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Order: Psittacidae; |
Family: Psittacinae; |
Subfamily:Poicephalus |
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P.m. meyeri | Chad N to W Ethiopia | Yellow crown, shoulders, blue-green rump |
| P.m. saturatus | Tanzania, Kenya, etc. | rump green wash w/pale blue | |
| P.m. matschieri | SE Kenya, SE Congo, etc. | rump bright blue | |
| P.m. transvaalensis | Mozambique, Rhodesia, etc. | Pale brown underparts | |
| P.m. reichenowi | N & C Angola, adj. Congo | No yellow on head, dark brown | |
| P.m. damarensis | S Angola, SW Af, NW Lesotho | No crown yellow, light brown |
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P. senagalus open forest |
P.s. senagalus | Senegal to Chad | V-shaped green into chest/ abdomen |
| P.s. versteri | Ivory Coast, Ghana to W Nigeria | abdomen yellow | |
| P.s. mesotypus | E&NE Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad | red abdomen |
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P. cryptoxanthus open forest |
P.c. cryptoxanthus | Zululand to coastal Kenya | rump yellowish green |
| P.c. tanganyikae | Tanzania interior | rump brighter yellow | |
| P.c. zanzibaricus | Zanzibar, Pemba Island | rump bluish green |
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P. gulielmi forest bird |
P.g. gulielmi | S Cameroons to Ctl. Afr. Rep. | forehead & crown orange-red |
| P.g. fantiensis | Cameroons W to Liberia | forehead & crown orange | |
| P.g. massaicus | S Kenya, N Tanzania | less orange-red on forehead & crown | |
| P.g. permistus | Kenya | Not sure about difference |
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P.r.robustus | Extreme SE Africa | blackish-brown, reddish front band |
| P.r.suaelicus | Mozambiuque to D Tanzania | no reddish frontal band | |
| P.r.fuscicollis | W Africa, Zambia to Togo Rare in wild | plumage more bluish-green |
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Cameroons to SW Sudan | lower yellow horn beak; red iris | |
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P.r.rufiventris | E Ethiopia to N Tanzania | male green abdomens |
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Somalia & E Ethiopia | female head & upper breast paler |
| P. rueppellii Dimorphic | West coast Angola south to West Africa | Yellow shoulders; |
female: rump bright blue, male: dull blue |
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P.f. flavifrons | N & C Ethiopia | forehead, crown, cheeks yellow |
| P.f. auranticeps | SW Ethiopia | very similar, orange |
Poicephalus is a family of stocky, square-tailed birds, Africa's Amazons if you will, which raid farmers' corn and wheat fields with "great damage." As pests and as a money crop, African farmers don't want them around, and though none of the species is on an endangered list, some are in reality and not available in the U.S.
As hand tamed birds in the garden and aviary, however the green chested and orange bellied Senegals make nice pets, are fairly quiet and can be taught some words when young. Taming requires patience. Their black iris ringed in yellow make them look fierce, but they are nervous birds and would rather be in the darkness of a nest box than on a sunny perch, unless you train them as babies. Africans range from 8-9" (Meyer's), 9" (Senegals), to Capes which are 12". Capes is a species where females are more brightly colored than the males. They like the nest box a lot and usually live in it most of the time. Rosemary Low says their diet consists of walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, dry and soaked sunflower, apple, banana and grapes.
A 12" X 12" X 12" nest box (like the cockatiel boxes) is usually sufficient for breeding, and could be a few inches deeper. Birds like enlarging their box opening. They lay 2-4 eggs. Incubation is about 27 days (Brown-headed, Meyer's), 28 days (Capes). Randy Karg of Iowa states his Meyer's parents killed their first two pink hatchlings, and he put the third egg under Senegals to hatch which pair also reportedly "did a good job of feeding baby." Capes can also be taught to talk, whistle and imitate sounds.
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