Mauritius Chubat Parrot

The earliest known bird descriptions were left by Dutch travelers during the , led by Admiral in 1598. They are presented in reports published in 1601, which also contain the first illustrations of the bird along with the Mauritius dodo . The Dutch sailors who visited Mauritius viewed the birds separately from the parrots , referring to them as “Indian crows” without a detailed description, which later caused confusion during the study of old logbooks ^[2] .

The English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland placed the "Indian ravens" in the genus homrai , since he interpreted the growth on his forehead as an underdeveloped horn ^[2] . During the 17th century, the Dutch and French also referred to South American macaws as “Indian crows,” and the Dutch, French, and English settlers in the East Indies even applied this name to rhinoceros birds ^[3] . Sir in 1634, describing “birds as stubborn and energetic as parrots,” referred to the species as “ cockatoo, ” but the naturalist did not know that it was one and the same taxon ^[2] . Even after the parrot’s remains matched with their descriptions, the French zoologist Emil Ustale claimed that the “Indian crows” were rhinoceros birds whose remains were awaiting discovery. supported this idea until the end of 1993. On any of the ocean islands, no remains of rhinoceros birds except extinct species from New Caledonia were found ^[3] .

The first known remains of the parrot were the subfossilia of the beak, collected together with the first batch of bones of the Mauritius dodo , found in the swamp of Mar-o-Songe ^[4] . Richard Owen in 1866 made a description of the lower jaw, the owner of which he identified among the large species of parrots, to whom he gave the Latin and main name of the bird Psittacus mauritianus and the Mauritian Chubat parrot ^[5] . Type specimens of this species are currently lost ^[3] . In 1868, shortly after the re-opening of the Gelderland's logbook from the Dutch East India Company in 1601, Hermann Schlegel in this document examined an ink sketch of a bird. Realizing that the figure attributed to the artist Joris Justens Lörle depicts a parrot described by Owen, Schlegel found a connection with the description of the old magazine. In 1875, due to significant differences between the bones and the crest of a fossil species with species of the Jaco genus, Alfred Newton defined the bird in a separate genus called Lophopsittacus ^[6] . Lophos is an ancient Greek word meaning “comb”, and “psittakos” is “parrot” ^{[3] [7]} .

In 1973, based on the remains collected by Louis Etienne Tiriu at the beginning of the 20th century, Holioouk placed the little fossil of the Mauritius parrot in the same genus as the Mauritius Chubata parrot, calling it Lophopsittacus bensoni ^[8] . In 2007, based on comparisons of the remains with descriptions of the 17th and 18th centuries, Hume placed the species in the genus of ringed parrots , calling it Psittacula bensoni ^[3] . Previously, suggested that reports of Mauritian gray parrots belong to the species in question ^[9] .

Evolution

The taxonomic pedigree of the bird is controversial. Considering the large beak and other osteological features of the species, Edward Newton and Hans Gadov suggested that the bird is a close relative of the Rodriguez parrot , but could not determine whether the taxa belong to the same genus, since it is known that the crest had only the last ^{[10 ]} .

Many endemic Mascarenian birds, including the Mauritian dodo , descended from South Asian ancestors, so the English paleontologist suggested that this case could apply to all parrots . In the Pleistocene , the sea level was low, so the species had the opportunity to colonize less isolated islands ^[11] . Although most of the extinct Mascarene parrots are not well understood, the remains demonstrate that they had such common features as a large head and jaw, reduced bones in the pectoralis major muscle and strong limbs. According to Hume suggested that they evolved from true parrots , citing morphological features and colonization of the tribe of many isolated islands in the Indian Ocean ^[3] . Perhaps real parrots invaded this area several times, since many species were so adapted that they could significantly change on the islands from hot spots until the Mascarene Islands reached the open sea ^[11] . A study of genes in 2011 instead showed that the closest relative to the Mascarene parrot from Reunion is a small vase parrot from Madagascar and nearby islands, thereby undermining the theory of descent from real parrots ^[12] .

The bird on the forehead had a noticeable feather crest. The crests on the skull indicated that the crest was firmly fixed and the bird, unlike the cockatoo, could not move them ^[3] . In 2003, a 1601 bird sketch was examined by Hume, who compared an ink image with a basic pencil sketch, and found that the latter had additional features. The pencil drawing shows a comb in the form of a piece of rounded feathers that connected to the forehead at the base of the beak , as well as primary covering feathers, large fly feathers and a slightly bifurcated tail ^[13] . Measurements of bones known since 1893 show that the lower jaw was 65–78 mm long and 65 mm wide, the femur 58–63 mm, the tibia 88–99 mm, and the metatarsals 35 mm ^[14] . Unlike other mascara parrots, the bird had a flat skull ^[3] .

The remains show that the males were larger than the females, respectively 55–65 cm and 45–55 cm long, and that both sexes had disproportionately large heads and beaks. Sexual dimorphism in the size of the skulls of males and females is the most noticeable among parrots ^[3] . Differences in the bones of the remaining parts and limbs are less pronounced; however, the bird has the most noticeable sexual dimorphism in body size than any parrot living today. Because of this feature, there could be differences in size between two birds in the sketch of 1601 ^[15] . The 1602 Reyer Cornelis report is usually interpreted as the only modern reference to the difference in the size of the prickly parrots, highlighting the "large and small Indian ravens" among the island animals. The full decoding of the source text was published only in 2003, and showed that the comma in the English translation was not placed correctly; instead of “Indian ravens,” “large and small” referred to “field chickens,” which may have been the red-haired Mauritian shepherd and the small ^[16] .

Coloring

There was some confusion about the color of the bird ^[17] . A report from the expedition of Van Nek in 1589, published in 1601, contained the first illustration of a parrot with the following description:

The last message and the only mention of the color of the species belongs to Johann Christian Hoffman in 1673-1675:

The head was obviously blue, and the beak was probably red, which is typical for real parrots . The rest of the plumage may have been grayish or black, which is also found among other representatives of true parrots ^[3] . Despite the mention of coloration, an author such as Walter Rothschild stated that in the Gelderland magazine the bird was described completely blue-gray, therefore, in his 1907 book, reconstruction of the coloration of the species was presented in this way ^[19] . A later study of the magazine showed that it contained only a description of the Mauritian dodo . A clearly drawn head stencil could have a separate color ^[13] . It was suggested that in addition to sexual dimorphism in size, the male and the female may have had a different color, which could explain some inconsistencies in the old descriptions ^[20] .

Although the birds probably ate on the ground and didn’t fly well, their lobes were short and strong, hinting at . The Newton brothers and many authors after them concluded that the bird was flightless due to the noticeable short wings and large sizes shown in the sketch of 1601. According to Hume, the underlying pencil sketch actually shows that the wings are not very short. They seem wide, because the birds were adapted to life in the forest, and the was large, which is typical for slowly flying birds. The keel of the bird was reduced, but was not adapted for running, since flying jumping parrots also have the same feature as a kakapo capable of planning ^[3] . In addition, Hoffman's message states that the parrot could fly, but with difficulty, and the first published illustration shows that the bird is on top of a tree, an unlikely place for flightless birds ^[13] .

Sexual dimorphism in the size of the beak could affect the behavior of the bird. This type of dimorphism, common among other parrots , such as black cockatoo and nestor-kaka ^{[3] [21]} , is used by individuals to obtain food of various sizes, perform certain roles during the breeding season and care for offspring or mating games. In addition, a significant difference between the sizes of the heads of the male and female may have been a reflection of the ecology of each sex, although it cannot be determined ^[3] .

Masauji Khachisuka suggested that the parrot led a nocturnal lifestyle, like a cacapo and a nocturnal parrot , two existing ground parrots. Modern reports do not confirm this, and the eye sockets are the same size as other large daytime parrots ^[3] . A spiky parrot was recorded on the arid windward side of Mauritius , which was the most accessible for people, and it was noted that there were a large number of birds near the coast, which could indicate the diversity of fauna in these areas. The bird may have nested in hollows or rocks like the Cuban Amazon ^[3] .

The terms "raven" or "raven" may have hinted at the bird's harsh voice, habits of behavior, or directly at the dark plumage. The following description of Jacob Granet in 1666 indicates a forest habitat and possibly bird behavior:

With the beginning of the settlement of Mauritius, many endemic species of this island became extinct, since its ecosystem , which was difficult to recover, was severely damaged. Initially, the island was completely covered with forests, which were almost completely cut down ^[23] . The surviving endemic fauna is still in serious danger. The spider parakeet was adjacent to other extinct birds, such as the red Mauritius shepherd , the Mauritius dodo , the parrot , the Mauritius blue pigeon , the owl , the Mascaren’s coot , the . Extinct Mauritian reptiles include gigantic representatives of land turtles (genus Cylindraspis ), lizards (giant skink Leiolopisma mauritiana ) and snakes ( multi-force bolieria ). The blackish flying fox and snail lived in Mauritius and Reunion, but also became extinct on both islands. Some plants, such as and , have also become extinct ^[24] .

Nutrition

Species morphologically similar to the species under consideration, such as hyacinth macaw and black cockatoo , could give an idea of ​​the ecology of birds. Hyacinth macaws , which are typical terrestrial inhabitants, feed on fairly strong palm nuts ^[3] . Carlos Yamashita suggested that these parrots were once dependent on the now extinct South American megafauna and later switched to livestock , eating fruit and spreading seeds. Similarly, black cockatoo from Australia fed on seeds that remained in the cassowary litter ^[3] . Yamashita suggested that the abundant and the Dodo performed the same functions in Mauritius , and that the parrots depended on them, receiving seeds from them ^[25] . Many species of palm trees and similar plants in Mauritius had hard seeds that were eaten by parrot parrots, including , , the Dodo tree , persimmon and pandanus useful ^[3] .

Based on x-ray , Holiouk claimed that the lower jaw of the parrot was weak, and suggested that the bird was fed soft fruits rather than hard seeds ^[26] . As evidence, he pointed to wide-open internal trabeculae , taking into account the wide upper part of the beak and narrow palatine bone and the fact that the open upper rostrum, which was a sign of elegance, was not preserved ^[27] . However, Smith noted that the four genera ( jumping parrots , budgerigars , grass parrots, and parakeets ) that Holiouk used as examples with a "strong beak" actually have weak jaws, and that Holyoke morphology does not indicate the strength of the beak ^[28] . Hume has since noted that the morphology of the jaw of a spider parakeet is similar to that of the largest parrots. For example, a hyacinth macaw easily breaks palm nuts. Thus, it is likely that the parrots produced food in the same way ^[29] .

Although Mauritius previously visited the Arabs and Portuguese ships in the Middle Ages between 1507 and 1513, they did not create settlements on the island ^[30] . The Dutch empire acquired the island in 1598, renaming it in honor of Moritz of Orange , and later used it for the provision of merchant ships of the Dutch East India Company ^[31] . Dutch sailors who visited Mauritius from 1598 onwards were mainly interested in fauna for cooking ^[17] .

Of the eight parrots, the so-called endemic to the Mascarene Islands , only the Mauritius ringed parrot survived. All others probably died out due to a combination of excessive hunting and deforestation . Due to poor flight ability, large size and gullibility, the parrot parrots became easy prey for the sailors who lived in Mauritius, and their nests were very vulnerable to predation by cynomolgus monkeys and rats . It is believed that the bird became extinct by the 1680s , when palm trees were harvested on a large scale. Unlike other parrots , which sailors often took as pets, records of the transport of maiden parrots from Mauritius do not exist, possibly due to stigma associated with crows ^[3] . In any case, the bird could not survive during such a trip if they did not eat anything except seeds ^[25] .

• Cheke AS, Hume JP Lost Land of the Dodo: an Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rodrigues . - New Haven and London: T. & AD Poyser, 2008 .-- ISBN 978-0-7136-6544-4 .
• Hume JP Reappraisal of the parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) from the Mascarene Islands, with comments on their ecology, morphology, and affinities . - 2007. - Vol. 1513.

• Rothschild, Lionel Walter (1868-1937)