Seychelles parakeet
| Seychelles parakeet | |
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| Illustration of a male (front) and female, by John Gerrard Keulemans, 1876 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Psittaciformes |
| Family: | Psittacidae |
| Genus: | Psittacula |
| Species: | †P. wardi |
| Binomial name | |
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Psittacula wardi (Newton, 1867) |
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| Location of the Seychelles | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Seychelles parakeet or Seychelles island parrot (Psittacula wardi) is an extinct species of parrot which was endemic to the Seychelles group in the Indian Ocean. It resembled the Alexandrine parakeet but was smaller and lacked the pink colour in its collar. The species is suspected to have become extinct due to intense persecution by farmers and coconut plantation owners.
The Seychelles parakeet was named Palaeornis wardi as by the British ornithologist Edward Newton in 1867. It was endemic to Mahé and Silhouette and was once sighted on Praslin. Ten specimens exist today.
Phylogenetic studies suggest that the species diverged from the Alexandrine parakeet through isolation of populations that dispersed through the Indian Subcontinent into Seychelles about 11 million years ago when sea levels were much lower.
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic position of the Seychelles parakeet, according to Jackson et al., 2015:
Psittacula eupatria nipalensis (Nepalese Alexandrine parakeet)
Psittacula eupatria eupatria (Alexandrine parakeet)
Psittacula wardi (Seychelles parakeet)
Psittacula eupatria siamensis (Siamese Alexandrine parakeet)
Psittacula eupatria magnirostris (Andaman Islands Alexandrine parakeet)
A 2017 study found it to be close to the Mascarene parrot.
The Seychelles parakeet was a medium-sized parrot with a length of about 41 cm (16.1 in). It was green with a large red beak, a red shoulder patch and a long tail. The male had a narrow black cheek-band and black collar which the female and juvenile lacked.
Psittacula wardi was endemic to Mahé and Silhouette, Seychelles, with a sight record from Praslin. The Seychelles parakeet is believed to have had a diet of bugs found in the bushes or trees, and probably also consumed fruit and seeds.
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Wikipedia