Niam-Niam parrot

The Niam-Niam parrot (Poicephalus crassus) is a parrot nearly endemic to the Central African Republic. It is a mostly green parrot with a brown head and a red iris. It lives in woodlands and is not known in captivity. The Niam-Niam parrot is relatively unstudied and very little is known about this elusive bird.

Niam-Niam parrot
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Poicephalus
Species:
P. crassus
Binomial name
Poicephalus crassus
(Sharpe, 1884)

Description

Both male and female sexes look alike. Head plumage is mainly brown while the neck is of olive and yellow color. Mostly olive/brown breast color. Along with green underwing feathers and dull green tail plumage. This bird also has a black and grey colored upper beak and a tan colored lower beak. It has a yellow eye. “Niam-Niam Parrots have a limited range. They occur in northern-central western Africa, from eastern Cameroon and southwestern Chad across the Central African Republic and extreme northern DRC into the southwestern edge of Sudan. The conservation status of this bird is of least concern. Because it is not globally threatened, although the status of the Niam-Niam Parrot is uncertain. It is the least known African parrot and is assumed to be uncommon in its poorly explored range.”

Distribution and habitat

This parrot belongs to the genus Poicephalus, one of the most species rich parrot geneses in Africa. This parrot has a range extending across the central portion of the Central African Republic and into portions of neighboring South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Chad. The Niam-Niam parrot belongs specifically to the P. meyeri clade, a subdivision of the Poicephalus genus.

Lifespan

The parrots have an average lifespan of 10.06 years.

Diet

Niam-niam is one of the most species rich parrot geneses in Africa. In terms of diet, it eats a variety of seeds, myriad fruit, plants, greens, blossoms, nuts, and insects. They are sometimes known as farm pests depending on where they live. This is because they often feed on farm crops.


References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Poicephalus crassus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

“Parrots of Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands: Biology, Ecology and Conservation.” Parrots of Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands: Biology, Ecology and Conservation, by Mike Perrin and Cyril Laubscher, Wits University Press, 2012, pp. 451–453.


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