Poicephalus rueppellii

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Psittaciformes

Familia: Psittacidae
Subfamilia: Psittacinae
Tribus: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species: Poicephalus rueppellii
Name

Poicephalus rueppellii (Gray, 1849)
References

PZS["1848"] Pt16 no.188 p.125 pl.5

Vernacular names
English: Rüppell's Parrot

Rüppell's parrot (Poicephalus rueppellii) or Rueppell's parrot, is a bird that is endemic to southwestern Africa from central Namibia to southwest Angola. It lives in savanna where there are trees or in dry woodland. It is more common near streams or rivers. The name commemorates the German naturalist and explorer Eduard Rüppell.

Description
In captivity
Old painting, female in foreground

Rüppell's parrot is 22–25 cm (9 in) long and weighs 121–156 g. It has an overall dark brown color and its head is dark greyish. Both adult male and female birds have some yellow feathers on the leading edge of the wings, and yellow feathers covering their upper legs; in immature birds, the yellow is dull or missing. They are sexually dimorphic; adult female birds have blue feathers on the lower back and the rump, whilst male birds lose this blue feather coloration as they become mature.
Diet

The Ruppell's Parrot eats mainly seeds, flowers, leaves, anthropods, and bark. It has been found that during the rainy seasons they prefer to eat flowers and insects. Consistently they eat Terminalia pruniodies (T. pruniodies) and occasionally they also eat fruit, preferring softer more tender ones.
Breeding

The Rüppell's parrot nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three or four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 28 days and the chicks leave the nest about 68 days after hatching.[2]
Status

It is a protected species, listed on CITES appendix II.
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Poicephalus rueppellii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22685321A93067858. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22685321A93067858.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Alderton, David (2003). The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Caged and Aviary Birds. London, England: Hermes House. p. 223. ISBN 1-84309-164-X.

del Hoyo, J., et al., eds. (1997). Handbook of the Birds of the World 4: 415. Lynx Edicions.
Photograph on CITES website
Richard G. Selman, Mike R. Perrin, Margaret L. Hunter & W.R.J. Dean (2002) The feeding ecology of Rüppell's Parrot, Poicephalus rueppellii, in the Waterberg, Namibia, Ostrich, 73:3-4, 127–134, DOI: 10.1080/00306525.2002.11446741