Rüppell's parrot

Rueppell's parrot
Adult female in Namibia
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittacidae
Tribe:	Psittacini
Genus:	Poicephalus
Species:	P. rueppellii
Binomial name
Poicephalus rueppellii (G. R. Gray, 1849)

Rüppell's parrot (Poicephalus rueppellii) 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.

Description[]

In captivity

Old painting, female in foreground

Rüppell's parrot is 22–25 cm (9 in) long and weighs 121–156 g. It has an overall dark brown color and its head is dark greyish. Both adult male and female birds have some yellow feathers on the leading edge of the wings, and yellow feathers covering their upper legs; in immature birds, the yellow is dull or missing. They are sexually dimorphic; adult female birds have blue feathers on the lower back and the rump, whilst male birds lose this blue feather coloration as they become mature.

Breeding[]

The Rüppell's parrot nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three or four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days and the chicks leave the nest about 68 days after hatching.^[2]

Status[]

It is a protected species, listed on CITES appendix II.

References[]

• del Hoyo, J., et al., eds. (1997). Handbook of the Birds of the World 4: 415. Lynx Edicions.
• Photograph on CITES website

External links[]

• Rüppell's parrot - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.