The Cape Parrot is a species of parrot endemic to South Africa. This bird was recently split taxonomically from the Uncape Parrot (known as the Brown-necked Parrot or Grey-headed Parrot).
Cape Parrots live in forest habitat in South Africa, where they feed on nuts and fruits. They nest in tree cavities.
The Cape Parrot is considered to be Critically Endangered, though some taxonomies still lump them with the more common Uncape Parrot subspecies, which are not considered threatened or endangered.
The Cape Parrot is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
The third bird in our 2014 Bonanza is a unique species of parrot, the Cape Parrot! The Cape Parrot is endemic to South Africa. It is typically found in high altitude forest habitat, though it may also visit lowland coastal areas for... Read more »
