Red-cheeked Parrot
Encyclopedia
The Red-cheeked Parrot (Geoffroyus geoffroyi) is a species of parrot
in the Psittacidae family found in Indonesia
, Papua New Guinea
and the tip of northern Australia
. There are 16 subspecies currently recognized. It is a stocky short-tailed parrot with predominantly green plumage. It exhibits sexual dimorphism
; the adult male has red cheeks and a mauve nape and top of head, while the female is duller with a brown head.
Johann Matthäus Bechstein
, 1811. It is one of three species classified in the genus Geoffroyus
. This genus
has occasionally been merged into Psittinus. Proposed races sumbavensis and tjindanae are synonyms of floresianus; stresemanni of rhodops; explorator too may be synonymous with rhodops.
. Their call is "metallic". Typical body dimensions are: height 250 mm (9.8 in), length 203 mm (8 in), and wing span 135 to 155 mm (5.3 to 6.1 in).
, Australia
, Indonesia
, East Timor
, and Papua New Guinea
and several other islands in the region. Its natural habitat
s are subtropical or tropical dry forest
s, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical mangrove
forests. They live along streams and in forests.
, Casuarina papuana and scaly ash (Ganophyllum falcatum
) are among those recorded as diet items. During the breeding season the female bird excavates its nest in a rotting tree limb. A clutch
usually contains three eggs.
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
in the Psittacidae family found in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and the tip of northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. There are 16 subspecies currently recognized. It is a stocky short-tailed parrot with predominantly green plumage. It exhibits sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
; the adult male has red cheeks and a mauve nape and top of head, while the female is duller with a brown head.
Taxonomy
The Red-cheeked Parrot was first described by the German naturalistNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
Johann Matthäus Bechstein
Johann Matthäus Bechstein
Johann Matthäus Bechstein was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist and entomologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds .-Biography:Bechstein was born in Waltershausen in the district of Gotha in Thuringia...
, 1811. It is one of three species classified in the genus Geoffroyus
Geoffroyus
Geoffroyus is a genus of parrot in the Psittacidae family. The three species are found in and around New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, northern Australia and the islands of Indonesia.It contains the following species:...
. This genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
has occasionally been merged into Psittinus. Proposed races sumbavensis and tjindanae are synonyms of floresianus; stresemanni of rhodops; explorator too may be synonymous with rhodops.
Subspecies
Sixteen subspecies of the Red-cheeked Parrot are now recognized.- G. g. cyanicollis (MüllerSalomon MüllerDr Salomon Müller was a German naturalist.Müller was the son of a saddler in Heidelberg. In 1823 Müller, along with Heinrich Boie and Heinrich Christian Macklot, was sent by Coenraad Jacob Temminck to collect specimens in the East Indies. Müller visited Indonesia in 1826, New Guinea and Timor in...
, 1841) North MoluccasMaluku IslandsThe Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone... - G. g. obiensis (FinschOtto FinschFriedrich Hermann Otto Finsch was a German ethnographer, naturalist and colonial explorer.-Biography:...
, 1868) Obi IslandsObi IslandsThe Obi Islands are a group of islands in the Indonesian province of Maluku. They lie north of Buru and Ceram....
, North-central Moluccas - G. g. rhodops (SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
), 1864 South Moluccas - G. g. explorator HartertErnst HartertErnst Johann Otto Hartert was a German ornithologist. Hartert was born in Hamburg. He was employed by Lionel Walter Rothschild as ornithological curator of his private museum at Tring from 1892 to 1929....
, 1901 Seram Laut Island (SE of Seram Island) - G. g. keyensis Finsch, 1868 Kai IslandsKai IslandsThe Kai Islands of Indonesia are in the south-eastern part of the Maluku Islands, in Maluku Province.-Geography:...
- G. g. floresianus Salvadori, 1891 West Lesser Sunda IslandsLesser Sunda IslandsThe Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
- G. g. geoffroyi (Bechstein, 1811) is the nominate subspecies and is found on the East Lesser Sunda IslandsLesser Sunda IslandsThe Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
- G. g. timorlaoensis MeyerAdolf Bernard MeyerAdolf Bernard Meyer was a German anthropologist, ornithologist and entomologist.-Biography:...
, 1884 Tanimbar IslandsTanimbar IslandsThe Tanimbar Islands, also called Timor Laut, are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia, including Fordata, Larat, Maru, Molu, Nuswotar, Selaru, Selu, Seira, Wotap, Wuliaru and Yamdena.-Geography:... - G. g. pucherani SouancéCharles de SouancéCharles de Souancé was a French ornithologist and a purser in the French Navy, more precisely "Commissaire de la Marine". He made many studies on the ornithological collection of his uncle François Victor Masséna and described several new species of parrots in the scientific journal Revue et...
, 1856 West Papuan Islands and Northwest New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago... - G. g. minor NeumannOscar Rudolph NeumannOscar Rudolph Neumann was a German ornithologist.Neumann travelled to Africa on several occasions, in particular between 1892 and 1894, and described many new African species...
, 1922 North New Guinea - G. g. jobiensis (Meyer, 1874) Yapen Island and Mios NumMios NumMios Num is an island of western New Guinea, Indonesia, just west of Yapen. The Mios Num Strait separates it from Yapen. It is in Cenderawasih Bay. Numfoor and Biak are to the north, with Aruri Strait in between....
Island, Geelvink BayCenderawasih BayCenderawasih Bay , also Teluk Sarera , formerly Geelvink Bay is a large bay in northern Province of Papua and West Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia, at . The Dutch name comes after a Dutch ship and family called Geelvinck... - G. g. mysoriensis (Meyer, 1874) BiakBiakBiak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...
and Numfor, Geelvink Bay - G. g. orientalis Meyer, 1891 Huon PeninsulaHuon PeninsulaHuon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec who discovered it along with his personal assistant and porter, Henry Ole. The peninsula is dominated by the steep...
of northeastern New Guinea. It is possibly not distinct from aruensis; The male's crown is slightly paler. - G. g. sudestiensis De VisCharles Walter De VisCharles Walter de Vis , known as Devis before about 1882, was an English zoologist and ornithologist...
, 1890 Misima IslandMisima IslandMisima is a volcanic island in the northwest of Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The island measures 40 km by 10 km and has an area of 202,5 km². It is located some 20 km north of the northwest extreme of the barrier reef of Vanatinai at Isu Raua Raua Island,...
and TagulaTagulaTagula is a village in Tõlliste Parish, Valga County in southern Estonia. It has a population of 192 ....
in Louisiade Archipelago - G. g. cyanicarpus Hartert, 1899 Rossel Island in Louisiade ArchipelagoLouisiade ArchipelagoThe Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread over an ocean area of between the Solomon Sea to the north and the Coral Sea to...
- G. g. aruensis (GrayGeorge Robert GrayGeorge Robert Gray FRS was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years...
, 1858) Aru IslandsAru IslandsThe Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia. They also form a regency of Indonesia.-Geography:...
, South New Guinea, East Papuan islands and extreme North QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Description
Both the male and female Red-cheeked Parrot have predominantly bright green plumage and a stocky body with a short tail. The adult male has pink-tinged red cheeks and face with a blue-mauve back of head and crown, chestnut wing coverts, blue under wing, and a coral-pink upper mandible. The female has a brown head and more olive-brown cheeks and throat, and all brown-grey bill. Juveniles also have the olive tinge, but their heads are more green. All Red-cheeked Parrots have yellow eyes. Their beaks are designed for eating seeds and fruit. Their swift and direct flight pattern is distinct and similar to that of a starlingStarling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...
. Their call is "metallic". Typical body dimensions are: height 250 mm (9.8 in), length 203 mm (8 in), and wing span 135 to 155 mm (5.3 to 6.1 in).
Distribution and habitat
The Red-cheeked Parrot is found in Cape York PeninsulaCape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and several other islands in the region. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are subtropical or tropical dry forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests. They live along streams and in forests.
Behaviour
Red-cheeked Parrots usually live in pairs, and small family groups outside of the breeding season. During the breeding season the birds are usually found in pairs but there is little else known of their courtship behavior in the wild. They are usually quite shy, except while feeding. When feeding they gather in large groups, and they are very noisy and conspicuous. They only walk short distances as their feet are not structured for walking, but for perching. They forage for food and their diet consists of seeds, fruits (mainly figs), blossoms, and nectar. Fruit and seeds of Corymbia papuanaCorymbia papuana
Corymbia papuana, formerly known as Eucalyptus papuana, is an evergreen tree that is native to New Guinea and northern Australia.-Classification:...
, Casuarina papuana and scaly ash (Ganophyllum falcatum
Ganophyllum falcatum
Ganophyllum falcatum, commonly known as the scaly ash, is an evergreen tree that is native to New Guinea and northern Australia. It was described by German-Dutch botanist Carl Ludwig Blume in 1851....
) are among those recorded as diet items. During the breeding season the female bird excavates its nest in a rotting tree limb. A clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
usually contains three eggs.