Chatham Islands Parakeet Cyanoramphus forbesi Scientific name definitions

26 cm. Extremely similar to <em>C. auriceps</em> , but larger and brighter, with more yellowish underparts, red frontal band not extending to eyes, sides of face emerald-green and outer webs of flight-feathers greenish blue.

• Red-crowned x Chatham Islands Parakeet (hybrid) Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae x forbesi

Chatham Is: on Mangere I and Little Mangere I, and formerly Pitt I; recorded on S Chatham I and Rangatira (South East I) (5 Aikman, H. and Miskelly, C. (2004). Birds of the Chatham Islands. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Close ).

Dense unbroken forest or scrub.

Sedentary, with pairs generally occupying territories year-round.

In spring, Oct–Nov, main foods are invertebrates, flowers and seeds, while in autumn, Mar–May, more leaves and seeds are eaten.

Commonest call a pleasant-sounding and toy-like, somewhat nasal and fast “neh-neh-neh-neh-neh...”; also a single plaintive screaming “kreeah”.

Oct–Mar. Nest in hollow limbs or holes in trunks, often dead or decaying stumps.

VULNERABLE. CITES I. Highly threatened throughout 20th century, the population is now slowly increasing through a habitat management and competitor control programme. By 1930, it was extinct on Mangere I. In 1938 there were over 100 birds on Little Mangere I, in 1968 20–30, and a decade later the species was confined to 4 ha of bush at the summit. Reafforestation of Mangere I following removal of grazing livestock and exotic predators (cats and rats) has allowed a slow recolonization. Native C. novaezelandiae benefited from forest clearance and began hybridizing with present species, but with intervention there were 40 pure individuals of present species on Mangere I in 1982, when about 16 were judged to survive in still-deteriorating habitat on Little Mangere I. By 2002, 900 parakeets were estimated to occur on Mangere I (5 Aikman, H. and Miskelly, C. (2004). Birds of the Chatham Islands. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Close ), and the global population is thought to be 250–1000 mature individuals BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Cyanoramphus forbesi. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/04/2017. . The population increase led to its downlisting from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2016. In 1970s and 1980s evidence for either a remnant population on or a recolonization of the main Chatham I emerged, but may have only involved one or two birds, perhaps only vagrants.