Poicephalus fuscicollis - Brown-necked Parrot
The Brown-necked Parrot – Poicephalus fuscicollis (Kuhl, 1820) – is a medium sized African parrot with a powerful beak that can easily crack even the hardest nuts. They are however very gentle birds that rarely bite and are popular pets and in aviculture. They are very intelligent and can imitate words and sounds quite well.
This taxa was previously classified as Poicephalus robustus fuscicollis as it was believed to be a subspecies of the Cape Parrot. Some sources call it the “Uncape Parrot” to distinguish it from the closely related Cape Parrot. However, these two species live geographically separated as the Cape Parrot prefers temperate montane forests and the Brown-necked Parrot dwells on the savanna.
Average lifespan: 20-25 years.
Description
Body and wings are green. The head and neck are brownish grey with light orange/brown scalloping. The wings and back are dark green with orange/red bend of wing, carpal edge and thighs. The rump and underparts are green. The tail is short and wide with black/brown feathers. The eye is dark brown with a bare white / gray eye ring. The beak is horn-colored and relatively large.
Females have an orange band across the crown – this band is absent on males.
Length: 30-36 cm
Weight: 310-400 gram
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized:
- Poicephalus fuscicollis fuscicollis (Kuhl, 1820) :Nominate form, see description above.
- Poicephalus fuscicollis suahelicus (Reichenow, 1898) : Head and neck silver/grey with lightly orange/brown scalloping; blue/green rump and underparts; females have an orange band across the crown – this band is absent on males.
Habitat
The breeding region ranges from western Africa, south to Angola, east to Tanzania and north-eastern South Africa
- Poicephalus fuscicollis fuscicollis : Senegal and Gambia to east-central Nigeria and northern Angola
- Poicephalus fuscicollis suahelicus : central Tanzania and Rwanda to north-eastern South Africa and sc Angola
Diet
Wild birds feed on a variety of seeds, nuts, seeds, kernels and fruit.
Aviculture
A vertical nest box about 30 x 30 x 60 cm (12″ x 12″ x 24″) is suitable.
The hen lays 2-4 eggs that are incubated for 28-30 days. The chicks reach fledging age after 10-11 weeks.
Taxonomy
- Order: Psittaciformes
- Family: Psittacidae
- Genus: Poicephalus
Synonyms
- Danish: Brunnakket Papegøje
- English: Brown-necked Parrot, Angola Brown-necked Parrot, Gambia Brown-necked Parrot, Uncape Parrot
- French: Perroquet à cou brun
- German: Graukopfpapage
- Portuguese:
- Spanish:
- Scientific: Poicephalus fuscicollis, Poicephalus robustus fuscicollis
IUCN Red List
BirdLife International 2017. Poicephalus fuscicollis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22732670A119197072.
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22732670A119197072.en
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