Puerto Rican parakeet

Puerto Rican parakeet
19th century illustration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Psittacara
Species: P. maugei
Binomial name
Psittacara maugei
Souancé, 1856
Synonyms

Aratinga chloroptera maugei
Psittacara chloroptera maugei

The Puerto Rican parakeet or Puerto Rican conure (Psittacara maugei) was a species of parrot found on Mona Island and possibly in Puerto Rico.

Description

Turnaround video of specimen RMNH 110079, Naturalis Biodiversity Center

The bird was similar to the Hispaniolan parakeet, and was for a time considered a subspecies. Its feathers were a duller green, and the red markings on the wing were more extensive.[1][2]

Ecology

The bird fed primarily upon seeds, fruits, nuts and berries. It may also have eaten leaf buds and flowers. Nesting took place in hollow trees, old woodpecker holes and arboreal termite nests.[1]

Behaviour

The Puerto Rican parakeet was a very gregarious bird, noted for its loud, continuous calling. While the bird was normally cautious, avoiding contact with humans, this lessened while feeding. As the bird often fed in farmers' field upon crops such as maize, this contributed to its widespread hunting.[1]

Extinction

The last bird was seen in 1882, by W. W. Brown, who collected the specimen which now resides at the Field Museum in Chicago.[3] The date of extinction is not well recorded. It was referred to as still being extant in 1905, but reported as extinct in 1950.[4] Hunting by humans is believed to be the primary cause of extinction.[1] It was noted by James Bond that the bird was seemingly unafraid of gunshots, making it particularly vulnerable to hunting. Bond attributed the bird's extinction to the large number of pigeon hunters who travelled to Mona Island.[3][5] Deforestation of the island may also have played a role.[3]

Three specimens of the bird still exist. Beyond the one in the Field Museum, the Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum in Leiden and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris each possess one skin.[3] Although it is believed the species may also have existed on Puerto Rico, all the existing specimens were collected from Mona Island.[4] The specimen in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle is the type specimen.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Day, David (1989). The Encyclopedia of Vanished Species. Hong Kong: Mclaren Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-947889-30-2.
  2. ↑ Olson, S. L. (2015). "History, morphology, and fossil record of the extinct Puerto Rican Parakeet Psittacara maugei Souancé". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 127: 1. doi:10.1676/14-020.1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Puerto Rico Parakeet". Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  4. 1 2 Charles Arthur Woods, Florence Etienne Sergile (2001). Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives. CRC Press. p. 182. ISBN 0-8493-2001-1.
  5. 1 2 Bond, James (May 15, 1946). "The birds of Mona Island". Notulae Naturae. Philadelphia Academy of Sciences (176). ISBN 1-60483-176-6.
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