Medium-sized parrots, 35–43 cm (14–17 in) in length with long, broad tails. They have relatively small beaks for their size. The beaks of the adults are two colours, blackish and orange-reddish, except for the subspecies of the Moluccan king parrot, Alisterus amboinensis buruensis, which has a grey-black beak, and female of the Australian species, Alisterus scapularis, which has a grey beak.[1]
Sexual dimorphism
Australian king parrot (Alisterus scapularis) female plumage (green dominant), with dimorphic male plumage (red dominant) in backgroundFemale Australian king parrot (Alisterus scapularis)Male Australian king parrot (Alisterus scapularis)
The Papuan king parrot and the Australian king parrot show sexual dimorphism in their plumage and beak colouration, which contrast to the Moluccan king parrot, where the male and female have an identical external appearance.[1]
The two subspecies of the Australian king parrot are similar except in size. The male has a red head and neck, red lower parts, blue back and rump, and green wings, each with a pale-green band (resembling a shoulder stripe). In the female, the head is green, the green being continuous over the neck, chest, and back. Red plumage covers the lower abdomen, and the pale-green wing band is small or absent. Juvenile males also have a green neck and head.[1]
The three subspecies of the Papuan king parrot all show sexual dimorphism and in all three subspecies, the males can be identified by prominent broad pale-green bands on each wing. The differences in the females between subspecies are more marked than the differences in the males. The female of subspecies A. chloropterus moszkowskii has green wings, and a red head, neck, chest, and abdomen resembling the male, and differs from the male with its much smaller pale-green wing band. The females of A. chloropterus chloropterus and A. chloropterus calloterus differ from the males with broadly similar sexual dimorphism to the Australian king parrot with extended green plumage, except the chests of the females of these two Papuan king parrot subspecies have vague transverse green and red striations.[1]
Behaviour and ecology
The three species are forest-dwelling, and are found singly, in pairs, or in groups.[2] Australian king parrots sometimes gather in groups of 30 or more around food sources, while Moluccan king parrots sometimes form groups up to 10, and the Moluccan king parrots may gather in groups of five or six.[2] They generally feed on seeds, fruits, and berries in trees.
Taxonomy
Classified in the subfamily Psittacinae within the true parrot family, the genus Alisterus was described by Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews in 1911.[3] Mathews coined the name for his four-year-old son Alister.[4] They were previously considered part of the genus Aprosmictus, which contains the red-winged parrot (Aprosmictus erythropterus) and olive-shouldered parrot (A. jonquillaceus).
The king parrots appear to be most closely related to the genera Aprosmictus and the long-tailed parrots of the genus Polytelis, united by similarities in food begging and contact calls by chicks, and by more recent molecular analysis in 2005.[5] The molecular work placed this group in turn as sister to a group containing Eclectus, Tanygnathus, and Psittacula.
The three species and several subspecies of king parrots are:[6]
35 cm (14 in) long. Male is similar to female in all six subspecies. Wings do not have a scapular band. Five subspecies have green wings and one subspecies has blue wings. Orange irises. Dark grey legs.[1]
Numerous islands and western New Guinea of Indonesia.[1]
Papuan king parrot (Alisterus chloropterus)
36 cm (14 in) long. Three subspecies all showing sexual dimorphism. The differences in the females between subspecies are more marked than the differences in the males. The pale green band on wing is much more marked in the males. Orange irises. Dark grey legs.[1]
43 cm (17 in) long. Male is mainly red and green and the female is mainly green. A band of pale green feathers on each wing is prominent in the male and small or absent in the female. Blue back and rump. Yellow irises. Grey legs. Its two subspecies are similar except in size, the northern subspecies being the smaller.[1]
^ abForshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. ISBN0-691-09251-6.page 70–71.
^Mathews GM (1911). "On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds. Pt II". Novitates Zoologicae. 18: 1–22. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.1688.
^Gray, Jeannie; Fraser, Ian (2013). Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide. Collingwood, Victoria: Csiro Publishing. p. 143. ISBN978-0-643-10471-6.
^de Kloet, RS; de Kloet SR (2005). "The evolution of the spindlin gene in birds: Sequence analysis of an intron of the spindlin W and Z gene reveals four major divisions of the Psittaciformes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 36 (3): 706–721. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.03.013. PMID 16099384.
Michael Dahlem's Birds of Australia - King parrot photos and calls
Xeno-canto - King parrot calls
August 25, 2023
alisterus, genus, medium, sized, australasian, parrots, comprising, australian, king, parrot, scapularis, papuan, king, parrot, chloropterus, moluccan, king, parrot, amboinensis, three, species, respectively, found, eastern, australia, papua, moluccas, other, . Alisterus is a genus of medium sized Australasian parrots comprising the Australian king parrot Alisterus scapularis the Papuan king parrot A chloropterus and the Moluccan king parrot A amboinensis The three species are respectively found in eastern Australia Papua the Moluccas and other Indonesian islands Predominantly of red and green plumage the long tailed parrots are related to the genera Aprosmictus and Polytelis AlisterusMale Australian king parrot Alisterus scapularis in Canberra AustraliaScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder PsittaciformesFamily PsittaculidaeTribe PolyteliniGenus AlisterusMathews 1911SpeciesAlisterus scapularisAlisterus chloropterusAlisterus amboinensis Contents 1 Description 1 1 Sexual dimorphism 2 Behaviour and ecology 3 Taxonomy 4 References 5 External linksDescription EditMedium sized parrots 35 43 cm 14 17 in in length with long broad tails They have relatively small beaks for their size The beaks of the adults are two colours blackish and orange reddish except for the subspecies of the Moluccan king parrot Alisterus amboinensis buruensis which has a grey black beak and female of the Australian species Alisterus scapularis which has a grey beak 1 Sexual dimorphism Edit Australian king parrot Alisterus scapularis female plumage green dominant with dimorphic male plumage red dominant in background Female Australian king parrot Alisterus scapularis Male Australian king parrot Alisterus scapularis The Papuan king parrot and the Australian king parrot show sexual dimorphism in their plumage and beak colouration which contrast to the Moluccan king parrot where the male and female have an identical external appearance 1 The two subspecies of the Australian king parrot are similar except in size The male has a red head and neck red lower parts blue back and rump and green wings each with a pale green band resembling a shoulder stripe In the female the head is green the green being continuous over the neck chest and back Red plumage covers the lower abdomen and the pale green wing band is small or absent Juvenile males also have a green neck and head 1 The three subspecies of the Papuan king parrot all show sexual dimorphism and in all three subspecies the males can be identified by prominent broad pale green bands on each wing The differences in the females between subspecies are more marked than the differences in the males The female of subspecies A chloropterus moszkowskii has green wings and a red head neck chest and abdomen resembling the male and differs from the male with its much smaller pale green wing band The females of A chloropterus chloropterus and A chloropterus calloterus differ from the males with broadly similar sexual dimorphism to the Australian king parrot with extended green plumage except the chests of the females of these two Papuan king parrot subspecies have vague transverse green and red striations 1 Behaviour and ecology EditThe three species are forest dwelling and are found singly in pairs or in groups 2 Australian king parrots sometimes gather in groups of 30 or more around food sources while Moluccan king parrots sometimes form groups up to 10 and the Moluccan king parrots may gather in groups of five or six 2 They generally feed on seeds fruits and berries in trees Taxonomy EditClassified in the subfamily Psittacinae within the true parrot family the genus Alisterus was described by Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews in 1911 3 Mathews coined the name for his four year old son Alister 4 They were previously considered part of the genus Aprosmictus which contains the red winged parrot Aprosmictus erythropterus and olive shouldered parrot A jonquillaceus The king parrots appear to be most closely related to the genera Aprosmictus and the long tailed parrots of the genus Polytelis united by similarities in food begging and contact calls by chicks and by more recent molecular analysis in 2005 5 The molecular work placed this group in turn as sister to a group containing Eclectus Tanygnathus and Psittacula The three species and several subspecies of king parrots are 6 A amboinensis Linnaeus 1766 Moluccan king parrot A a amboinensis Linnaeus 1766 A a buruensis Salvadori 1876 A a dorsalis Quoy amp Gaimard 1830 A a hypophonius S Muller 1843 A a sulaensis Reichenow 1881 A a versicolor Neumann 1939 A chloropterus E P Ramsay 1879 Papuan king parrot A c callopterus Albertis amp Salvadori 1879 A c chloropterus E P Ramsay 1879 A c moszkowskii Reichenow 1911 A scapularis Lichtenstein 1816 Australian king parrot A s minor Mathews 1911 A s scapularis Lichtenstein 1816 SpeciesCommon and binomial names 6 Image Description RangeMoluccan king parrot Alisterus amboinensis 35 cm 14 in long Male is similar to female in all six subspecies Wings do not have a scapular band Five subspecies have green wings and one subspecies has blue wings Orange irises Dark grey legs 1 Numerous islands and western New Guinea of Indonesia 1 Papuan king parrot Alisterus chloropterus 36 cm 14 in long Three subspecies all showing sexual dimorphism The differences in the females between subspecies are more marked than the differences in the males The pale green band on wing is much more marked in the males Orange irises Dark grey legs 1 New Guinea 1 Australian king parrot Alisterus scapularis Male King Parrot in south east Queensland 43 cm 17 in long Male is mainly red and green and the female is mainly green A band of pale green feathers on each wing is prominent in the male and small or absent in the female Blue back and rump Yellow irises Grey legs Its two subspecies are similar except in size the northern subspecies being the smaller 1 Eastern Australia 1 source source source source source source source source source source Female king parrot feedingReferences Edit a b c d e f g h i j Forshaw Joseph M 2006 Parrots of the World an Identification Guide Illustrated by Frank Knight Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 09251 6 a b Forshaw Joseph M 2006 Parrots of the World an Identification Guide Illustrated by Frank Knight Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 09251 6 page 70 71 Mathews GM 1911 On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds Pt II Novitates Zoologicae 18 1 22 doi 10 5962 bhl part 1688 Gray Jeannie Fraser Ian 2013 Australian Bird Names A Complete Guide Collingwood Victoria Csiro Publishing p 143 ISBN 978 0 643 10471 6 de Kloet RS de Kloet SR 2005 The evolution of the spindlin gene in birds Sequence analysis of an intron of the spindlin W and Z gene reveals four major divisions of the Psittaciformes Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36 3 706 721 doi 10 1016 j ympev 2005 03 013 PMID 16099384 a b Zoological Nomenclature Resource Psittaciformes Version 9 024 www zoonomen net 2009 05 30 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alisterus Michael Dahlem s Birds of Australia King parrot photos and calls Xeno canto King parrot calls Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alisterus amp oldid 1134973417, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
