Alexandrine Parakeet Parrot
The Alexandrine parakeet (Psittacula eupatria), also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula of the family Psittaculidae. It is named after Alexander the Great, who transported numerous birds from Punjab to various European and Mediterranean countries and regions, where they were prized by the royalty, nobility and warlords.
The Alexandrine parakeet has established feral populations in Iraq, Kuwait Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iran where it lives alongside feral populations of its close relative, the rose-ringed parakeet.
The Alexandrine parakeet was first described by French
zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson as
Psittaca Ginginiana or "La Perruche de Gingi" (The Gingi's Parakeet) in 1760; after the town of
Gingee in southeastern
India, which was a French outpost then. The birds may, however, merely have been held in captivity there.
Carl Linnaeus redescribed the Alexandrine parakeet in 1766 as
Psittacus eupatria.
Painting of an Alexandrine parakeet made between 1770 and 1786.
The
genus name Psittacula is a
diminutive of the
Latin word
psittacus meaning "parrot", and the
specific name eupatria is derived from the
Ancient Greek words
eu- meaning "well" and
patriá meaning "descent".
In 2019, a genetic study revived the genus
Palaeornis, formerly viewed as a synonym of the current genus
Psittacula. Some organisations, including the IUCN, have accepted the new taxonomy.
If this were to be taken into account, this could mean that the Alexandine parakeet is the only living member of the now-revived genus. Alexandrine Parakeet Parrot
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