Psittaciformes - Poicephalus

Meyer's Parrot - Poicephalus Meyeri - Least Concern

Meyer's parrot (Poicephalus meyeri), also known as the brown parrot, is a species of parrot native to Africa. A Meyer's parrot has black feathers, turquoise belly, blue rump, and bright yellow markings on the carpal joint of the wings. Most subspecies have some yellow on the top of the head as well. Forshaw (1989) recognizes six subspecies of P. meyeri which vary in home range, size and in markings, including the extent of yellow markings to the head and wings and the intense of turquoise markings on the belly and rump.

Taxonomy: German physician and ornithologist Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar described Meyer's parrot in 1827. The name commemorates the German ornithologist Bernhard Meyer.

The six subspecies are:

Poicephalus meyeri meyeri: Nominate Species - South Chad to Western Ethiopia
Poicephalus meyeri saturatus: Uganda and w Kenya to w Tanzania
Poicephalus meyeri matschiei: Central Tanzania, South-East Congo, Zambia and North Malawi
Poicephalus meyeri reichenowi : Central Angola to South Congo
Poicephalus meyeri damarensis: North Namibia, South Angola and North-West Botswana
Poicephalus meyeri transvaalensis: Botswana, Zimbabwe and North South Africa

Subspecies P. m. damarensis and P. m. reichenowi lack yellow markings on the head, while P. m. transvaalensis may have little to no yellow on the head. Belly and rump colors vary according to subspecies from turquoise to blue.

Distribution and Habitat: Meyer's parrots are native to the plateau woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa where they occur in several woodland types including miombo, savanna woodlands, wooded grasslands and forests bordering watercourses or agricultural land. They are found in high densities in the Okavango Delta region of Botswana. They are also found in southern and central Africa (Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo, Angola, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia.