Red List of South African Species

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diagnostics

30 cm, 300 g. The sexes are dimorphic in plumage. The adult male has a dark earth-brown forecrown with an olive-green crown. The cheeks and ear coverts are olive-green to yellow-green with the lores matt-black while the head feathers have dusky centres. The tail is a dark slate while the back, rump and uppertail coverts are blue-green. The mantle, scapulars and upperwing coverts are dark green, edged paler green. A band of orange-red coverts extends from the carpal joint to the dark slate primaries. The chin and throat are olive-brown and the upper breast is yellow-green. The lower breast, belly, flanks and undertail coverts are blue-green and the thighs orange-red. The bill is coloured old ivory with a narrow, pale grey cere; the legs and feet are blue-grey. The adult female resembles the male, but has varied forecrown plumage patterns, some having orange across the forehead and others none. The juvenile is similar to the adult bird, but both sexes have salmon pink on the forehead in first plumage, the colour extending further back onto the crown than in adult females. Juveniles lack red on tibia or shoulder (Skead 1971, Wirminghaus et al. 2001, 2002).

trophic

Flock size varies with singletons, pairs, or groups of 5-6 birds usually observed. However, at localised food sites, flock size may increase to 20-70 birds, caused by aggregation and giving a false impression of abundance (Wirminghaus et al. 2001). The species breeds in Afromontane forests between 1 000 and 1 400 masl (Skead 1971, Wirminghaus et al. 1999, Downs and Symes 2004). Cape Parrots reach breeding age after four years (Wirminghaus et al. 2001) and nest in secondary cavities in tall, emergent trees (Wirminghaus et al. 2001). A generation length of 10 years is provided by BirdLife International (2014) for Brown-necked Parrot. Yellowwood trees, particularly the Outeniqua Yellowwood Afrocarpus falcatus, are important for breeding, foraging and social interactions (Symes et al. 2002, Downs and Bowker 2010). Foraging is concentrated in the first and last few hours of daylight (Wirminghaus et al. 2000).

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