Mini portrait: Horned Parakeet

Horned Parakeets, also designated Long-horned Parakeets

The approximately 32 cm long Horned Parakeet, or Long-horned Parakeet (Eunymphicus cornutus), comes from New Caledonia, a large island located east of the Australian continent.

This bird can in many ways, both in behavior and in appearance (apart from the feathers on the top of the head, which consists of 2 extended feathers) resemble the representatives from the genus Cyanoramphus (Red-fronted Parakeet, etc.), but the Horned Parakeet is quite a bit larger. Like these birds, the Horned Parakeet also has a "barking" voice (sounds like a goat), and as a result of the many other points of similarity, it was years ago therefore categorized as part of the Cyanoramphus genus. Subsequently, the Horned Parakeet has been given its own genus, which since 1998 and until a few years ago also included a scientifically recognized subspecies, which has since - after renewed scientific research - also been recognized as an actual species on an equal footing with the Horned Parakeet.

The Horned Parakeet is a calm, peaceful and confidential bird that is most lively at dusk. It likes to stay on the ground and is most often found in pairs or in small groups. It is sporadically distributed in damp forest at up to 1,500 m altitude, but it is also found in valleys and on savannah, lowland forest and thickets. It feeds on flowers, nuts, fruits, berries of vines, seeds of various trees and shrubs.

Nests have been found on the ground, also under stones and in fallen logs, and a few years ago it was discovered that the Horned Parakeet also breeds in tree holes.

Recent studies indicate that the Horned Parakeet has a larger distribution area (of 11,600 km2) and is more widespread than previously assumed, and currently Birdlife International estimates that there are 5,300 – 6,000 mature individuals left within the natural distribution area. For comparison - and for further reflection - it can be stated that according to BirdLife International there are up to a minimum of 2.5 times as many Horned Parakeets in the wild as there are Australian Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor). According to this organisation, the Horned Parakeet has the status of "Vulnerable", while the Swift Parakeet, with its maximum of 2,500 remaining specimens in the wild, has the status of "Critically Endangered". Even so, the Swift Parakeet in human care (read: captivity) costs no money when traded among European aviculturist, while the Horned Parakeets is still attempted to be offered at rather high prices for a sexually mature pair, which nevertheless are at a significantly lower selling price than for several years ago.

Although the Horned Parakeet is listed on CITES Appendix I, there no longer appears to be any rational justification for this significant price difference, as the Horned Parakeet has shown a great willingness to breed over recent years, and with the prevalence among aviculturists that it has gradually achieved, it no longer justifies to be sold at high prices. You also gradually more often see that, for the time being, younger specimens are offered at somewhat lower prices for a pair.

Horned Parakeet

In contrast, the other species of the Eunymphicus genus, the Ouvea Parakeet, or Short-horned Parrot (Eunymphicus uvaeensis), is considered a very great rarity both in the wild and in human care. The Ouvea Parakeet is i.a. characterized by the fact that the feather top on the crown consists of several feathers.

Only approximately 1,700 remaining mature individuals live in the wild in a distribution area on a single small island, Ouvéa (Loyalty Island) northeast of New Caledonia. Although the Ouvea Parakeet's distribution area is only approximately 6 % of the Horned Parakeet's, both species are today assessed by BirdLife International as belonging to the "Vulnerable" category. Quite surprisingly, the number of the Ouvea Parakeet in the wild has increased over recent years, as the number of mature individuals in the wild in 2012 was estimated by BirdLife International at approximately 750 (where the species had the status of "Endangered"), while the estimate today is 1,700 mature individuals. The Ouvea Parakeet may be threatened by invasive species, particularly the Black Rat, which could drive the species to "Critically Endangered" or even "Extinct" in a very short time.

A translocation program to revitalize the population on the southern part of Ouvéa was initiated in 1998, and in 2012 the population on this part of the island reached 82 individuals. A breeding program in human care has been discussed but not yet begun.

Jorgen Petersen

Conceived/Updated: 31.05.2012 / 11.01.2024 

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