Cape Parrot
Kappapagei ( Poicephalus robustus )
The Kappapagei ( Poicephalus robustus ), sometimes also spelled Cape Parrot, is a species of bird in the genus of the long wing parrots. He is regarded as the most stärktsten endangered species of African parrots. It occurs today only in a highly fragmented distribution area in southeast Africa. In 2004, only 1024 individuals of this species were counted.
Description
Head and neck coloration vary from greenish to yellowish brown, spring bases are dark brown and dull green. The springs on the reins, chin and lower cheeks games are black brown and sometimes interspersed with pink feathers. A red headband is particularly pronounced in the females, with the males, it occurs only occasionally. The back feathers and wing coverts are black with dark green trim, the under wing-coverts greenish black. The legs and wings are orange-red edge. The tail feathers are black brown, feet gray blue with gray-brown claws. The beak is horn colored. The iris of the Kappapageien is brown.
Way of life
Long wing parrots are actually food generalists that eat a wide range of fruits, leaves, seeds and flowers and also take insects to him. The Kappapagei provides an exception as he lives mainly from the seeds of Podocarpus ( Podocarpus ) and to a much lesser extent from the seed of the African Zürgelbaums (Celtis africanus). The high dependence on these food crops is the cause for the sharp population decline. Podocarpus forests have been cut down extensively in the last decades. Larger contiguous forests exist only in inaccessible altitudes. The habitat of the Kappapageis is accordingly highly fragmented. Kappapageien are thus forced to undertake energy-intensive food flights from the sleeping trees to the feeding grounds, which also increase the Prädationsgefahr significantly.
Kappapageien breed mainly in branch and stem cavities of Podocarpus. The nest consists of two to four white, roundish to oval eggs. Only the female incubates. The male feeds the female during the breeding season and in the first days after the eggs have hatched, with food. The young hatch after an incubation period of about 28 to 30 days. The nestlings fledge after about 60-79 days.
In studies with Kappapageien it has been found that a part of the parrots carry the virus of Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease ( PBFD ) in itself. This disease is incurable and has a frequently fatal. In some of the birds that are infected with the virus, the disease comes not for the outbreak, but they are carriers of disease.
To preserve the remains of the species Podocarpus forests have been put under protection in the Republic of South Africa. The ornithologists who devote particular attention to the protection of Kappapageis, belongs to the South Africans Wirminghaus Olaf, who has conducted several field studies of this kind.
Systematic position within the genus Poicephalus
The following cladogram shows the genus Poicephalus with their respective degrees of relationship. It lacks the Niam - Niam Parrot ( Poicephalus crassus ), whose species status is disputed. Kinship of Kappapagei is particularly close to the Congo parrot and the yellow-headed parrot. In size, plumage coloration and behavior exist between these three types is very similar.
Poicephalus gulielmi
Poicephalus robustus
Poicephalus fuscicollis
Poicepalus flavifrons
Poicephalus senegalus
Poicephalus rufiventris
Poicephalus cryptoxanthus
Poicephalus meyeri
Poicephalus rueppellii