Black-fronted parakeet
Black-fronted parakeet | |
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Illustration from 1849 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Psittaculidae |
Genus: | Cyanoramphus |
Species: | †C. zealandicus
|
Binomial name | |
†Cyanoramphus zealandicus (Latham, 1790)
| |
Synonyms | |
Psittacus zealandicus Latham, 1790 |
The
Pacific island of Tahiti. Its native name was simply ’ā’ā ("parrot") according to Latham (1790) though White (1887) gives "aa-maha".[2]
It was discovered on
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris
.
Extinction
Like its relative, the
kiore rats and pigs, which undoubtedly preyed on the bird's eggs on occasion. The natives of Tahiti, who valued red parrot feathers for use in handicraft above all others, had to trade for these with the Samoans
, as the black-fronted parakeet did not possess the desired feathers in sufficient quality and quantity. However, they liked to keep the species as pets. After the introduction of cats and European rats, the species rapidly succumbed to these predators.
Footnotes
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^
blue-crowned lories(Vini australis) - Tregear (1891) records the Tahitian name "aa-taevao", "parrot imported from abroads".
References
- Latham, John (1790): [Description of Cyanoramphus zealandicus]. Index Ornithologicus. 1: 102.
- Tregear, Edward Robert (1891): Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Lyon and Blair, Wellington. Online version 2005-FEB-16.
- White, John (1887): The Ancient History of the Māori, Vol. 1: 55. Wellington, Government Printer.
External links