Brown-headed Parrot vs Cape Parrot

Brown-headed Parrot

Poicephalus cryptoxanthus

Medium140 gWoodland

The general plumage colour is green, indeed Sinclair et al., (1993) describe the species as "the greenest parrot of the sub-region". The under wing coverts are bright yellow, although the extent of this is variable. It is from this yellow that the specific name derives, kryptos being Greek for hidden or concealed and xanthos meaning yellow. The rump is very bright, almost metallic green. As is the margins of the feathers on the underparts, with this coloration becoming more pronounced towards the vent and thighs.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Alandmanson · CC BY 4.0

Cape Parrot

Poicephalus robustus

Large343 gForest

The Cape parrot is a short-tailed moderately large bird with a very large beak used to crack all sorts of hard nuts and fruit kernels, especially those of African yellowwood trees (Podocarpus spp.). This contrasts with the closely related savanna species (Poicephalus fuscicollis) which feeds on a wide variety of tropical woodland trees such as marula, Commiphora spp. and Terminalia spp. These species are sexually dimorphic, with females typically sporting an orange frontal patch on the forehead.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Dave Brown · CC0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Brown-headed Parrot and Cape Parrot.