Red-capped parrot
Psittacus spurius Kuhl, 1820
Platycercus pileatus Vigors, 1830
Platycercus rufifrons Lesson, 1830
Psittacus purpureocephalus Quoy & Gaimard, 1830
The red-capped parrot (Purpureicephalus spurius) is a species of broad-tailed parrot native to southwest Western Australia. It was described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820, with no subspecies recognised. It has long been classified in its own genus owing to its distinctive elongated beak, though genetic analysis shows that it lies within the lineage of the Psephotellus parrots and that its closest relative is the mulga parrot (Psephotellus varius). Not easily confused with other parrot species, it has a bright crimson crown, green-yellow cheeks, and a distinctive long bill. The wings, back, and long tail are dark green, and the underparts are purple-blue. The adult female is very similar though sometimes slightly duller than the male; her key distinguishing feature is a white stripe on the wing under-surface. Juveniles are predominantly green.
Found in woodland and open savanna country, the red-capped parrot is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, particularly of eucalypts, as well as flowers and berries, but insects are occasionally eaten. Nesting takes place in tree hollows, generally of older large trees. Although the red-capped parrot has been shot as a pest and has been affected by land clearing, the population is growing and the species is considered of least-concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has a reputation of being anxious and difficult to breed in captivity.
The species was described in 1820 by Heinrich Kuhl, as Psittacus spurius, from an immature specimen collected at Albany, Western Australia by the Baudin expedition (1801–1803) and deposited at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.[2][3] The specific epithet spurius is the Latin adjective meaning "illegitimate", and refers to the markedly different adult and immature plumages (hence appearing unrelated).[4] Irish naturalist Nicholas Aylward Vigors named the species Platycercus pileatus in 1830 from an adult male specimen that had been acquired by the Zoological Society of London.[5][6] English artist Edward Lear illustrated the live specimen in his 1830 work Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots.[2][7] It was placed in the monotypic genus Purpureicephalus—as P. pileatus—by French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854.[8] The generic name is an amalgam of the Latin purpureus "purple", and the Ancient Greek kephalé "head".[4] In this generic combination, the current name is translated as "bastard red-head".[9] The species name pileatus was generally used until German naturalist Otto Finsch followed Kuhl in using the specific name spurius, calling it Platycercus spurius in 1868. His countryman Anton Reichenow classified Purpureicephalus as a subgenus of Platycercus before placing it in the genus Porphyreicephalus (later corrected to Porphyrocephalus), until 1912, when Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews re-established the genus as Purpureicephalus.[10] The red-capped parrot's elongated bill and its unusual coloration—lack of cheek patches compared with Platycercus—are the main reasons for its placement in its own genus.[11]
No subspecies are recognised currently.[2] Mathews tentatively described a subspecies carteri in 1915 from a specimen collected at Broomehill on the basis of darker upperparts and greener cheeks;[12] it was not considered distinct by later authors.[13] There is no known geographical variation; five birds from Esperance had smaller bills and tarsi than individuals from elsewhere in its range, but the sample was too small to draw any conclusions.[14]
