Red-breasted parakeet

The red-breasted parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) is among the more widespread species of the genus and is the species which has the most geographical variations. It is easily identified by the large red patch on its breast. An alternative name is the moustached parakeet depending on subspecies. Most of the subspecies are confined to minuscule islands or a cluster of islands in Indonesia. One subspecies occurs in the Andaman islands, and one subspecies occurs in continental Southeast Asia and partly extending to northeastern parts of South Asia along the foothills of the Himalayas. Some of the island races may be threatened by the wild bird trade. The nominate race, which occurs in Java, is close to extinction.

Red-breasted parakeet
Female (left) and male (right)

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittaculidae
Genus: Psittacula
Species:
P. alexandri
Binomial name
Psittacula alexandri
Psittacula alexandri distribution by subspecies
Synonyms

Psittacus alexandri Linnaeus, 1758

Feral populations of this species have now established themselves in cities like Mumbai and small numbers occur in other cities such as Chennai and Bangalore in India.

The scientific specific name commemorates Alexander the Great whose armies brought eastern parakeets to Greece. It was the first eponym in scientific avian nomenclature in its original form of Psittacus alexandri Linnaeus, 1758.[2]

Taxonomy

There are several subspecies:[3]

  • Psittacula alexandri abbotti (Oberholser, 1919)
  • Psittacula alexandri alexandri (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Psittacula alexandri cala (Oberholser, 1912)
  • Psittacula alexandri dammermani Chasen & Kloss 1932
  • Psittacula alexandri fasciata (Statius Muller, 1776)
  • Psittacula alexandri kangeanensis Hoogerwerf 1962
  • Psittacula alexandri major (Richmond, 1902)
  • Psittacula alexandri perionca (Oberholser, 1912)
  • From feral population in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
  • Male at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
  • Female in Assam, India
  • Female
  • Juvenile Female
  • Male
gollark: As compared to the easiest OS, TempleOS.
gollark: Gibson ADMITS the unusability of openBSD?
gollark: Thank you for vaguely inspiring me to use it with your tales of nim use, gibson.
gollark: Anyway, nim is proving quite good apart from its weird quirks.
gollark: I see.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2013). "Psittacula alexandri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. James A. Jobling. Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names, Christopher Helm, London, 2010.
  3. "Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Psittaciformes (Version 9.022)". www.zoonomen.net. 2009-03-31.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.