Meyer's Parrot - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Amesta
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, June, 2016

Poicephalus meyeri

Alternative name: Brown Parrot

Identification

21–25 cm (8¼-9¾ in)

• Brown Head, back, wings and tail
• Green (sometimes turquoise) belly and rump
• Yellow wash over underparts
• Yellow thighs

Distribution

Juvenile
Photo © by volker sthamer
Ruaha NP, Tanzania, September 2018

Central and eastern sub-Saharan Africa:
Western Africa: found in Mali, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 6 subspecies^[1]:

• P. m. meyeri:

• North-eastern Cameroon to southern Chad, southern Sudan (and South Sudan?), western Ethiopia, and Eritrea

• P. m. saturatus:

• North-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, western Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and north-western Tanzania

• P. m. matschiei:

• South East Democratic Republic of the Congo to Tanzania, eastern Angola, northern Zambia and northern Malawi

• P. m. reichenowi:

West Angola

• P. m. damarensis:

• Extreme southern Angola to northern Namibia and north-central Botswana

• P. m. transvaalensis:

• South Zambia to northern Mozambique, eastern Botswana and northern South Africa

Habitat

A wide variety of woodland habitats, including riparian. Always near water.

Behaviour

Diet

Their varied diet consists of fruits, seeds, nuts, berries, and cultivated crops.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2018)
3. The Beauty of Birds

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Meyer's Parrot. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Meyer%27s_Parrot

External Links

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