History of changes

• Alisterus Mathews, G.M. 1911. On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds. Pt II. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 1-22 [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1913. New generic names, with some notes on others. Austral Avian Records 2: 55–62] [13] [published without description but based by reference on descriptions cited below and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(1) and (5); concept based on circumscriptions in Gould, J. 1865. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould 2 629 pp. [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.], to which Aprosmictus Gould, 1842 was misapplied, and Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls].

  Type species:

   Psittacus cyanopygius Vieillot, 1818 by original designation.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

PSITTACIDAE: Psittacus tabuanus Shaw, 1796 [chosen here over alternative spelling Psittacus tabuarus Shaw, 1796 (loc. cit.) under ICZN Art. 24, being based partly on Psittacus scapularis Lichtenstein, 1816 and partly on 'Psittacus tabuensis Latham' =Prosopeia tabuensis (Gmelin, 1788) of Fiji (in synonymy), the type of which is chosen here as lectotype of Psittacus tabuanus Shaw, 1796 cf. Mathews (1917: 291, 293)]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

New Guinea, Moluccas, Peleng and Sula Ils.

IBRA

NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
  • Victoria

Distribution References

General References

Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217-296 pls 291-299. [Date published 17 Apr. 1917: volume dated as 1916–1917]

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (generic arrangement)

History of changes

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. [187] (except Cardwell population)
• Forshaw, J.M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 312 pp. 56 pls. (except Eungella-Clarke Range population subspecific arrangement)

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

IBRA

NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
  • Victoria

General References

Forshaw, J.M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 312 pp. 56 pls. (subspecific arrangement; except Eungella-Clarke Range population)

Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. (subspecific arrangement)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (subspecific arrangement)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

History of changes

• Alisterus cyanopygius minor Mathews, G.M. 1911. Two new Australian birds. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 23 [23] [holotype mis-cited as G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 332 in protologue—corrected by Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306, with specification of type locality].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 621912 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 1041), Mt Sapphire, near Cairns, QLD (as Cairns, North Queensland).

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Uplands of coastal NE QLD, north to Mt Amos, inland to Windsor, Atherton and Evelyn tablelands, and south to Seaview-Paluma Ranges.

IBRA

Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), NSW North Coast (NNC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Queensland: NE coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, closed forest, diurnal, florivore, frugivorous, gregarious, mellivore, nomadic, resident, tall forest, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, in montane rain- and tall eucalypt-forests, feeds in trees on fruits, nuts, seeds, nectar, blossoms and shoots, flocks in small groups, flies directly with even wing beats and little gliding, nests on bed of wood dust in tree hollows, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.

History of changes

• Psittacus scapularis Lichtenstein, H. 1816. Das zoologische Museum des Universitaet zu Berlin. Berlin : Zoologisches Museum, Berlin University 108 pp. [29] [published without locality; publication first attributed to second edition of Lichtenstein's catalogue, Das zoologische Museum des Universitaet zu Berlin, appearing about Aug. 1818, by Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pts 1–6 xix 516 pp. pls 275–324 [publication dated as 1916–1917], corrected to first edition by Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp.; based on adult male(s) collected by George Caley, presumably about Parramatta and its hinterland, and passed to the Zoologisches Museum, Berlin by F.W. Sieber, see Stresemann, E. 1951. Type localities of Australian birds collected by the 'Expedition Baudin' (1801–1803). Emu 51: 65–70; Stresemann, E. 1975. Ornithology from Aristotle to the Present. [Transl. H.J. & C. Epstein, Cottrell, G.W. (ed.)]. Cambridge : Harvard University Press xii 432 pp. (104); subsequent references by Lichtenstein in his Sale Catalogues of 1818 et seq. to the 'Tabuan Parrot' of White (=White, J. 1790. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales with Sixty-five Plates of Non descript Animals, Birds, Lizards, Serpents, curious Cones of Trees and other Natural Productions. London : J. Debrett 299 pp. 65 pls [published before Aug.]: pls opposite pp. 168 and 169) and of Phil. (=Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls: p. 153 and plate opposite) clarify the application of Psittacus scapularis Lichtenstein, 1816 but are not part of the protologue, see Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917] (293–294)].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) ZMB ♂, hinterland of Parramatta, NSW (published without locality).

  Type locality references:

  Stresemann, E. 1951. Type localities of Australian birds collected by the 'Expedition Baudin' (1801–1803). The Emu 51: 65-70.
• Psittacus tabuensis coccineus Kerr, R. 1792. The Animal Kingdom, or Zoological System, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnaeus; being a translation of that part of the Systema Naturae, as lately published, with great improvements, by Professor Gmelin of Goettingen. Class II. Birds. London : J. Murray & R. Faulder xii 644 pp. [565] [junior homonym of Psittacus coccineus Latham, 1790 (=Eos histrio (P.L.S. Müller, 1776) (Loriinae)); based on Psittacus tabuensis Gmelin var. ß in Latham, J. 1790. Index ornithologicus, sive Systema Ornithologiae; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c. London : Leigh & Sotheby Vol. 1 & 2 xviii 920 pp. [published Dec. Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. Mathews, G.M. 1913. A List of the Birds of Australia containing the names and synonyms connected with each genus, species, and subspecies of birds found in Australia, at present known to the author. London : Witherby xxvii 453 pp.] (88), in turn based on the 'Tabuan Parrot. A Variety' on p. 153 and plate opposite in Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (?lost, ex Leverian Museum per A. Phillip?, figured on pl. opposite p. 153 in Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls), Port Jackson, NSW (as New-South-Wales).

  Type locality references:

  Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls. (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1920. The Birds of Australia. Supplement No. 1. Check List of the Birds of Australia Part 1. Orders Casuariiformes to Menuriformes. London : Witherby iv 1–116 pp. [Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240) (collation of livraisons affecting original description) Mathews, G.M. 1911. On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds. Pt II. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 1–22 (collation of livraisons affecting original description) Sherborn, C.D. 1922. Index Animalium; sive, Index nominem quae ab A.D. 1758 generibus et speciebus animalium imposita sunt, societatibus eruditorum adiuvantibus. Sectio Secunda, 1801–1850. London : British Museum Pt 1 cxxxvi 128 pp. [lxxx]]).
• Psittacus cyanopygius Vieillot, L.P. 1818. Perroquets ou Psittacins. pp. 292–382 in, Nouveau Dictionaire d'Histoire Naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'Agriculture, à l'Écomomie rurale et domestique, à la Médecine, etc. Par une société de naturalistes et d'agriculteurs. Nouvelle Édition. Paris : Déterville. [publication dated as 1817] [339] [based by reference on la grande Perruche à collier et croupion bleues on p. 113 and pls 55, 56 in Levaillant, F. 1805. Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Paris : Levrault, Schoell & Ce Vol. 1 135 pp. pls 1–71 [published between 1801–1805]; type material probably from the Baudin expedition which collected around and inland of Port Jackson, NSW, in the range of this species in 1802–1803, see Stresemann, E. 1951. Type localities of Australian birds collected by the 'Expedition Baudin' (1801–1803). Emu 51: 65–70].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) MNHP ♂ (institution uncertain, figured on pl. 55 in Levaillant, F. 1805. Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Paris : Levrault, Schoell & Ce Vol. 1 135 pp. pls 1–71 [published between 1801–1805]), region of Port Jackson and hinterland, NSW (as îles de la mer du Sud); MNHP ♀ (institution uncertain, figured on pl. 56 in Levaillant, F. 1805. Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Paris : Levrault, Schoell & Ce Vol. 1 135 pp. pls 1–71 [published between 1801–1805]), region of Port Jackson and hinterland, NSW (as îles de la mer du Sud).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [207] (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]; Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917] [293–295]).
• Psittacus scapulatus Kuhl, H. 1820. Conspectus Psittacorum. Cum specierum definitionibus, novarum descriptionibus, synonymis et circa patriam singularum naturalem adversariis, adjecto indice museorum, ubi earum artificiosae exuviae servantur. Nova Acta Physico-Medica Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae 10: 1-104 pls I-III [56] [also as incorrect subsequent spellings, scopularis by Swainson, W. 1833. Zoological Illustrations, or Original Figures and Descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals, selected chiefly from the classes of Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology, and arranged according to their natural affinities. 2nd Series. The Birds. London : Baldwin & Cradock Vol. 1 vii 54 pp. 45 pls 1–45 [publication dated as 1829-1833] (text to pl. 26), and scapullaris by Lesson, R.P. 1837. Complément des Oevres de Buffon; ou, Histoire Naturelle des Animaux rares découverts par les naturalistes et les voyageurs depuis la mort de Buffon. Oiseaux. Paris : Pourrat Frères Vol. 9 550 pp. (219); attributed to Bechstein but not confirmed, see Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917] (294); based on various specimens and on Psittacus tabuensis Gmelin, 1788 var. ß in Latham, J. 1790. Index ornithologicus, sive Systema Ornithologiae; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c. London : Leigh & Sotheby Vol. 1 & 2 xviii 920 pp. [published Dec. Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. Mathews, G.M. 1913. A List of the Birds of Australia containing the names and synonyms connected with each genus, species, and subspecies of birds found in Australia, at present known to the author. London : Witherby xxvii 453 pp.] (88) (=Psittacus tabuensis coccineus Kerr, 1792), on la grande Perruche à collier et croupion bleues on p. 113 and pls 55, 56 in Levaillant, F. 1805. Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets. Paris : Levrault, Schoell & Ce Vol. 1 135 pp. pls 1–71 [published between 1801–1805] (=Psittacus cyanopygius Vieillot, 1818), and on Psittacus amboinensis Linnaeus, 1766 (=Alisterus amboinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)), different species; accordingly, a lectotype is chosen here to fix the application of the name—by this action, Psittacus scapulatus Kuhl, 1820 becomes a junior objective synonym of Psittacus tabuensis coccineus Kerr, 1792].

  Type data:

   Lectotype whereabouts unknown (type of Psittacus tabuensis coccineus Kerr, 1792, q.v., ?lost), Port Jackson, NSW (as Nova Hollandia).
  Paralectotype(s) MNHP (institution uncertain; those of Psittacus cyanopygius Vieillot, 1818).

  Subsequent designation references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [207].

  Type locality references:

  Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls. (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]; Mathews, G.M. 1920. The Birds of Australia. Supplement No. 1. Check List of the Birds of Australia Part 1. Orders Casuariiformes to Menuriformes. London : Witherby iv 1–116 pp. [Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240) (collation of livraisons affecting original description) Mathews, G.M. 1911. On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds. Pt II. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 1–22 (collation of livraisons affecting original description) Sherborn, C.D. 1922. Index Animalium; sive, Index nominem quae ab A.D. 1758 generibus et speciebus animalium imposita sunt, societatibus eruditorum adiuvantibus. Sectio Secunda, 1801–1850. London : British Museum Pt 1 cxxxvi 128 pp. [lxxx]]).
• Platycercus coeruleus Lesson, R.P. in Duperrey, L.I. 1829. Voyage autour du Monde, Exécuté par Ordre du Roi, Sur la Corvette de Sa Majesté, La Coquille, pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824 et 1825. Zoologie. Paris : Arthus Bertrand Vol. T. I(I, II) iv 743 pp., 50 pls. [Date published Feb. 28, 1829: appeared on Feb. 28, 1829, publication dated as 1826] [401] [published in livraison 9; name attributed to Vigors; named in error by reference to 'perroquet à croupion bleu', and so a nom. nov. for Psittacus scapulatus Kuhl, 1820, see p. 631 of protologue].
• Platycercus cyanopygus Finsch, O. 1868. Die Papageien, monographisch bearbeitet. Leiden : E.J. Brill Vol. 2 vii 996 pp., 5 pls. [245] [unjustified emendation of Psittacus cyanopygius Vieillot, 1818].
• Aprosmictus cyanopygius neglectus Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [269].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 621953 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 5939), Olinda, VIC (as Victoria)
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1913. A List of the Birds of Australia containing the names and synonyms connected with each genus, species, and subspecies of birds found in Australia, at present known to the author. London : Witherby xxvii 453 pp.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. [187] (except Cardwell population)

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

East coastal Australia and adjacent ranges, north to the Clarke Range, QLD, where patchy north of 20ºS, south to Otway Ranges, VIC, and inland west to upper inner west slopes of Great Dividing Range in localised pockets (Carnarvon Range, Miles, QLD, Warrumbungle and Brindabella Ranges, NSW, and Benalla-Strathbogie Range, VIC). Some evidence of possible past intergradation with A. s. minor Mathews, 1911 in Clarke Range, QLD.

IBRA

NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: NE coastal
  • Victoria

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, closed forest, diurnal, florivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, mellivore, nomadic, resident, tall forest, terrestrial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, in wetter hill- and rain-forests, feeds in trees (locally on ground) on fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, nectar, blossoms and leaf shoots, flocks in small to moderate-sized groups, flies directly with even wing beats and little gliding, nests on bed of wood dust in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dark-billed chicks, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.

General References

Brereton, J. Le G. 1963. The life cycles of three Australian parrots: some comparative and population aspects. Living Bird 2: 21-29 [Mathews, G.M. 1919. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 5 pp. 385–499 + xii pls 363–370 Appendixes A & B] (general biology, life cycle)

Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pts 1-6 xix 516 pp. pls 275-324. [Date published June 1917: publication dated as 1916–1917] (summary of involved nomenclatural history)

History of changes

• Aprosmictus Gould, J. 1842. The Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould Vol. 5(8) 92 pls. [published Sept. 1842, publication dated 1848 in Vol. 5] [text to pls 17, 18] [published without description but based by reference on both Psittacus scapulatus Kuhl, 1820 (=Alisterus scapulatus (Lichtenstein, 1816)) and Psittacus erythropterus Gmelin, 1788, and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(5); first read at meeting of Zoological Society of London, Aug. 9, 1842, but not published in Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1842: 111–112 until Jan. 1843, see Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of delivery of the sheets of the "Proceedings" of the Zoological Society of London, from the commencement in 1830 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440; misapplied to Alisterus Mathews, 1911 by Gould, J. 1865. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould 2 629 pp. [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] and Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls, see Mathews, G.M. 1911. On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds. Pt II. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 1–22 [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1913. New generic names, with some notes on others. Austral Avian Records 2: 55–62] (13)].

  Type species:

   Psittacus erythropterus Gmelin, 1788 by subsequent designation, see Gray, G.R. 1846. The Genera of Birds: comprising their generic characters, notice of the habits of each genus, and an extensive list of species referred to their several genera. London : Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans Vol. 3 669 pp. clxxxv pls. [Vol. 2 p. 408 no. 23] (Mar. 1846).

  Secondary source:

   Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls.; Mathews, G.M. 1911. On some necessary alterations in the nomenclature of birds. Pt II. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 1-22 [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1913. New generic names, with some notes on others. Austral Avian Records 2: 55–62].
• Ptistes Gould, J. 1865. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould Vol. 2 629 pp. [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] [37] [introduced in misapplication for Aprosmictus Gould, 1842; published without description but based by reference on Psittacus erythropterus Gmelin, 1788, Ptistes coccineopterus Gould, 1865 and Platycercus vulneratus Wagler, 1832 (=Aprosmictus jonquillaceus (Vieillot, 1818)), and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(5)].

  Type species:

   Psittacus erythropterus Gmelin, 1788 by subsequent designation, see Reichenow, A. 1881. Conspectus Psittacorum. Systematische Uebersicht aller bekannten Papageienarten. Journal of Ornithology 29: 1-49, 113-177, 225-289, 337-398 [125].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217-296 pls 291-299. [Date published 17 Apr. 1917: volume dated as 1916–1917] [277-278]

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

PSITTACIDAE: Psittacus jonquillaceus Vieillot, 1818 — Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. [331] (as Aprosmictus jonquillaceus (Vieillot, 1818), cf. Hellmayr, C.E. (1914))

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

South New Guinea and east Lesser Sundas (Timor, Roti and Wetar).

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Bulloo River basin, Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin
  • Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
  • Queensland
  • Western Australia: N coastal

Distribution References

General References

Forshaw, J.M. 1978. Parrots of the World. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 616 pp. 158 pls. (synonymy)

Hellmayr, C.E. 1914. I. Die Avifauna von Timor. In, Haniel, C.B. Zoologie von Timor. Stuttgart : E. Schweizerbartschen, Ngele & Sproesser. vi 112 pp. 1 pl.

Lendon, A.H. 1973. Australian Parrots in Field and Aviary. The comprehensive revised edition of Neville Cayley's standard work. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xxx 342 pp. XIII pls. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement circumscription that includes Alisterus Mathews, 1911)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (synonymy)

RAOU Checklist Committee, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 1926. Official Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union x 212 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement circumscription that includes Alisterus Mathews, 1911)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (synonymy)

Sibley, C.G. & Monroe, B.L., Jr 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. New Haven : Yale University Press xxiv 1111 pp. (synonymy)

Wolters, H.E. 1975–1982. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey xx 745 pp. (synonymy)

History of changes

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

North coastal and subcoastal Australia, west to Kimberley Division and Arnhem Land, WA/NT, south to northern fringes of Great Sandy Desert and Barkly Tableland—east to all Cape York Peninsula and E QLD patchily south to Moreton Bay-Brisbane River valley on eastern watershed of Great Dividing Range and to Gunnedah-far upper Hunter River-Dubbo district, NSW, on western watershed—inland through Gulf of Carpentaria, Diamantina, Cooper, and Darling River drainages to Selwyn Range and lower Diamantina River and Cooper Creek systems in SW QLD, occasionally reaching Goyder's Lagoon and Coongie Lakes (rarely the Lake Frome basin), SA, and the lower E Darling River drainage (Tullamore -Condobolin-Menindee), NSW—also continental islands off Kimberley Division, Melville Is.-Bathurst Is., Groote Eylandt, and Sir Edward Pellew Group. Erratic records around south and SE Australian cities are of aviary escapees.

IBRA

NSW, Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT) ; NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Northern Kimberley (NK), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low open woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, terrestrial, volant.

General References

Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Forshaw, J.M. 1978. Parrots of the World. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 616 pp. 158 pls. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Frith, C.B. & Carline, F. 1974. Psittacidae. In, Hall, B.P. (ed.). Birds of the Harold Hall Australian Expeditions 1962–70. A report on the collections made for the British Museum (Natural History). Results of the Harold Hall Australian Expeditions. London : British Museum Vol. 33 xi 396 pp., 10 pls col. pl. map. (diet, seasonal cycles)

Hindwood, K.A. 1944. Notes on the type locality of the Red-winged Parrot. The Emu 44: 72-73 (discovery, type locality)

Mayr, E. & Rand, A.L. 1936. Neue Unterarten von Vögeln aus Neu-Guinea. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 21: 241-248 (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (synonymy and specific limits)

Wolters, H.E. 1977. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey pp. Lief. 3, 161-240. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

History of changes

• Ptistes coccineopterus Gould, J. 1865. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould Vol. 2 629 pp. [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] [39] [lectotypification by Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129–180 does not restrict type locality because the lectotype carries only the annotation 'northern Australia'; it is possible but unconfirmed that the male and female figured on pl. 18 in Gould, J. 1848. The Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould Vol. 5 92 pls pp. [Pt 8, 1842] are part of the type series].

  Type data:

   Lectotype ANSP 22757 ♂ adult (Verreaux cat. no. 269), Port Essington, NT, or adjacent northwest parts of Australia.
  Paralectotype(s) BMNH 1850.7.20.190 ♂ adult; ANSP 22758 ♀ adult (Verreaux cat. no. 270)
  Comment: for identification of type series, see Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1957. On some avian types, principally Gould's, in the collection of the Academy. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 109: 123–246; Warren, R.L.M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1 Non-Passerines. London : British Museum ix 320 pp.

  Subsequent designation references:

  Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129-180 [Date published 28 Feb 1913].

Generic Combinations

• Aprosmictus erythropterus coccineopterus (Gould, 1865). —
  Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [268]
• Aprosmictus coccineopterus (Gould, 1865). —
  Ramsay, E.P. 1878. Tabular list of all Australian birds at present known — showing the distribution of the species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 2: 177-212 [Date published Jan 1878] [193]

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Northern Australia from the Kimberley, WA, east to Cape York, QLD

IBRA

NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Northern Kimberley (NK), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low open woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, terrestrial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, feeds in trees and shrubs in eucalypt woodlands and open forest on fruits and seeds, (sometimes on ground), rather solitary or in small groups, flies erratically with deep jerked wing beats, nests on bed of wood debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dull orange-yellow-billed chicks, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.

History of changes

• Psittacus erythropterus Gmelin, J.F. 1788. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Linné, editio decima tertia, aucta, reformata. Regnum Animalium. Leipzig (Lipsiae) : G.E. Beer Vol. 1(1) 1-500 pp. [For publication date Duncan, F.M. 1937. On the dates of publication of the Society's 'Proceedings', 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of 'Proceedings', 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the 'Transactions', 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 107: 71–84] [343] [based on the Crimson-winged Parrot in Latham, J. 1781. A General Synopsis of Birds. London : B. White Vol. 1 Pt 1 vi 416 pp. I–XVI pls, in turn based on material received via Thomas Pennant from Joseph Banks collected on James Cook's first voyage to Australasia and deposited perhaps in the Leverian Museum, London, see Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917] (281); Hindwood, K.A. 1944. Notes on the type locality of the Red-winged Parrot. Emu 44: 72–73; this material has since been dispersed and lost, see entries under Psittacus multicolor Gmelin, 1788, P. novaehollandiae Gmelin, 1788 (316), P. elegans Gmelin, 1788 and P. adscitus Latham, 1790; of the several landfalls made by Cook in the range of this species, parrots other than lorikeets appear to have been recorded only at Endeavour River, QLD, see Whittell, H.M. 1954. The Literature of Australian Birds: a History and Bibliography of Australian Ornithology. Perth : Paterson Brokensha xi 116 788 pp. (13–17)—that site is accepted here as the type locality of Psittacus erythropterus Gmelin, 1788 cf. Hindwood, K.A. 1944. Notes on the type locality of the Red-winged Parrot. Emu 44: 72–73; Whittell, H.M. 1954. The Literature of Australian Birds: a History and Bibliography of Australian Ornithology. Perth : Paterson Brokensha xi 116 788 pp.].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (lost), Endeavour River, QLD (published without locality).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [209] (cf. Latham, J. 1787. Supplement to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh & Sotheby iii 298 pp. pls CVII–CXIX [Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of delivery of the sheets of the "Proceedings" of the Zoological Society of London, from the commencement in 1830 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440] [60]).
• Psittacus melanotus Shaw, G. in Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. (ill.) 1805. The Naturalist's Miscellany; or coloured figures of natural objects drawn and described immediately from nature. London : Nodder Vol. XVI pls 637-684. [text to pl. 653] [also as incorrect subsequent spelling, melanotis by Gray, G.R. 1849. The Genera of Birds: comprising their generic characters, a notice of the habits of each genus, and an extensive list of species referred to their several genera. London : Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans 3 Vols 669 pp. CLXXXV pls [published between 1844–1849 Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp.] (Vol. 2, p. 408, no. 23, Mar. 1846); source material not specified in protologue nor in subsequent references].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown ♂ adult (figured on pl. 653 in Shaw, G. & Nodder, F.P. (op. cit.)), New South Wales (as Australasia).

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912].
• Aprosmictus erythropterus parryensis Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [268].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 621677 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll no. 8402), Point Torment, King Sound, WA (as North-West Australia (Parry's Creek), in error)
  Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
• Aprosmictus erythropterus yorki Mathews, G.M. 1912. Additions and corrections to my Reference List. Austral Avian Records 1(5): 118-120 [Date published 24 Dec 1912] [118].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 621761 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 13790), Utingu, Cape York, QLD (as Cape York)
  Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.
• Aprosmictus erythropterus melvillensis Zietz, F.R. 1914. The avifauna of Melville Island, Northern Territory. South Australian Ornithologist 1(1): 11-18 [14].

  Type data:

   Holotype SAMA B1336 ♂, Melville Is., NT
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Condon, H.T. 1976. Vertebrate type-specimens in the South Australian Museum IV. Birds. Records of the South Australian Museum 17: 189–193.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Mees, G.F. 1982. Birds from the lowlands of southern New Guinea (Merauke and Koembe). Zoologische Verhandelingen (Leiden) 191: 1-188 4 pls [81-83]

Generic Combinations

• Aprosmictus erythropterus (Gmelin, 1788). —
  Gould, J. 1842. The Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould Vol. 5(8) 92 pls. [published Sept. 1842, publication dated 1848 in Vol. 5] [text to pl. 18]
• Aprosmictus erythropterus erythropterus (Gmelin, 1788). —
  Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [268]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland

IBRA

NSW, Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Channel Country (CHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low open woodland, nomadic, open forest, resident, terrestrial, volant.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, feeds in trees and shrubs in eucalypt woodlands and open forest on fruits and seeds, (sometimes on ground), rather solitary or in small groups, flies erratically with deep jerked wing beats, nests on bed of wood debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dull orange-yellow-billed chicks, wanders locally to seasonal food sources.

History of changes

• Polytelis Wagler, J.G. 1832. Monographia Psittacorum. Abhandlungen K. Bayer Akademie Wissenschaftlichen München 1: 463-750 [published Dec. 1832] [489] [also as incorrect subsequent spelling, Polyteles by Reichenbach, L. 1850. Avium Systema Naturale. Das natürliche System der Vögel mit hundert Tafeln grössentheils Original-Abbildungen der bis jetzt entdeckten fast zwölfhundert typischen Formen. Leipzig : F. Hofmeister viii 36 pp. 100 pls [publication dated 1849-1850 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp. Waterhouse, F.H. 1885. The Dates of Publication of some of the Zoological Works of the late John Gould, F.R.S. London : R.H. Porter xi 59 pp. [Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp. Mathews, G.M. 1919. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 5 pp. 385–499 + xii pls 363–370 Appendixes A & B (Appendix B)]] [pl. 82] and by Gould, J. 1863. On a collection of birds from central Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1863: 232–233].

  Type species:

   Psittacus barrabandi Swainson, 1821 by monotypy.
• Barrabandius Bonaparte, C.L. 1850. Conspectus Generum Avium. Tom. I. Lugduni, Batavorum : E.J. Brill 543 pp. [Date published 24 Jun 1850] [2] [published without description but based by reference on to two nominal species, Palaeornis rosaceus Vigors, 1830 and P. melanurus Gould (=Lear, 1832) and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(5); cited in the synonymy of Barrabandius rosaceus (Vigors, 1830) was the nominal species Psittacus barrabandi Swainson, 1821, establishing the type species of Barrabandius Bonaparte, 1850 under ICZN Art. 68(e)].

  Type species:

   Psittacus barrabandi Swainson, 1821 by original designation.
• Spathopterus North, A.J. 1895. Preliminary descriptions of a new genus and of five new species of Central Australian birds. Ibis 7 1: 339-342 [339] [not preoccupied as junior homonym of Spathoptera Audinet-Serville, 1835 (Coleoptera) under ICZN Art. 56(b)].

  Type species:

   Polytelis alexandrae Gould, 1863 by original designation.
• Northipsitta Mathews, G.M. 1912. Substitute-names. Austral Avian Records 1: 127 [127] [nom. nov. for Spathopterus North, 1895, presumed preoccupied by Spathoptera Audinet-Serville, 1835 (Coleoptera)].
• Sindelia Wells, R.W. & Wellington, R. 1992. A classification of the cockatoos and parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) of Australia. Sydney Basin Naturalist 1: 107-169 [Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240)] [118] [as subgenus of Polytelis Wagler, 1832].

  Type species:

   Palaeornis anthopeplus Lear, 1831 by original designation.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. [188]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Victorian Midlands (VM) ; NSW, NT, SA, Vic, WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Burt Plain (BRT), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Pilbara (PIL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin
  • Northern Territory: Lake Eyre basin, W plateau
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin, W plateau
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

General References

Forshaw, J.M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 312 pp. 56 pls. (with discussion rejecting subgenera)

Mathews, G.M. 1913. A List of the Birds of Australia containing the names and synonyms connected with each genus, species, and subspecies of birds found in Australia, at present known to the author. London : Witherby xxvii 453 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement also subsequent revisions)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

RAOU Checklist Committee, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 1926. Official Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union x 212 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (synonymy)

Sibley, C.G. & Monroe, B.L., Jr 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. New Haven : Yale University Press xxiv 1111 pp. (synonymy)

Wolters, H.E. 1975–1982. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey xx 745 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

History of changes

• Polytelis alexandrae Gould, J. 1863. On a collection of birds from central Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1863: 232-233 [232] [as Polyteles alexandrae; in correspondence to the Secretary of the South Australian Institute dated June 15, 1863 (copy in South Australian Archives) and in the text to plate 62 in Gould, J. 1869. The Birds of Australia. Supplement. London : J. Gould 81 pls pp. [Pt 3, 1859], Gould makes it clear that he had available two of the three original specimens of this species, and that both were returned to the South Australian Institute (later Museum), (M. Fleming, pers. comm.) cf. Cleland, J.B. 1937. The history of ornithology in South Australia. Emu 36: 197–221; one of the three was then lodged in E.P. Ramsay's Dobroyde collection now incorporated in AM; those in the South Australian Institute have since been destroyed, for reasons given by Sutton, J. 1927. Amytornis goyderi, Eyrean (formerly Goyder's) Grass-wren, etc. South Australian Ornithologist 9: 116–131, but the specimen in AM survives, see Longmore, N.W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technichal Report of the Australian Museum n 4: 1–42; that it was part of the selection sent to Gould for description and not the specimen kept behind is likely from Ramsay's reference to the skin (then in the Dobroyde collection) as the 'type' in a letter to E.C.S. Stirling dated 19 June 1891 (South Australian Archives); both syntypes are figured on pl. 62 in Gould, J. 1869. The Birds of Australia. Supplement. London : J. Gould 81 pls pp. [Pt 3, 1859]].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) AM 0.18585 ♀ (probable), Howell's Ponds, NT (as 16º54´7˜S.L.); SAMA (destroyed), Howell's Ponds, NT (as 16º54´7˜S.L.).

  Type locality references:

  Longmore, N.W. 1991. Type specimens of birds in the Australian Museum. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum n 4: 1-42.
• Spathopterus alexandrae rogersi Mathews, G.M. 1916. List of additions of new sub-species to, and changes in, my "List of the Birds of Australia". Austral Avian Records 3(3): 53-68 [Date published 4 Apr 1916] [57] [holotype (possibly ex aviary) inferred but not specified in protologue—for its identification and source, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306; it is figured on pl. 297 and described in detail on pp. 271–272 in Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917]].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 621655 ♀ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. unspecified), uncertain (as North-west Australia).

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. [189]

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Sand-plain and dune deserts of central W Australia, north to N fringes of Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and, erratically, the southernmost fringes of the Fitzroy, Ord and Victoria River systems, WA/NT—east to SW fringe of the Barkly Tableland, W fringes of the Sandover and Simpson Deserts and S Lake Eyre basin, NT/SA—south to N edge of Nullarbor Plain—west to E edge of mulga-eucalypt line in south and Pilbara in N WA—centred in Great Sandy, Tanami, Gibson and Great Victoria deserts—records from central Lake Eyre region into far SW QLD are doubtful.

IBRA

NT, SA, WA: Burt Plain (BRT), Channel Country (CHC), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Northern Territory: Lake Eyre basin, W plateau
  • South Australia: W plateau
  • Western Australia: W plateau

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, desert, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, hummock grassland, low open woodland, nomadic, sand hill desert, sand plain desert, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, slightly sexually dimorphic, feeds mainly on ground on seeds, shoots and probably fruit and blossom, flocks in small groups, flies directly with swift regular wing beats, nests on bed of wood dust in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dull orange-billed chicks, wanders very widely and erratically to seasonal food sources.

General References

Allen, R.J. 1987. Alexandra's Parrots in the Great Victoria Desert. South Australian Ornithologist 30: 75 (habitat, diet)

Forshaw, J.M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 312 pp. 56 pls. (principle subsequent revisions)

Keartland, G.A. 1905. The range of the Princess of Wales Parakeet Spathopterus alexandrae. Victorian Naturalist 22: 83-84 (distribution, habitat)

Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] (principal subsequent revisions)

North, A.J. 1912. Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania. Sydney : Australian Museum Spec. Cat. 1 Vol. 3 vii 362 pp. (distribution, movements, feeding, nidification)

Parker, S.A. 1971. Critical notes on the status of some central Australian birds. The Emu 71: 99-102 (distribution, status)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (principal subsequent revisions)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (synonymy and specific limits)

Wolters, H.E. 1975–1982. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey xx 745 pp. (principal subsequent revisions)

History of changes

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA

NSW, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Carnarvon (CAR), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Esperance Plains (ESP), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Victorian Midlands (VM), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

General References

Condon, H.T. 1951. Notes on the birds of South Australia: occurrence, distribution and taxonomy. South Australian Ornithologist 20: 26-68 (subspecific arrangement)

Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. (subspecific arrangement)

Forshaw, J.M. 1978. Parrots of the World. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 616 pp. 158 pls. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Forshaw, J.M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 312 pp. 56 pls. (subspecific arrangement, with contrary commentary)

Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp. (subspecific arrangement)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement rejecting subspecies)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (subspecific arrangement and specific limits)

History of changes

• Palaeornis anthopeplus Lear, E. 1831. Illustrations of the family of Psittacidae, or Parrots: the greater part of them species hitherto unfigured, containing forty-two lithographic plates, drawn from life, and on stone. London : E. Lear 42 pls. [Pl. 8, Pt VIII, published Oct. 1831, publication dated as 1830–1832] [pl. 29] [published without description or locality but in association with a coloured illustration (female) and available under ICZN Art. 12(b)(7); type locality accepted conventionally as 'New South Wales', see Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.] and subsequent revisions, Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp., Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia Pt 1 Non-passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp., but this presumption is not consistent with either Australian exploration at the time or the form of the specimen illustrated in the protologue, see Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44–47; original material, probably ex Zoological Society of London coll., was not passed to BMNH and is evidently lost, see Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls (480); Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2. (514–515); Warren, R.L.M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1 Non-Passerines. London : British Museum ix 320 pp.].

  Type data:

   Neotype WAM A7095 ♀, Bolgart, c. 40 km north of Toodyay, south WA (published without locality).

  Subsequent designation references:

  Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47.

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47 (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]; Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp.; Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia Pt 1 Non-passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp.).
• Palaeornis melanura Lear, E. 1832. Illustrations of the family of Psittacidae, or Parrots: the greater part of them species hitherto unfigured, containing forty-two lithographic plates, drawn from life, and on stone. London : E. Lear 42 pls. [Pt XII, published 1832, publication dated as 1830–1832] [pl. 28] [published without description or locality but in association with a coloured illustration (male) and available under ICZN Art. 12(b) (7); type locality accepted conventionally as 'New South Wales', see Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.] and subsequent revisions, and Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia Pt 1 Non-passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp., but this presumption is not consistent with either Australian exploration at the time or the form of the specimen illustrated in the protologue, see Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44–47; original material, ex B. & J. Leadbeater coll., not passed to BMNH and evidently lost, see Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls (480); Warren, R.L.M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1 Non-Passerines. London : British Museum ix 320 pp.].

  Type data:

   Neotype WAM A7095 ♀, Bolgart, c. 40 km north of Toodyay, south WA (published without locality).

  Subsequent designation references:

  Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47.

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47 (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]; Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia Pt 1 Non-passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp.).
• Polytelis anthopeplus westralis Mathews, G.M. 1915. Additions and corrections to my List of the Birds of Australia. Austral Avian Records 2: 123-133 [Date published 129] [127] [holotype inferred but not specified in protologue; the female illustrated on pl. 296 and described in detail on p. 267 in Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917] is evidently one of syntypes, having been collected in Jan. 1912, before the description of this form].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) AMNH 621639 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll.), Broome Hill, WA (as West Australia); AMNH 621640 ♀ (G.M. Mathews' coll.), Broome Hill, WA (as West Australia); AMNH 621641 ♀ (G.M. Mathews' coll.), Broome Hill, WA (as West Australia)
  Comment: for identification of syntypes and type locality, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47 [45]

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Mallee sand plains and wheat belt, WA, north to Ajana, east to Lake Moore and Kalgoorlie, south-east to region of Balladonia, south to Israelite Bay, Esperance, and Albany, and west to west coast north from Geographe Bay to Greenough-Irwin Rivers, avoiding heavier forests of extreme south-west—erratically reaches Murchison River, Wanjarri, Laverton and Leonora.

IBRA

WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Carnarvon (CAR), Coolgardie (COO), Central Ranges (CR), Dampierland (DL), Esperance Plains (ESP), Gascoyne (GAS), Gibson Desert (GD), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), Mallee (MAL), Murchison (MUR), Nullarbor (NUL), Pilbara (PIL), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Warren (WAR), Yalgoo (YAL)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal, W plateau

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low open woodland, low woodland, nomadic, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, feeds arboreally and on ground on seeds, fruit and blossom, flocks in small to large groups, flies directly with swift even wing beats, nests on bed of wood dust/debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dull orange-yellow-billed chicks, wanders regionally to seasonal food sources.

History of changes

• Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides Schodde, R. 1993. Geographic forms of the Regent Parrot, Polytelis anthopeplus (Lear), and their type localities. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 113: 44-47 [46].

  Type data:

   Holotype ANWC 42432 ♂ adult, Kingston, 12 km W of Barmera, SA.
  Paratype(s) AM O.17892 ♂ adult; ANWC 42433 ♂ adult; NMV B.18436 ♂ adult; SAMA B.46511 ♂ adult; ANWC 14821 ♀.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Restricted to Murray River system and fringing mallee, east to Balranald and Swan Hill (formerly erratically to beyond Echuca)—south to Wyperfeld and formerly Dimboola in Wimmera, VIC, and Bordertown, SA—west to Karoonda and Waikerie, SA (formerly Coombe, Murray Bridge, and Sutherlands)—north to Gluepot and Canopus, SA, and Pooncarie-Arumpo, NSW—missing from Murray River in centre of range from region of Mildura west towards Lake Victoria where mallee distant from river—early records from 'north-west' of Adelaide in Gould, J. 1865. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould 2 629 pp. [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] [34] are unverified.

IBRA

NSW, SA, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Kanmantoo (KAN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Victorian Midlands (VM)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low open woodland, low woodland, migratory, nomadic, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, feeds arboreally and on ground on seeds, fruit and blossom, flocks in small to moderate-sized groups, flies directly with swift regular wing beats, nests on bed of wood dust/debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dull orange-yellow-billed chicks, wanders regionally to seasonal food sources, with a shift to river gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) to breed in spring-early summer, and a dispersal through outlying mallee in non-breeding months.

General References

Beardsell, C. 1985. The Regent Parrot. A report on the nest site survey in south-eastern Australia, September 1983 to January 1984. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service Report Series n. 1 28 pp. (breeding biology)

Burbidge, A. 1985. The Regent Parrot. A report on the breeding distribution and habitat requirements along the Murray River in south-eastern Australia. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service Report Series n. 4 xii 36 pp. (distribution, breeding habitat)

Joseph, L. 1978. Range and movements of the Regent Parrot in South Australia. South Australian Ornithologist 28: 26-27 (distribution, status, movement)

History of changes

• Psittacus swainsonii Desmarest, A.G. 1826. Perroquet. In Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles dans lequel on traite méthodiquement des différens êtres de la nature, considérés soit en eux-mêmes, d'après l'état actuel de nos connoissances, soit relativement à l'utilité qu'en peuvent retirer la médecine, l'agriculture, le commerce et les arts. Suivi d'une biographie des plus célèbres naturalistes. Par plusieurs Professeurs du Jardin du Roi, et des principales Écoles de Paris. Paris : F.G. Levrault 138 pp. [39] [as Swainsonii; nom. nov. for Psittacus barrabandii Swainson, 1821, preoccupied; also as incorrect subsequent spelling, swainsoni, e.g., by Gould, J. 1865. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould 2 629 pp. [For publication date Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] (31); Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls (478)].
• Psittacus barrabandii Swainson, W. 1821. Zoological Illustrations; or Original Figures and Descriptions of new, rare, or interesting Animals, selected chiefly from the classes of Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology, and arranged on the principles of Cuvier and other modern zoologists. London : Baldwin, Cradock & Joy Vol. 1 ix 75 pp. pls 1-66. [publication dated 1820–1821] [text to pl. 59] [as Barrabandii, junior homonym of Psittacus barrabandi Kuhl, 1820 (=Pionopsitta barrabandi (Kuhl, 1820)) under ICZN Art. 58; also as incorrect subsequent spelling, barrabandi, e.g., by Vigors, N.A. & Horsfield, T. 1827. A description of the Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 15: 170–331 [publication dated 1826, published Feb. 1827] (287); Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls; Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia Pt 1 Non-passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp.; based on an adult male in the collection of B. & J. Leadbeater, London dealers, and of unknown regional provenance—nevertheless, almost certainly collected in the valleys of the upper Macquarie or middle Lachlan Rivers, either on John Oxley's two expeditions into that region in 1817 and 1818 or from settlements and local exploration west from around Bathurst immediately after].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (lost, ex B. & J. Leadbeater coll., figured on pl. 59 in Swainson, W. 1821. Zoological Illustrations; or Original Figures and Descriptions of new, rare, or interesting Animals, selected chiefly from the classes of Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology, and arranged on the principles of Cuvier and other modern zoologists. London : Baldwin, Cradock & Joy Vol. 1 ix 75 pp. pls 1–66 [publication dated 1820–1821]), Macquarie-middle Lachlan River valleys, NSW (as New Holland).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [214] (cf. Barnardius barnardi (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)).
• Palaeornis rosaceus Vigors, N.A. 1830. Notice on some new species of birds. Zoological Journal London 5: 273-275 [published June] [274] [as Palaeornis? rosaceus; based on one live female or immature in the collection of the Zoological Society, London, and another in similar plumage figured on pl. 30 in Lear, E. 1831. Illustrations of the family of Psittacidae, or Parrots: the greater part of them species hitherto unfigured, containing forty-two lithographic plates, drawn from life, and on stone. London : E. Lear 42 pls pp. [Pt III, published Jan. 1931, publication dated as 1830–1832]].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (probably lost ♀ or imm., ex Zoological Society of London coll.), New South Wales (published without locality); whereabouts unknown (probably lost ♀ or imm., ?ex Zoological Society of London coll., figured on pl. 30 in Lear, E. 1831. Illustrations of the family of Psittacidae, or Parrots: the greater part of them species hitherto unfigured, containing forty-two lithographic plates, drawn from life, and on stone. London : E. Lear 42 pls pp. [Pt III, published Jan. 1931, publication dated as 1830–1832]), New South Wales (published without locality)
  Comment: syntypes not cited as having passed to BMNH by Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls (479); Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2. (514); or Warren, R.L.M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1 Non-Passerines. London : British Museum ix 320 pp.
• Polytelis swainsonii whitei Mathews, G.M. 1916. List of additions of new sub-species to, and changes in, my "List of the Birds of Australia". Austral Avian Records 3(3): 53-68 [Date published 4 Apr 1916] [57] [holotype inferred but not specified in protologue; male AMNH 621616 and female AMNH 621617 cited as syntypes by Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306, but original description based on male; the female, figured on pl. 295 and described in detail on p. 262, is not nominated as part of any type series in Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pt 3 pp. 217–296 pls 291–299 [17 Apr. 1917, volume dated as 1916–1917]].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 621616 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. unspecified), Tubbo, Riverina, NSW.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. [188]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Riverina and north-central riverine plains, NSW, and adjacent lower western slopes of Great Dividing Range north to Narrabri and Lightning Ridge, NSW, south to Albury, Benalla and Echuca (where now rare), VIC, east to Canberra, Orange and Gunnedah, NSW/ACT, and west to Hay, Hillston, Hermidale and Macquarie Marshes, NSW—previously south to Seymour and Bendigo areas, VIC, and populations on Murray River drainage now appear isolated—aviary escapees recorded frequently in east Australian cities.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Victorian Midlands (VM)

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, diurnal, florivore, folivore, frugivorous, granivore, gregarious, low open woodland, migratory, nomadic, open forest, terrestrial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Seasonal breeder, sexually dimorphic, feeds arboreally and on ground on seeds, fruit, scale insects and blossom, flocks in small to moderate-sized groups, flies directly with swift regular wing beats, nests on bed of wood dust/debris in tree hollows, incubation by female, both sexes rear whitish-downed, dull orange-yellow-billed chicks, wanders regionally to seasonal food sources, shifting northward in non-breeding winter months, and returning to southern sectors in spring to breed.

General References

Forshaw, J.M. 1981. Australian Parrots. 2nd (revised) Edn. Illustrated by W.T. Cooper. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 312 pp. 56 pls. (synonymy)

Frith, H.J. & Calaby, J.H. 1953. The Superb Parrot in southern New South Wales. The Emu 53: 324-330 (distribution, movements, status, habitat, feeding ecology)

Kaveny, M. 1979. The Superb Parrot in the central west of New South Wales. Australian Birds 13: 47 (distribution, status, movements)

Mathews, G.M. 1917. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 6 pts 1-6 xix 516 pp. pls 275-324. [Date published June 1917: publication dated as 1916–1917] (synonymy and subsequent revisions)

Peters, J.L. 1937. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 3 xiii 311 pp. (synonymy)

Salvadori, T. 1891. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Psittaci, or Parrots. London : British Museum Vol. 20 xvii 658 pp. XVIII pls. (synonymy and specific limits)

Schrader, N.W. 1980. A review of the distribution of the Superb Parrot in central New South Wales. Australian Birds 14: 45-50 (distribution, status, movements)

Webster, R. 1988. The Superb Parrot. A survey of the breeding distribution and habitat requirements. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service Report Series n. 12 51 pp.

Wolters, H.E. 1975. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey Lief. 1, 1-80 pp. (synonymy)

History of changes