Names: Chatham Parakeet, Forbes' Parakeet Scientific name: Cyanoramphus auriceps forbesi Conservation status: Endangered Info: The Chatham Parakeet is a rare parakeet endemic to the Chatham Islands group, New Zealand. This parakeet is one of New Zealand’s rarest birds and is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as a result of a range of threats to the species survival, including habitat loss, predation, and hybridization. The parakeet is one of ten species in the Cyanoramphus genus, a genus consisting of parakeets from New Zealand and surrounding islands. Originally classified as a distinct species, the parakeet was later thought to be a subspecies of the Yellow-crowned Kakariki, Cyanoramphus auriceps, and was renamed Cyanoramphus auriceps forbesi. Chatham Parakeets are medium-sized parakeets, with long tails and orange-red eyes. Plumage is bright green, with a red band across the forehead and a yellow forecrown. The lores are also green, and the bird has some red plumage on the sides of the rump, and violet-blue outer primaries and wing coverts. The female parakeet is slightly smaller than the male, which is also reflected in her smaller bill size. The diet of the parakeets comprises of invertebrates, flowers, seeds, leaves, fruit, shoots and bark. They have been noted feeding in the forest canopy and on the forest floor, as well as in trees, shrubs or other plants when fruiting, seeding or flowering.
