Senegal Parrot

About the Senegal Parrot

The Senegal parrot (Poicephalus senegalus) is a parrot which is a resident breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which make up its diet. It is considered a farm pest in Africa, often feeding on maize or millet. It is popular in aviculture.

In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Senegal parrot in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Senegal. He used the French name La petite perruche du Sénégal and the Latin name Psittacula senegalensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the Senegal parrot. Linnaeus included a terse description, coined the binomial name Psittacus senegalus and cited Brisson's work. This species is now placed in the genus Poicephalus which was introduced by the English naturalist... Wikipedia →