Family Parrots (Psittacidae)
Vulnerable
Seychelles Parrot (Coracopsis barklyi)
Taxonomy
French: Vaza des Seychelles German: Seychellenpapagei Spanish: Loro de Seychelles
Other common names:
Seychelles Black Parrot
Taxonomy:
Coracopsis barklyi
E. Newton
, 1867,Praslin Island, Seychelles
.Distribution:
Praslin and Curieuse (no breeding recorded in latter#R), in the Seychelles.
Descriptive notes
35–40 cm; 132–153 g. Head and upperparts dark greyish brown, becoming slightly paler on uppertail-coverts and has faint pale shaft-streaks on crown; underparts paler greyish... read more
Voice
Can be extremely vocal, both perched and in flight, generally during day but also sometimes on... read more
Habitat
Native hill forests dominated by endemic palms such as Lodoicea maldivica, ... read more
Food and feeding
Diet principally seeds and fruits of endemic palms (except Lodoicea) and other native broadleaved trees like Dillena... read more
Breeding
Season commences Sept–Oct, with eggs laid Oct–Jan (mainly Nov–Dec) and young cared for until at least Mar (post-fledging care can occupy... read more
Movements
Makes regular daily movements between roosting areas in highlands and lowland agricultural areas... read more
Status and conservation
VULNERABLE. Population placed at just 340–600 mature individuals. Point count surveys on Praslin in 2010–2011 found density of 0·14–0·24 individuals/ha, resulting in total... read more
Recent genetic study#R suggested form barklyi basal to Coracopsis but also indicated genus Mascarinus interposed between races barklyi and sibilans, a counterintuitive finding that requires validation#R; nonetheless separation of sibilans from barklyi at species level accepted here on several grounds. Statement in HBW that race barklyi of Seychelles “apparently indistinguishable from sibilans” erroneous, but in morphology the two are extremely similar. Increasingly frequent recent practice of treating barklyi as a full species supported by several molecular studies#R#R and is provisionally accepted here: differences from C. nigra largely as those that distinguish C. sibilans (see below), while differences from C. sibilans include reportedly different voice (allow 3); bill slightly larger (1); seemingly (on limited specimen evidence) narrower, more pointed rectrices (requires verification; ns); very weak blue-grey or paler grey outer edges of primaries vs none (1); paler lower belly and vent (1); reportedly different habitat choice, with highly specific nesting requirements (1)#R#R. Monotypic.