A bird of the forest Cape Parrot

With the announcement of the Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus as BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of the Year 2023, there was great excitement that the country’s only endemic parrot was finally getting the recognition it deserves.

Previously, the Cape Parrot was considered the same species as Brown-necked P. fuscicollis suahelicus and Grey-headed P. f. fuscicollis parrots and it was only declared a unique species as recently as 2017. With fewer than 1800 individuals left in the wild across three genetically distinct sub-populations, this charismatic bird has been declared Critically Endangered.

At about 30 centimetres high, the Cape Parrot is one of the largest of the Poicephalus species. This scientific name alludes to the head, and in general the heads of the various species in the genus are a different colour from the rest of the body. The olive-brown plumage on the head of the Cape Parrot identifies it, while the rest of its body is dark to paler green, a coloration that makes it fairly well camouflaged against the backdrop of its forest habitat. However, its loud, harsh call reveals its presence and you’re likely to hear it before you see it.

When they are seen, adult Cape Parrots can be identified by the red/orange coloration of their shoulders and ankles and, generally on the adult females, by the orange on their forehead. Juvenile Cape Parrots lack the red/orange on their shoulders and ankles, but display the orange patch on their forehead. As juveniles mature, the males start to lose the orange patch at about eight to 10 months old. Cape Parrots are most active early in the morning, shortly after dawn, and again in the evening before sunset, when they depart and return to their overnight roosting sites.