The Nicobar parakeet (''Psittacula caniceps''), also known as the Blyth's parakeet, is a

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoid ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Psittacula Members of the parrot genus ''Psittacula'' or Afro-Asian ring-necked parrots they are commonly known in aviculture originate from Africa to South-East Asia. It is a widespread group with a clear concentration of species in south Asia, but also wi ...

'',

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian s ...

of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. It is one of the largest parakeets, measuring 56 to 60 cm from the top of the head to the tip of the tail and weighing about 224 g.

Description

It is predominantly green with a yellowish-grey head and prominent black facial markings. It has a black stripe from the forehead to the eyes and a broad black band extending from the lower mandible to the sides of the neck. The iris is reddish-orange. The upper mandible is red in males and black in females, while the lower mandible is black in both sexes. Females, in addition, have a higher presence of blue hinted facial feathers. It is listed as near threatened by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN). Very little is known about its ecology. However, it is known that these species reside in the tall leafy trees on these islands and have a preference for the fruit of Pandanus palms trees. Its conservation status is near threatened as human settlement is increasing resulting in a decline of resources for their habitats and also because of the popularity of including them in the caged bird trade. Islam, M. U., Menon, S., Li, X., & Peterson, A. T. (2013). Forecasting ecological impacts of sea-level rise on coastal conservation areas in India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 4349-4358.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet

Nicobar parakeet The Nicobar parakeet (''Psittacula caniceps''), also known as the Blyth's parakeet, is a parrot in the genus ''Psittacula'', endemic to the Nicobar Islands of the Indian Ocean. It is one of the largest parakeets, measuring 56 to 60 cm from ...

Birds of the Nicobar Islands Endemic birds of India Endemic fauna of the Nicobar Islands Parrots of Asia Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of Asia

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