Vasa parrot
3568613
201604324
2008-03-28T16:26:41Z
Höyhens
394417
fi:
:''The name Vasa Parrot is also used for the Greater Vasa Parrot.''
{{Taxobox
| status = LC
| trend = down
| name = Vasa Parrot
| image = Black parrot-2 31l07.JPG
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Lesser Vasa Parrot
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Psittaciformes]]
| familia = [[Psittacidae]]
| subfamilia = [[Psittacinae]]
| tribus = [[Psittacini]]
| genus = '''''Coracopsis'''''
| genus_authority = [[Johann Georg Wagler|Wagler]], 1832
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
* ''[[Greater Vasa Parrot|Coracopsis vasa]]''
* ''[[Lesser Vasa Parrot|Coracopsis nigra]]''
}}
The '''vasa parrots''' ('''''Coracopsis''''') are two [[species]] of [[parrot]] which are endemic to [[Madagascar]] and other [[island]]s in the western [[Indian Ocean]].
== Taxonomy and distribution ==
The vasa parrots are 'true' parrots meaning that they have squared off tails, like [[African Grey]]s and [[Amazon parrot]]s.
There are two species:
* [[Greater Vasa Parrot]] ''C. vasa''
* [[Lesser Vasa Parrot]] ''C. nigra'' (also known as Black Parrot)
== Appearance ==
They are notable in the parrot world for their peculiar appearance, which includes extremely truncated bodies with long necks, black to grey [[feather]]s and a pink [[beak]].
The skin of both female and male Vasas turns yellow during the [[breeding season]], and there is often feather loss. However in females the feather loss can result in complete baldness. Another interesting feature of the females breeding [[physiology]] is when her feathers, which are usually black to grey, turn brown without a moult. This is caused by the redistribution of [[melanin]], which is the [[pigment]] that makes the Vasas' feathers black.
== Unusual characteristics ==
In addition to their appearance they possess aspects of their physiology that make them completely unique amongst parrots. Vasa chicks are known to hatch after only 18-20 days of [[Avian incubation|incubation]], which is highly irregular as parrots of the Vasa size range tend to take up to 30 days to hatch.
The male Vasas' [[cloaca]] is able to invert into a [[hemipenis]], which becomes erect during mating - a feature unique to the [[genus]]. Baby Vasas possess pads on their beaks which when stimulated prompt a strong feeding response. These pads disappear after only a few weeks, however the feeding or 'weaning' [[reflex]] remains unusually strong well into adulthood. Often [[aviculturalist]]s have to use a [[syringe]] to force food into the crops of young Vasas as the intensity of the weaning reflex prevents them from being spoon fed.
Vasa parrots infected with the debilitating [[Psittacine beak and feather disease]] are known to turn white, which, during the 1970s when the first wave of birds were exported into [[Europe]] and [[Americas|America]], resulted in them being mistakenly advertised by importers as [[albino]]s.
<br/>
{{commonscat_show2|Coracopsis|Psittacidae}}
==External links==
[[Category:Parrots]]
[[Category:Psittacini]]
[[Category:Genera of birds]]
[[fi:Mustakaijat]]
[[fr:Coracopsis]]
[[hu:Coracopsis]]
[[sv:Vasapapegoja]]