Eclectus Parrot - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Ornithologists usually classify the Eclectus Parrot as a member of tribe Psittaculini in the Psittacidae family of order Psittaciformes. However, some recent thought indicates that there is a great deal of commonality between the Eclectus Parrot and the Lorini tribe.

Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson noted there were similarities in the skull between the Eclectus Parrot and members of the genus Geoffroyus, specifically in the auditory meatus and the prefrontal reaching but not joining the squamosal bones. The skull of members the genus Tanygnathus is also generally similar.

The Eclectus Parrot is the most sexually dimorphic of all the parrot species. The contrast between the brilliant emerald green plumage of the male and the deep red/purple plumage of the female is so marked that the two birds were, until the early 20th century, considered to be different species.

Although the Eclectus Parrot is the only extant species in the genus Eclectus, fossil remains of another species, Oceanic Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus infectus), have been found in archaeological sites in the islands of Tonga and Vanuatu. The species presumably existed in Fiji as well. E. infectus had proportionally smaller wings than the Eclectus Parrot. The species became extinct after the arrival of man 3000 years ago, presumably due to human-caused factors (habitat loss, introduced species).