Jardine’s Parrot (Poicephalus gulielmi )

Jardine's Parrot
© Graham via Wikimedia Commons

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The Jardine's Parrot is the only Poicephalus species with scalloped feathering on its body.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus gulielmi

Species Profile

Genus: Poicephalus | Species: gulielmi

Size:

28cm (10.9 in)

Weight:

200-227g (7-8 oz)

Races including nominate:

three: P.g. gulielmi, P.g. fantiensis, P.g. massaicus

Colour Adult:

P.g. gulielmi: Both adults orange/red forecrown, thighs, bend of wing and carpal edge; dark green head and back with scalloping; upper mandible horn in colour tipped with black, lower mandible dark grey. Cere bare. Eye ring bare and pink/white. Eye orange/red.
P.g. fantiensis: Both adults orange forecrown; paler orange/red thighs, bend of wing, and carpal edge, sometimes orange like forecrown. Smaller in size.
P.g. massaicus: Both adults as in gulielmi but forehead only orange/red.

Colour Juvenile:

P.g. gulielmi: Red on forecrown absent; black frontal band reaching to lores, forecheeks and under eye; pale grey/green bend of wing and carpal edge; green thighs; upper mandible pink/white tipped with grey. Eye brown.

Call:

Calls high-pitched and harsh, made in flight or while perched. Are repeated in quick bursts. Also a longer, whistling note. While feeding quieter whistling sounds emitted. Flocks are loud and contantly babbling.

Listen Now

More Information:

Avibase
Handbook of the Birds of the World

Content Sources:

CITES
Lexicon of Parrots
BirdLife International
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
Parrot and Conure World
ML Media Collection Catalogue 8539, Jardine's Parrot Poicephalus gulielmi, McChesney, Marian, Rift Valley, Kenya, Feb. 23 1956, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Site
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006. 2010 edition
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.

Jardine's Parrot
© Graham via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

The Jardine's Parrot is the only Poicephalus species with scalloped feathering on its body.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus gulielmi

Species Care

Captive Status:

Somewhat common

Longevity:

Up to 30 yrs.

Housing:

Aviary or suspended enclosure, minimum length 3m (9.8 ft).

Diet:

Cooked beans and pulses, boiled corn or maize; dried, soaked or sprouted sunflower seed; fruit such as: apple, orange, pear, banana, pomegranate; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, fresh corn, green beans and peas in the pod; spray millet; complete kibble.

Enrichment:

Are avid chewers so provide bird-safe, unsprayed chew toys such as pine, willow, elder and fir wood and vegetable tanned leather items, branches; puzzle and foraging toys, ladders, swings.

Nest Box Size:

Vertical box 10" x 10" x 20" (25.4cm x 25.4cm x 51cm).

Clutch Size:

3-4

Incubation Time:

28 days

Fledging Age:

10-11 weeks

Hatch Weight:

10g (0.35 oz)

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

Not recorded.

Jardine's Parrot
© Graham via Wikimedia Commons

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

The Jardine's Parrot is the only Poicephalus species with scalloped feathering on its body.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus gulielmi

Species Wild Status

World Population:

Unknown, decreasing.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Appendix II

Threat Summary:

Population is in decline due to heavy trapping and forest destruction.

Range:

P.g. gulielmi: Congo River basin, from SE Nigeria, S Cameroon, Cabinda and N Angola east to Rwanda and SW Uganda.
P.g. fantiensis: Liberia east to S Ghana.
P.g. massaicus: Highlands of S Kenya and N Tanzania, from Mt. Elgon south to Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Habitat:

Found up to 3250m (10,660 ft) in primary montane Juniperus and Podocarpus forest (Kenya and Tanzania). Restricted to lowland rainforest in remainder of range. Also seen in coffee plantations and secondary forest in Angola and Ghana.

Wild Diet:

Feeds on seeds, fruits, flowers and insects, specifically, Spathodea seeds, oil palm Elaeis guineensis nuts, Podocarpus fruits and flowers and seeds of Grevilleas robusta.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Found generally in groups of up to 10 birds but in larger groups where food abundant. Will associate with other birds, such as Rameron Pigeons and Sharpe's Starlings. In some areas, birds will make lengthy trips during the day to forage.

Clutch and Egg Size:

3-4 eggs

Breeding Season:

November-January, Tanzania; September, Zaire; March-November, Kenya.

Photos

View in Gallery

Did You Know?

The Jardine's Parrot is the only Poicephalus species with scalloped feathering on its body.

Academic Research

Related publications: Poicephalus gulielmi

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