Brown-headed Parrot (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus)

Wild Brown-headed Parrot
© Bernard Dupont [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

Did You Know?

'Cryptoxanthus' means 'concealed yellow' which in the case of the Brown-headed Parrot refers to the yellow on its underwing coverts.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus cryptoxanthus

Species Profile

Genus: Poicephalus | Species: cryptoxanthus

Size:

22cm (8.6 in)

Weight:

120-156g (4.2-5.4 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

two: P.c. Crytoxanthus, P.c. tanganyikae

Colour Adult:

P.c. cryptoxanthus: Both adults small, mainly green parrots with grey/brown head; bright yellow underwings. Blue/grey upper mandible, tan lower. Bare cere and eye ring dark brown/grey. Eye yellow.
P.c. tanganyikae: As in cryptoxanthus but paler; more green and less brown. Mantle greener and underparts brighter.

Colour Juvenile:

As in adult but duller with brown eye.

Call:

Flight call loud strident notes rising in pitch with each following note. Also high pitched staccato notes. Feeding accompanied by soft chattering.

Listen Now

Video Links:

Video 1

More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

CITES
BirdLife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
ML Media Collection Catalogue 135979, Brown-headed Parrot Poicephalus cryptoxanthus, Macaulay, Linda, Tanzania, Oct. 6 2002, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Site
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1989.
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Parrots: Their Care and Breeding, Low, 1986.

Wild Brown-headed Parrot
© Bernard Dupont [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

'Cryptoxanthus' means 'concealed yellow' which in the case of the Brown-headed Parrot refers to the yellow on its underwing coverts.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus cryptoxanthus

Species Care

Captive Status:

Uncommon

Longevity:

20-25 yrs

Housing:

Walk-in aviariy, minimum length 2.1m (7 ft), or indoor cage minimum length 1.8m (6 ft).

Diet:

Cooked beans and pulses, boiled corn; sunflower, dry, soaked or sprouted; fruit, especially apple, orange, banana, rearing food made from: hard-boiled egg, wholegrain bread, and carrot, all ground to crumbly consistency; fresh vegetables, complete pellet.

Enrichment:

Bathing; foot toys, destructible (non-toxic) toys, non-destructible (non-toxic plastic) toys, food-finder toys, preening toys, different texture and size hanging perch toys, fir, pine, elder or willow branches, push-and-pull toys (sliding up and down), vegetable tanned leather toys.

Nest Box Size:

Vertical box, 12" x 12" x 24" (30.5cm x 30.5cm x 61cm).

Clutch Size:

2 to 4

Incubation Time:

26 days

Fledging Age:

11 weeks

Hatch Weight:

5.5-6g (0.2 oz)

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

About 125-150g (4.3-5.25 oz)

Wild Brown-headed Parrot
© Bernard Dupont [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

'Cryptoxanthus' means 'concealed yellow' which in the case of the Brown-headed Parrot refers to the yellow on its underwing coverts.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus cryptoxanthus

Species Wild Status

World Population:

Unknown, stable.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

Not globally threatened. Locally common, E Transvaal, especially in Kruger National Park; decline in other areas. Becoming vulnerable to habitat destruction; trapping for wild bird trade becoming a concern in Mozambique.

Range:

P.c. cryptoxanthus: 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).

Wild Diet:

Diet includes seeds of Erythrina and Adansonia; nuts; fruits, especially Ficus figs, Pseudocadia zambesica and berries of cultivated cassava; pods of Acacia and Albizia gummifera, nectar of Aloe marlothii and Kigelia pinnata; coconut flowers and green tree shoots. Also takes millet and maize crops.

Ecology and Behaviour:

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 S Africa; May in Malawi; July and September in Mozambique; April, June and July in E Africa, and probably September–October on Zanzibar and Pemba. Nest is in unlined tree cavity.

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

'Cryptoxanthus' means 'concealed yellow' which in the case of the Brown-headed Parrot refers to the yellow on its underwing coverts.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus cryptoxanthus

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