the wild state and isn't kept in captivity - however it is very surprising that there are several species which are represented by only a handful of photos, some of which are common species in aviculture such as the Blossom-headed Parakeet.
Extinct species
Mascarene Grey Parakeet Psittacula bensoni
Extinct. Variably placed in either Psittacula or in Lophopsittacus (the latter genus otherwise containing only the extinct Broad-billed Parrot L. mauritianus of Mauritius). This species was from the Indian Ocean islands of Reunion and Mauritius, from where it became extinct in the 1730s and 1760s respectively, and is known from historical accounts of grey parakeets, a single sketch from life, and from subfossil remains .
Newton's Parakeet Psittacula exsul
Extinct. Endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues. The species is known from several historical accounts, drawings of live birds, and there are still two existing museum specimens (representing both male and female birds). Colouration in most accounts and of the museum specimens is grey or blue, although some accounts referred to green birds as well suggesting that there were two colour morphs. The species was last recorded in 1875 (the male museum specimen).
Seychelles Parakeet Psittacula wardi
Extinct. Endemic to the Seychelles Islands near Madagascar. This species was very similar to the extant Alexandrine Parakeet P. eupatria, although smaller, and was clearly derived from that species whereas the Mascarene Islands species were derived from the Indian P. krameri. It was last recorded in the early 1880s. There are two existing museum specimens, in Liverpool and New York.
Extant species
Moustached Parakeet Psittacula alexandri
Eight subspecies: abbotti, alexandri, cala, dammermani, fasciata, kangeanensis, major, peronica.
Also known as Red-breasted Parakeet.
This species may be separable as two species: P. alexandri from Java and Bali, with the subspecies dammermani and kangeanensis from islands in the Java Sea; and P. fasciata from mainland Asia, with the other four subspecies from islands off Sumatra and the Andaman Islands. The P. alexandri group is monomorphic, whereas the P. fasciata group is sexually-dimorphic. The bill colouration is the most noticeable difference, being wholly red in both sexes in the P. alexandri group whereas in the P. fasciata group the male has a bill with a red upper mandible and black lower mandible while the female has a wholly black bill.
Found in mainland Asia from northeast India across Thailand to Indochina and southeast China, as well as on Java, Bali and some small islands or island groups off Java and Sumatra, as well as on the Andaman Islands. P. a. abbotti is from the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal (east of India). P. a. alexandri is from Java and Bali, and has been introduced to Kalimantan (on Borneo). P. a. cala is from Simeulue Island off Sumatra. P. a. dammermani is from the Karimunjawa Islands near Java. P. a. fasciata is found from northeast India across Thailand to Indochina and southeast China, and has also been introduced elsewhere in the region including to Singapore and Hong Kong. P. a. kangeanensisis from the Kangean Islands near Java. P. a. major is from the Banyak Islands off Sumatra. P. a. peronica is from Nias Island near Sumatra.
Photo by @Sicarius at Loro Parque (Canary Islands) - nominate subspecies alexandri, in which the sexes are monomorphic.
Javan moustached parakeet (Psittacula alexandri alexandri) - ZooChat
Photo by @Tomek at Weltvogelpark Walsrode (Germany) - subspecies dammermani, in which the sexes are monomorphic.
Dammerman's Moustached Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri dammermanni), October 2020 - ZooChat
Photo by @George_Renard at Shanghai Zoo (China) - subspecies fasciata, with the upper bird being male and the lower bird the female. Note, in particular, the colouration of the bills which is entirely black in the female but in which the upper mandible is red in the male.
2017-01-30 Red-breasted parakeet - ZooChat
Layard's Parakeet Psittacula calthropae
Monotypic.
Also known as Emerald-collared Parakeet.
The scientific name was originally spelled calthrapae (in 1849), which was amended in 1852 to calthropae because it was named after Layard's wife whose maiden name was Calthrop. There was a mistaken corruption to calthorpae in 1900 (due to the lady's name being misspelled as Calthorp), which was resurrected in the 1930s and took hold for most of the 20th Century until 1990. At the moment both calthrapae and calthropae are being used depending on author.
Endemic to Sri Lanka.
Photo by @Kakapo at Loro Parque (Canary Islands) - female bird (males have a red bill). This is the only photo of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Psittacula calthorpae - ZooChat
Nicobar Parakeet Psittacula caniceps
Monotypic.
Endemic to the Nicobar Islands, which lie north of Sumatra and west of Thailand.
There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Malabar Parakeet Psittacula columboides
Monotypic.
Also known as Blue-winged Parakeet.
Endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India.
Photo by @WhistlingKite24 at Adelaide Zoo (Australia) - male bird; note the red bill.
Malabar Parakeet - ZooChat
Photo by @vogelcommando at a bird show in the Netherlands - female bird; note the black bill.
Malabar parakeet - ZooChat
Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala
Monotypic.
Found in Sri Lanka and throughout India to Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
Photo by @vogelcommando at a bird show in the Netherlands - male bird.
Plum-headed parakeet - ZooChat
Photo by @DannySG at Bird Paradise (Singapore) - female bird.
Female Plum-headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) - ZooChat
Photo by @Chlidonias at Tweeters and Friends (NZ) - a pair of juvenile birds; the male is on the right but in juvenile plumage both sexes look similar to females.
Tweeters and Friends - young Plum-headed Parakeets (Psittacula cyanocephala) - ZooChat
Thirteen extant species, twelve of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.
The genus Psittacula, and which species are contained within it, has been considered pretty solid since the 19th Century. However a genetic study published in 2019 suggests that the genus is actually paraphyletic, in part because three other dissimilar genera (Mascarinus, Psittinus, and Tanygnathus) fall well within the Psittacula species genetically. See here for the paper: https://www.researchgate.net/public...nathus_Mascarinus_with_taxonomic_implications
The paper recommends splitting Psittacula into six different genera and having Mascarinus, Psittinus, and Tanygnathus remain as they are, but it has also been suggested that all should be combined as Psittacula (which wouldn't actually make much sense).
Here I have kept all the species within Psittacula as traditionally accepted, but in the 2019 paper the genus was split as follows:
Alexandrinus for eques (echo), the extinct exsul, and krameri.
Belocercus for longicaudata.
Himalayapsitta for cyanocephala, himalayana, finschii and roseata.
Nicopsitta for calthropae and columboides.
Palaeornis for eupatria and the extinct wardi.
Psittacula for alexandri, caniceps and derbiana.
However the type species of Palaeornis (originally erected in the 1800s) is P. alexandri which makes the above generic usage impossible.
In the above treatment the species themselves largely remain the same - simply moved to different genera - although the authors do recommend splitting P. krameri and P. alexandri into two species each. Belocercus, Palaeornis, and of course Psittacula are generic names originally erected in the 1800s, while the other three are recent creations.
All but one of the species are represented in the Zoochat galleries. That the Nicobar Parakeet is not depicted is not at all unexpected - it is barely known in the wild state and isn't kept in captivity - however it is very surprising that there are several species which are represented by only a handful of photos, some of which are common species in aviculture such as the Blossom-headed Parakeet.
Extinct species
Mascarene Grey Parakeet Psittacula bensoni
Extinct. Variably placed in either Psittacula or in Lophopsittacus (the latter genus otherwise containing only the extinct Broad-billed Parrot L. mauritianus of Mauritius). This species was from the Indian Ocean islands of Reunion and Mauritius, from where it became extinct in the 1730s and 1760s respectively, and is known from historical accounts of grey parakeets, a single sketch from life, and from subfossil remains .
Newton's Parakeet Psittacula exsul
Extinct. Endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues. The species is known from several historical accounts, drawings of live birds, and there are still two existing museum specimens (representing both male and female birds). Colouration in most accounts and of the museum specimens is grey or blue, although some accounts referred to green birds as well suggesting that there were two colour morphs. The species was last recorded in 1875 (the male museum specimen).
Seychelles Parakeet Psittacula wardi
Extinct. Endemic to the Seychelles Islands near Madagascar. This species was very similar to the extant Alexandrine Parakeet P. eupatria, although smaller, and was clearly derived from that species whereas the Mascarene Islands species were derived from the Indian P. krameri. It was last recorded in the early 1880s. There are two existing museum specimens, in Liverpool and New York.
Extant species
Moustached Parakeet Psittacula alexandri
Eight subspecies: abbotti, alexandri, cala, dammermani, fasciata, kangeanensis, major, peronica.
Also known as Red-breasted Parakeet.
This species may be separable as two species: P. alexandri from Java and Bali, with the subspecies dammermani and kangeanensis from islands in the Java Sea; and P. fasciata from mainland Asia, with the other four subspecies from islands off Sumatra and the Andaman Islands. The P. alexandri group is monomorphic, whereas the P. fasciata group is sexually-dimorphic. The bill colouration is the most noticeable difference, being wholly red in both sexes in the P. alexandri group whereas in the P. fasciata group the male has a bill with a red upper mandible and black lower mandible while the female has a wholly black bill.
Found in mainland Asia from northeast India across Thailand to Indochina and southeast China, as well as on Java, Bali and some small islands or island groups off Java and Sumatra, as well as on the Andaman Islands. P. a. abbotti is from the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal (east of India). P. a. alexandri is from Java and Bali, and has been introduced to Kalimantan (on Borneo). P. a. cala is from Simeulue Island off Sumatra. P. a. dammermani is from the Karimunjawa Islands near Java. P. a. fasciata is found from northeast India across Thailand to Indochina and southeast China, and has also been introduced elsewhere in the region including to Singapore and Hong Kong. P. a. kangeanensisis from the Kangean Islands near Java. P. a. major is from the Banyak Islands off Sumatra. P. a. peronica is from Nias Island near Sumatra.
Photo by @Sicarius at Loro Parque (Canary Islands) - nominate subspecies alexandri, in which the sexes are monomorphic.
Javan moustached parakeet (Psittacula alexandri alexandri) - ZooChat
Photo by @Tomek at Weltvogelpark Walsrode (Germany) - subspecies dammermani, in which the sexes are monomorphic.
Dammerman's Moustached Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri dammermanni), October 2020 - ZooChat
Photo by @George_Renard at Shanghai Zoo (China) - subspecies fasciata, with the upper bird being male and the lower bird the female. Note, in particular, the colouration of the bills which is entirely black in the female but in which the upper mandible is red in the male.
2017-01-30 Red-breasted parakeet - ZooChat
Layard's Parakeet Psittacula calthropae
Monotypic.
Also known as Emerald-collared Parakeet.
The scientific name was originally spelled calthrapae (in 1849), which was amended in 1852 to calthropae because it was named after Layard's wife whose maiden name was Calthrop. There was a mistaken corruption to calthorpae in 1900 (due to the lady's name being misspelled as Calthorp), which was resurrected in the 1930s and took hold for most of the 20th Century until 1990. At the moment both calthrapae and calthropae are being used depending on author.
Endemic to Sri Lanka.
Photo by @Kakapo at Loro Parque (Canary Islands) - female bird (males have a red bill). This is the only photo of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Psittacula calthorpae - ZooChat
Nicobar Parakeet Psittacula caniceps
Monotypic.
Endemic to the Nicobar Islands, which lie north of Sumatra and west of Thailand.
There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Malabar Parakeet Psittacula columboides
Monotypic.
Also known as Blue-winged Parakeet.
Endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India.
Photo by @WhistlingKite24 at Adelaide Zoo (Australia) - male bird; note the red bill.
Malabar Parakeet - ZooChat
Photo by @vogelcommando at a bird show in the Netherlands - female bird; note the black bill.
Malabar parakeet - ZooChat
Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala
Monotypic.
Found in Sri Lanka and throughout India to Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
Photo by @vogelcommando at a bird show in the Netherlands - male bird.
Plum-headed parakeet - ZooChat
Photo by @DannySG at Bird Paradise (Singapore) - female bird.
Female Plum-headed parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala) - ZooChat
Photo by @Chlidonias at Tweeters and Friends (NZ) - a pair of juvenile birds; the male is on the right but in juvenile plumage both sexes look similar to females.
Tweeters and Friends - young Plum-headed Parakeets (Psittacula cyanocephala) - ZooChat
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