- Thirioux's Grey Parrot
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Thirioux’s grey parrot 
Engraving accompanying the journal of Willem Van West-Zanen, which depicts the killing of grey parrots (bottom) and other animals on Mairitius in 1602 Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae Genus: Psittacula Species: Psittacula bensoni
(Holyoak, 1973)Thirioux’s grey parrot (Psittacula bensoni), also known as the Mauritius Grey Parrot, is a little-known extinct species of parakeet which used to inhabit Mauritius Island in the western Indian Ocean. It was only known from descriptions, as well as a single illustration published in a journal describing a voyage in 1602, until sub-fossil bones were described as Lophopsittacus bensoni in 1973.[1] In 2007 The fossils were reinterpreted as belonging to a species of Psittacula instead. Travelers on Mauritius described how easy it was to catch the parrot by capturing one and making it call out, which would summon an entire flock. A grey parrot described from Réunion may have belonged to the same species. Cossigny's account from 1764 is the last known sighting.[2]
Illustration depicting Dutch hunting parrots (most likely Thirioux’s Grey Parrot) on Mauritius in 1598
References
- ^ D. T. Holyoak: An undescribed extinct parrot from Mauritius. In: The Ibis 1973: S. 417-419
- ^ http://julianhume.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Hume-Mascarene-Parrots.pdf
Tribus: Psittaculini Genus Species (taxonomy note: * Réunion Parakeet and Mauritius Parakeet may united as subspecies or split as separate species)
(extinctions: † indicates a species confirmed to be extinct, ₴ indicates evidence only from sub-fossils)Psittinus Psittacella Brehm's Tiger Parrot • Painted Tiger Parrot • Modest Tiger Parrot • Madarasz's Tiger ParrotGeoffroyus Red-cheeked Parrot (or Singing Parrot) • Blue-collared Parrot • Song ParrotPrioniturus Montane Racket-tail • Mindanao Racket-tail • Blue-headed Racket-tail • Green Racket-tail • Blue-crowned Racket-tail • Blue-winged Racket-tail (or Sulu Racket-tail) • Yellow-breasted Racket-tail • Golden-mantled Racket-tail • Buru Racket-tailTanygnathus Eclectus Alisterus Aprosmictus Jonquil Parrot (or Olive-shouldered Parrot) • Red-winged ParrotPolytelis Psittacula Alexandrine Parakeet (or Alexandrine Parrot) • Seychelles Parakeet † • Rose-ringed Parakeet (or Ringnecked Parakeet) • Réunion Parakeet † * • Mauritius Parakeet * • Newton's Parakeet † • Slaty-headed Parakeet • Grey-headed Parakeet • Plum-headed Parakeet • Blossom-headed Parakeet • Lord Derby's Parakeet • Red-breasted Parakeet • Nicobar Parakeet • Long-tailed ParakeetLoriculus Vernal Hanging Parrot • Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot • Philippine Hanging Parrot (supporting pages: Cebu Hanging Parrot and Camiguin Hanging Parrot) • Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot • Great Hanging Parrot (or Sulawesi Hanging Parrot) • Sula Hanging Parrot • Moluccan Hanging Parrot • Sangihe Hanging Parrot • Orange-fronted Hanging Parrot (or Papuan Hanging Parrot) • Bismarck Hanging Parrot (or Green-fronted Hanging Parrot • Pygmy Hanging Parrot (or Red-billed Hanging Parrot) • Yellow-throated Hanging Parrot • Wallace's Hanging Parrot • Camiguin Hanging ParrotAgapornis Rosy-faced Lovebird (supporting page: Rosy-faced Lovebird colour genetics) • Yellow-collared Lovebird (or Masked Lovebird ) • Fischer's Lovebird • Lilian's Lovebird • Black-cheeked Lovebird • Grey-headed Lovebird (or Madagascar Lovebird) • Black-winged Lovebird (or Abyssinian Lovebird) • Red-headed Lovebird (or Red-faced Lovebird) • Black-collared Lovebirdincertae sedis
(probably Psittaculini)Mascarene Parrot † (genus: Mascarinus) • Broad-billed Parrot † (genus: Lophopsittacus) • Rodrigues Parrot † (genus: Necropsittacus)
Addition: Please note that the old-Dutch text under the drawing in Willem van Westzanen's journal does NOT mention the word "grey". So it is not clear whether the parrots in this drawing were in fact the green or the grey parrots that once existed on Mauritius.
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