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Brown-headed Parrot  (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus)

Also Known As: Concealed-yellow Parrot
 
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Wild Brown-headed Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus) foraging on seed pods, South Africa

Credit: © Giuliano Gerra and Silvio Sommazzi | http://www.justbirds.org/home.htm
 
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Did You Know?
Cryptoxanthus means "concealed yellow" which in the case of the Brown-headed Parrot refers to the yellow on its underwing coverts.

Status in the Wild
World Population:
Not recorded

Range:
P.c. crytoxanthus: E Kwazulu, E Swaziland and E Transvaal, NE Republic of South Africa, to S Mozambique and SE Zimbabwe.
P.c. tanganyikae: Mozambique, north from Save River and S Malawi to E Tanzania including Zanzibar and Pemba Islands and coastal Kenya.


Habitat:
Occurs in almost any woodland and riparian forest within the forest savanna and dry woodlands. Also coconut plantations. Below 1200m (3936 ft).

Threat Summary:
Common in areas where it can exploit fruit and grain crops (South Africa); rapid decline in other areas - becoming vulnerable to habitat decline; trapping for wild bird trade becoming a concern in Mozambique.

IUCN Rating:
Least Concern

Wild Diet:
Eats figs, berries, seeds, coconut palm flowers, young tree shoots, fruits, pods, unripe seeds and Aloe nectar; also millet and maize from cultivated areas.

CITES Rating:
Appendix II

Ecology:
Slow foraging, drinks around midday. Nests in tree cavity. Gregarious, recorded in flocks of up to 50 birds.

Clutch and Egg Size:
2 to 4, rounded, 27.0 x 23.0 mm (1 x 0.9 in)

Breeding Season:
April-October

Links to Other Project(s):
http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/p_mozatm.htm

More Info Sites:
http://www.nrf.ac.za/publications/researchfiles/2001/birds.stm

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/psittacidae/poicephalus_cryptoxanthus.htm